The Daily Alaska empire., 1938-09-19
Americas S Income
(New York Timesl

In a provocative article in recent issue of Har- pers Roy Helton raises two questions regarding Presi dent Roosevelts goal of annual income of S100- OO0OOO 900 for the American people to be achieved within the next decade He asks first whether it is possible for us to earn it. and second whether We should really want to. And he concludes that the achievement of such a national income within the period set is improbable and that it might not be desirable if achieved
 These two leading conclusions are based upon plausible but mistaken reasoning In doubting the possibility of further substantial economic advance MT. Helton contends that mechanical civilization has grown up, matured, and that more expect it to continue growing it's past rate than can expect young man of p to do so To support this contention he points to the case of the steel i dustry Steel he argues. is the basis. the very bony structure of industry and in recent years the pro- duction of steel has fluctuated violently while its growth has shown distinct tendency to flatten He presents chart of steel production from 1870 to the present to illustrate this To it he adds another chart show that since 1845 there has been decline in the rate of growth of railroad track mileage and since various other years decline in the rate of growth of automobile registration electric power pro- duction and population. He concludes that our in- dustrial growth is drastcally slowing down if not coming to a halt.
 Now there are several falacies in such reasoning One is the assumption that recent tendency must necessarily continue. Another is that the growth of our national income is necessarily determined by the
 
 any specific industry
 Recent fluctuations in steel production have been violent to reduce any prediction of future rate of growth to the merest guess. MT. Heton seems to assume that the amount of steel production determines prosperity, whereas it has been the fluctuations of prosperity that have determined steel production He gives no evidence to show that the materials of steel production becoming exhausted.
 Moreover what reason is there to suppose that national income increase only in proportion to steel supplyor supply of any other single commodity? Immediately after the Civil War industrial expansion popuary associated with the rate of growth in railroad mileage But when that growth virtually to a standstill our indus trial expansion did not slow down. Half a century later economic progress popularly associated with the growth of the automobile industry Who would be rash enough to foretell around what indus tries, inventions discoveries industrial growth will seem to center half century decade from now? As for holding that our prosperity must depend upon some particular material, that seems very odd indeed in day when already get wool from milk plastcs from soy beans textiles from glass
 The assumption that the growth of economic in- come can be measured solely in quantitative terms finally, overooks the importance of quail tative improvements As man becomes richer he eats not so much more food better food he buys not merely more clothing but better clothing; he is less likely to live in houses than in better house Strictly speaking, indeed cannot create matter but merely transform it. all economic pro duction consists in qualitative rather than quanti- tative changes.
 MT Helton seems to argue that a substantial growth in national income is not desirable because we are already overmechanized, and that more clothes, more golf more alcohol, more gasoline and more bridge, however illimtably offered failed to drive men on into the promised land of still more golf, alcohol clothes, gasoline and bridge" But M Helton here to be concentrating his atten- tion too much the well-to-d When we reached our peak national income of nearly $6000000000O in 1929 42 percent of American families had incomes of less than $l500 Even the statistical average only $2800 per family which does seem excessive If our poorer families to become weather by some other means than making our we-to-do families substantially poorer still need increased nation al production of wealth.
 MT Heltons article contains so many human to take issue with his statistical contentious This modern Thoreau sees clearly that too much machin- cry merely interferes with such natural human pleasures conversation walking reading and sleep. Wealth in itself guarantees neither culture happiness sanity, For what kind of living he asks did we blow the wheat fields dig the mines build our cities heat homes and carry electric mains across the continent? This is the question that those who are well off need to ponder. But for millions of our cit- the problem of achieving the mere material basis of living must long remain the most urgent.