The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-06-28

of labor ever devised; and the end is not yet.
 Further productive, investments are discouraged by the governments attempts to raise minimum wages and shorten maximum hours. These measures will tend to reduce the real weekly earnings of employees and of those unable to earn the minimum or to obtain time and one-half for overtime. The result will be an increase in costs, 8 de- crease in production, and profits, and reduction in employment. Finally, we are asked to take courage from the assurance that the huge debt of 40 billion dollars is really no burden. They tell us that just the same number of dol- lars are to be distributed among us all. And we will easily carry the debt by paying the interest to our- selves.
 There Is no mystery about the conditions governing the payment of government debt. They are the same as for private one. It must either be repaid in cash or repudi- ated in dishonor. In the first ir- stance 1t is going to be repaid by all of those who have resources of either earnings or savings which can be taxed, though it was largely incurred for those who had neither. If it is to be repudiated, the loss or the principal invested in govern ment bonds carries with it the probable liquidation of all other private and public debts. the falling off in the purchasing power of money, credit and wages and 8 con- dition of runaway imitation. No one who stops to think is de- ceived by the fallacy that govern ment debt is no burden because 1t is all within the family. Not even within your own family can you get away with the scaling down or the repudiation of a debt owed to Q fellow-member. No one wisely in- CUTS a private debt unless it be 8 self supporting investment in g productive enterprise. A government debt is rarely so. It has gone into goods which have been consumed or which, at least, yield no revenue. It can produce nothing further. DO we really need to conduct an elaborate research to determine why our dollars of savings are afraid 1 to venture into new investments; or why, in view of the tendency of Congress to place on business and industry a large share of the bur- den of additional taxes. they are afraid of the existing government debts and their increase? For nine years we have been exhausting our resources. This means a gradual wasting away of our productive powers. It means that we are weak ening our abilities to support our selves out of the resources which It has taken years to build up. If this continues, it means that this weakened ability is going to be sub- ject to even higher taxes to pay the debt. Today the annual interest alone is greater than our total ra~ tional debt was 25 years ago.
 To promote recovery and reen1- ployment we must:
 1. Balance all government budgets and cease to pile up increasing pub- lie debts.
 9. Take the government out Of competition with public utilities and private business.
 8. Remove the shackles of unfair and prcjudiced labor legislation from industrial relations. M
 (. Lighten the burden of opprcs- aiye and punitive taxation in in- dustfy by reduction In government expenditures. I'M
 2. pecentralIze relief and remove t ifom thc field Of political cof- fuption.
 Connecticut Eeonenls council eg: HOWELL e|IEl1Ef