Evening star., 1933-06-18


money available for many fundamental
ly unsound capital investments. The re-
suit was an overproduction of the means
of production.
The attempt to utilize these facili-
ties at all hazards Is chiefly response
BILE for the ills of many of our industries
Sales can be temporarily made at almost
any price if the seller is ruthless about
cutting wages and careless about such
matters as interest on investment bills
payable, plant maintenance and taxes
Efforts to restrain this kind Of selling
have so far failed, largely because OF
the protection given by the antitrust
laws. Proper planning methods, esti-
mating at intervals consumption for a
few months in advance and prorating
among the members in good standing
will eliminate this and at the same time
take care of the bad actor" and the
racketeer.
Prices Must Be Considered.
The planners will also have to take
into consideration the matter Of prices
This is q delicate subject, as any at
tempt to raise prices conflicts with our
traditional viewpoint
The common belief Is that If prices
are cheap, the consumer benefits, but
II an article Is sold at less than 1t costs,
then the workers, investors and man.
ayers are robbed of their right to par
ticipate in the purchase of other arti-
cles manufactured.
Part of the task Of the industrial
planners is to get the general public to
recognize that prosperity is only pos
sible when there is fair return to all
al iv, NJ ~
button.
The question of wages is Of foremost
importance. There is no dissenting
voice to the proposition that what
America chiefly needs today is gen.
eral increase in purchasing power. Ma
tional industrial planning will have to
see to it that this increase in purchas-
ing power is actually secured.
Hours Of work is a subject that Is
much to the fore at this particular
time. and it is generally agreed that
in the present emergency work should
be spread as widely as possible. and
that, therefore, working hours should
be restricted. Such restriction. how
ever. should be temporary only. Be-
cause We have had troubles from over
production, we must not get the idea
that production must be permanently
restricted. Such troubles are, on final
analysis, the result of overmultiplica-
ton of productive facilities and, eS-
pecially, faulty distribution.
In other words, our "overproduc-
ton" troubles were due to the attempt
to force goods on the market in the
wrong way and at the wrong time. Ac-
tually, if production and distribution
had been regulated in an orderly way
during the last three years. We would
hn f1~ L.
We did and there would have been no
'overproduction."
Given purchasing power to corre-
spond with reasonable standard OF
living, spread throughout the Nation,
and proper distribution, it is doubtful
whether the present productive capac-
ity Of the country operated by all our
people working eight hours day
would satisfy our needs.
We do not need less production-we
need more production. But it must
be production that Is not effected at
loss, and We also need public purchas-
ing power that can absorb this produc-
ton. In other words, if we plan at all
and integrate all the complex factors
in our economic life, and seek to ad-
vance evenly along the whole front.
interesting Problems Ahead.
One Of the particular duties OF the
Control Board at Washington will be
to regulate competition between in
dustries. Obviously such competition
can be quite as vicious as competition
between individuals, and some very
interesting problems are going to arise
in this connection.
The power Of the President to ap-
prove the plans prepared by industry,
to compel the adherence of all repre-
sentativeS Of an industry to plans when
once adopted and to impose plans
when necessary on industries that fail
to plan properly for themselves, is an
all-important provision of the national
industrial recovery law.
The history of the European indus
trial cartels indicates that unregulated,
voluntary cooperative arrangements
between industries are rarely satisfac-
tory to either the industries themselves
or to the general public. The indus
trial 0artels are associations of pro-
ducers formed for the purpose of regu-
lating their business along such lines
as the control of production, the ap-
portionAent of output and the main.
tenance ot prices.
The life of a cartel is rarely more
than a few years. Sooner or later
either some member finds self-interest
stronger than its interest in the group
and violates its engagements, or out
side companies spring up, and, being
able to take advantage Of the benefits
Of the groups restrictions without in
curing corresponding obligations, they
undermine the situation and force the
dissolution of the cartel
Furthermore, while cartels have been
formed with objectives that are socially
beneficial, the large ma jority are purely
selfish in their intent and deliberately
aim at the exploitation Of others Hence
there must be something more than the
freedom to plan and combine. Govern
ment mus control the plans and must