Evening star., 1939-10-22
Wartime Dictatorship
Declared Essential
By OtDen L. Scott.

Ai6 W q slOup VI lIlQuSIIldllStS, lcC tIlO6e
industrialists know that no law "like this
eight-hour law would be permitted in
wartime to impede production.
In other words, war and labor laws
do not mix
The same general speaking to the
same industrialists let them know that,
in wartime, they would have to be sat-
isfied with 6 per cent on their invest
ments when filling Government orders.
In other words, modern war and big
profits do not mix.
Both industry and labor are assured
by the Army that. in wartime, they-in
enect-will be In the Army, too This
fact, now widely understood, is an effec-
tive insurance against any rash urge on
the part of any important group in this
country to push for war, unless the ma
tional interest, as contrasted with any
group interest, justif1es.
But the urge to stay out of war does
not make any less necessary preparation
and planning for the time when war,
after all, might become essential
Preparation and planning have been
under way since 1921 and have been
carried on by the Army and Navy in CO.
operation. by order Of Congress, since
1881. Military men have been framing a
superstructure of Government that could
be imposed quickly and effectively once
war developed.
So sensitive is the country to any
thought of war, however, that President
Roosevelt is disbanding the War Re-
sources Board that assembled in WASH
ington to study the controls that the
military had devised.
The problem that the War Resources
Board faced still exists and will continue
to exist.
That problem is how best to create the
sort of controls that Germany has been
building and operating over prices and
wages and investment and transporta-
tion without building those controls into
the permanent establishment of the Gov
ernment, to continue after war ends. In
other words the problem is that of Gre
ating wartime dictatorship that can be
liquidated without leaving a permanent
imprint.
=
Centralized control is accepted as a
basic requirement of modern war The
Army, and Navy planners express it
thus:
"Complicated weapons and machines
are used up rapidly in war. Armies and
navies must not only be we'll supplied
lnltlally but maintenance must be ade-
quate and continuous. Thus. the success
OF modern fighting force is directly and
Immediately dependent upon the ability
OF the Nations resources to satisfy
promptly its requirements in munitions
IN addition, throughout the duration
OF the war, the Nation nplst continue to
provide all the material things upon
which the health and well-being of its
population depend. War is no longer
simply battle between armed forces in
the f1eld-it is struggle in which each
side strives to bring to bear against the
enemy the co-ordinated power of every
individual and every material resource at
its command"
Democracies of Europe now are demon.
strating just what this language means
''--NAA NAUAioioICd AlCU dCludllLy,
France has discontinued elections. 1t
has jailed some members of its Con-
gress-the Chamber of Deputies. It is
controlling exports and imports. man.
aging money, imposing confiscatory
taxes requiring citizens to exchange for
eign security holdings for French cur.
rency. and in other ways gearing it's
economy to a dictatorial basis. The
British are doing much the same.
AS war goes on, the controls of indus
try in Britain and France-democracie
will not be far different from the con-
trolls in Germany. Both represent war
economies and are directed at mobilizine
all OF the resources Of the nation for a
specific purpose.
Plans that are the result of l8 years
OF study by the military authorities of
this country do not differ widely from
those OF European nations in war.
Inc 1899 model Of the industrial mob.
lllzatlon plan, as in Britain and France
calls for civilian rather than military
control. But the powers that would
lodge IN the hands of civilian adminis-
traitors would be dictatorial. Those DOW
ers would need, however to be authorized
by Congress and do not now exist.
With war; War Resources Board
under plans now drawn-would have
power to do the following:
l. To order individual industries TO
produce goods needed by the Army and
Navy and civilian authorities and to fix
the prices paid for those goods
2. To determine which orders industry
shall fill first, giving priority to military
needs.
3. To exercise control over the labor
supply to make sure that shortages are
avoided.
4. TO control exports and imports
through licensing system.
5. To control the banking system and
the marketing system of the country to
avoid private speculation and to assure
adequate money resources.
These all are essentials of q wartime
economy. They would be supplemented
by tax system that would take away the
bulk of any profit made by any corpora
ton and that would limit in a drastic
manner the income of any individual.
A fundamental issue still unanswered
IN this country concerns exactly who
shall hold the wartime dictatorial pow
ers and how those powers shall be exer-