New-York tribune., 1918-03-10
TIME exponents of the business

COUtIdCtlOu Oi uOII-CSScutlttl DuSlIleSS
in order to make possible the neces-
sary expansion of the essential in
dustries. Some even go so far as to
say dogmatically that there are no
non-essential industries. What they
obviously mean is that there are no
undesirable industries. A desirable
industry, however, is not the same
as an essential industry.
The problem of economy for the
nation is very much the same as for
the individual. 1t is the problem of
choosing the more important to the
exclusion of the less important
things-not that the less important
things are in themselves undesirable,
but merely that they are less essen
tial than certain other things. Few
individuals have ever been in the
fortunate position of being able to
afford everything which they might
like to have. In time of special
crisis the wise individual will deprive
himself of many things which are
in themselves desirable merely be-
cause there are other and more de-
sirable things which he must have.
To fail to do this is to fail to meet
the crisis. The same necessity is
upon the nation.
Vanity
vs.. Utility
To say that in the present crisis
there are no non-essential indus
tries is almost like saying that all
industries are equally essential,
which is an absurdity. That would
be like saying that it is just as i'm
portant that we should have jewelry
for private enjoyment as ammuni-
ton for national defence; that we
should have automobiles for pleas
ure riding as ambulances, aero
planes, army trucks and farm trac-
tors; that we should have those ar
ticles of wearing apparel which
crafty pride and vanity as over
coats and blankets for our soldiers.
On the other hand, to say that
one group of products is more i'm
portant in this crisis than another
does not necessarily and in every
case mean that the one group
should be produced to the complete
and absolute exclusion of the other.
! 1t may simply mean that the pro-
duction of the one should be greatly
expanded and that of the other
greatly contracted. When the indi-
vidual family finds itself facing a
crisis, like severe sickness, it is not
necessary that it stop buying food
and clothing in order to buy medl-
cines and pay doctors bills. It may
be necessary, however, to buy less
expensive food and clothing in
order to have money to spend for
things which, in the crisis, are more
important than some Of the expen-
sive items of food and clothing
which were formerly bought.
If it were possible to classify all
cur industries as absolutely essen
tial or absolutely on-essential, with
no middle group, the problem would
be very simple. The government
could by edict close all the nom
essential industries, or refuse them
fuel, raw materials, freight cars,
ETC., in order that these things might
be reserved for the essential indus
tries. The government has already
stopped the distillation of potable
alcohol, and might well go further
in the same direction. But the
number of industries whose prod
ucts are absolutely useless or nom
essential is very limited. Most of
those which are not classed as abso-
lutely essential belong in a middle
group. Their products are desir-
able or essential in limited quanti-
ties, whereas larger quantities are
non-essential.
Why the Problem
Is Complex
Even essentials are frequently
bought IN non-essential quantities.
Coal, in moderate quantities, is an
essential; but an individual may con-
sumo it luxuriously, keeping too
many rooms warm, or keeping them
TOO warm. Sugar, wheat -four and
number Of other things which
would scarcely be called non-essen-
tials may easily be consumed in nom
essential quantities. But the list
extends far beyond these few COM
modities, which are wofully scarce.
Even millinery could scarcely be
called absolutely non-esscntial: we
need some kind of headgear, but we
may easily buy too much.
a government decree is a singu-
larly clumsy and unscientific method
of dealing with an industry of this