Evening star., 1934-03-18
PLANNED ECONOMY SEEN
WAY TO DICTATORSHIP
Only WAY to Prevent Complete Control
From Washington Is to Abolish
Planning, Observer Says.

results winch most Americans regard
as odious He gives no thought what
ever to the course America has fol-
lowed in the past. the course of in
dividualism and liberty. He insists
on an agriculture planned and con-
trolled from Washington, and he de-
clares we must endure the conse-
quences.
Wallace Quotations.
The following are quotations Sc
lected from Mr. Wallace's America
Must Choose They compose a pic
ture of what is ahead if America con-
tinues on the course of the past year,
the course of nationalism. And
large part of this is ahead, Mr.. Wal
lace admits, even If we adopt the new
policy he now proposes. In short, all
of the following is ahead Of us if we
60 on in the present course Of nation
aliSm and most of it is ahead even If
we adopt Mr.. Wallace's proposed new
course. These are Mr.. Wallace's
words:
Much as we all dislike them, the
new types of social control that we
have now in operation are here to
stay /" " $ BY the end of 1884 we shall
probably have taken 100000 acres
out of cotton, 20OO0.000 acres out of
corn. and about half million acres
out OF tobacco, nearly one-eighth of
all the crop land now harvested in
the United States.
IF we continue year after year with
only 25000,000 or 3O,00O,O00 acres of
cotton in the South instead of 40, ,000,-
900 or 100000 acres, it may be nee
essary after time to shift part of the
Southern population. We will find
exactly the same dilemma, although
not on quite such great scale, in the
corn and wheat belts.
IF we finally go all the way toward
nationalism, it may be necessary to
have compulsory control of market
ing, licensing of plowed land. and base
and surplus quotas for every farmer
for every product for each month in
the year. We may have to have Gov
ernment control of all surpluses, and
a far greater degree of public owner
ship than we have now. It may be
necessary to make a public utility out
of agriculture. Every ploWed
field would have its permit sticking
up on its post.
Discipline Needed.
"As yet, we have applied in this
country only the barest beginnings Of
the sort of social discipline which
completely determined nationalism re-
&c % rAY-tNI q
question whether we have the reso-
luton and staying power to swallow
all the words ard deeds of our robust,
individualist past. and submit to
completely army-like, nationalist dis
cipline in peace time.
Our own maneuvers of social dis
cipline to date have been mildly per-
suasive and democratic. Regi-
mentation without stint might indeed,
I sometimes think. go farther and
faster here than anywhere else.
Great prosperity is possible for the
United States if we follow the strictly
nationalist course, but in such case
we must be prepared for funda-
mental planning and regimentation OF
agriculture and industry far beyond
that which any one has yet suggested.
To carry out such a program effec-
lively, with our public psychology as
it is, may require a unanimity of
opinion and disciplined action even
greater than that which we expert
enced in the years 1917-1919. 1t
may require a great amount of gov
ernmental aid to take care of people
fC,. aoNIr ad iy7 fv,1TN nrf ~
port businesses. 1t will mean the
shifting of millions of people from the
farms of the South. But these are
minor considerations. in comparison
with the extraordinarily complete con-
troll of all the agencies of public
opinion which is generally necessary
to keep the national will at tensity
necessary to carry through program
of isolated prosperity"
Ruthless IdeaIism."
That is what Mr.. Wallace says Is
ahead of us-all of it If we continue
in the present course of nationalism,
most Of it if we take up Mr.. Wallace's
proposed internationalism. The deadly
calm with which Mr.. Wallace says it
suggests the ruthleSSneSS that is in
herent in every reformer. Nearly every
idealist is at heart an autocrat. All
of them want to make the rest of us
do as they say.
Incidentally I should like to know
whether Mr. wallace knew a year ago,
when he first adopted the present
policy, that it would entail the con-
sequences he now says it will entail.
If he knew then, why did he not tell
US then?
But of course there is third course
Mr.. Wallace does not like this third
course and dismisseS it with a brief
paragraph We can throw overheard
this whole notion Of a planned econ
omy. After that, we might or might
not reduce the tariff. But it is
planned economy that entails the
regimentation which Mr.. wallace pre-
diets. With planned economy gone,
We can dismiss Mr.. Wallace's night
mare.
Freedom of Press.
incidentally, the careful reader of
NIL w dIldSS pduIPliACI Will AiAiN sunni
thing interesting about freedom of the
press. In both the plans Mr.. Wallace
sets forth, the only plans he is willing
to entertain, he says that "regimented
opinion is inevitable. "Regimented
opinion" means, of course, suppression
of freedom of the press.
I go farther, I say that no such
revolution as is row being carried out
at Washington has ever been carried
out in any other country except by
abolishing freedom of the press. There
is no free press in Italy, Germany or
Russia. And the present attempted
revolution in America cannot be car
ried out fully except by first getting
rid of freedom of the press.
To sum up, the picture described
above by Mr. Wallace is infallibly
ahead of us if we go on with the
system the administration has been
following for year, the system of an
agriculture planned, directed and con-
trolled from Washington. The steps
he describes are the steps the planners
will take-and Mr.. Wallace knows, for,
as rpcnoptc oorir,,It,,ro - a-l r~zf