Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-07-24
Price Fixing
Would Spur
Bond Sales
Defense Purchases Fall
SO Pet. in Month
BY PAUL MALLON

WASHINGTON. July %
w Treasury defense bond sales
have not been satisfactory. The
only place il is much of a secret
is al the treasury department.
The first two months brought in
a little over S700.000.000 as the
treasury tells il. But the second
month showed a decline Of
nearly 30 per cent from the first
month.
The government technicians
are blaming the promotion de-
S.gnes by the department For
instance one of the question and
answer sheets sent around to
newspapers for publication in
cluded the question whether the
treasury should finance defense
through heavier taxes. The Of
-fiefai answer passed along with
the question said: Excessive
taxes always lead 10 national
ruin.
This suggestion was not very
warmly received when read in
the paper by treasury tax de-
wiser John Sullivan and other
treasury officials who want far
higher taxes than Congress
would agree to-
TffE basic difficulty, however.
L is probably not promotion
but administration economic pol
icy. Not much of an investment
case can be made out for nom
transferable bond coming due
in 10 years when the price level
is going up every day A whole
sale national investment in such
bonds can not be promoted as
long as the dollar you pay for il
today may be-worth continuously
less in terms of bread and but
teras time goes On
The best promotion for the
sale Of defense bonds would no
doubt be an arbitrary freezing
of the price level.
4 n anti-tank company from
"A Vermont, having no guns of
its own, went over to Plattsburg.
N. Y. few days back to watch
another company practice firing.
The defenSeleSs company looked
on longingly, but was not in
vited 10 try firing the guns. 1t
returned TO its location, with
officers and men crying for the
day when their anti-tank COM
pany will have at least one anti
tank gun with which to prac-
tlCc.
From this and many similar
incidents, defense authorities
are beginning TO believe the I'M
broken bottleneck of defense is
the ordnance bureau of the war
department. While Chief of
Staff Marshall has slightly
shaken the division by creating
a separate new weapons bureau
to develop new equipment. the
ordnance bureau is still moving
along with old rules and regula-
tons which have caused unbe-
lievable delays. Apparently they
want 10 make sure before they
act and consequently they al
ways act late.
4 NEW cast iron training
~ grenade which has no me-
cf1anrcai parts, might have been
accepted or rejected in two
weeks by any modern business
firm. The ordnance bureau re-
CURED six months of continuous
mental concentration and then
recently accepted.
The short carbine was turned
down by the division three or
four years ago. but now officers
there are breaking their necks
trying 10 get II
All w projects apparently
60 into a main hopper and must
take their turn War depart
ment authorities are considering
revising the system 10 permit
localized subdivision Of ordnance
10 make decisions on projects
under a time limit.
= SAFEST place 10 he in these
- modern wars is in the army.
Casualty lists since the start Of
hoStilitieS in China four years
ago show civilian populations
have suffered more in killed and
wounded than the armies, ex-
Guiding prisoners of war.
The war department here
says il has no breakdown of
casualties between soldiers and
civilians on the various fronts.
but the general conclusion is un-
deniablc In both Britain and
China II is agreed air raids have
caused the greater loss of life.
In Germany and perhaps in
Russia the reverse is true. but
tho totals still balance in favor
Of all world troops as a whole.
Distributed by King Features synd In,
Reproduction IN whole mr. IN part
strictly prohibited.
Tomorrow Mr.. Mallon will
end his vacation and resume his
news columns.
Connollv Aneuvare