Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-02-20
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON

A COMMITTEE of Industrial
lists is being formed in the
aluminium industry of leading
men whose contacts and expert
ence touch every element of
aluminium production and sale.
This committee will be available
to an aluminium committee of
the defense advisory commission
and OPM representing govern
ment.
Thus, in this industry the de-
tense organization of govern
ment and of the industry are be-
ing as closely knit together as
the clasped and interlaced fingers
OF your two hands. That is the
path to intelligent action. con-
troll and about industrial mobili-
zation-the only path.
Priority" committees arc also
being set up for a few industries.
These will tell the manufacturers
in those industries which pur-
chase orders they must fill first
to speed defense.
Whenever you do that. you
have to put ceiling on prices
for priority items. This is be-
cause, if there is no ceiling,
there will be frantic counter
bidding. The longest purse takes
all. Prices skyrocket and there
begins what we all most fear
wartime price initiation.
Under this new plan OF price
~ and priority and commodity
committee control. government
is not moving under any direct
statutory authority. The gov
eminent issues an instruction on
price. priority or other control.
If the suppliers obey. that ends
it. If they don't. their material
or facilities will be seized (com-
mandeered) by government
Then the government will have
to dispose of that material or
operate those factories-a task
for which il is not fitted and a
process involving paralyzing up
heavalS.
Also. the government must
pay for what it seizes and the
price will be determined by a
Federal Court. Under our Con-
stitution it must be lust COM
pensation" whenever private
property is taken for public use. "
II is an awkward. cumbersome
plan. We used ii in 1918 when
we were cropping in the dark of
an uncharted sea. Our conclu-
sion was. Next time let's do it
simply and directly" Now is
next time" and we still tumble
with the same old contraption.
THAT committee Of the alum
l. mum industry. these priority
committees, this price control
all are splendid and necessary
steps; but why. for the love of
Mike. have we delayed so long
in taking them. and why don't
we streamline them and apply
them TO the whole field of in
dustrial mobilization
The answer given Is. ooh.
we'll do it in each war com
modify separately and only
whenever prices get out of line. .
That answer is no good. Every
experience of the World War
/ proved that il is no good.
The price of everything is
/ simply a composite of the price
of everything else. The price OF
steel, for example. is the sum OF
the cost of labor, material
power and transportation tc
/ produce it.
And those costs. too. are the
sum Of all the myriad costs il
takes TO produce them. You
can't put a ceiling over the price
of two or three commodities and
let all their component elements
of cost go free TO sky-rocket
into the stratosphere.
"We're i'm the war or nearly
So" says Jesse Jones, ano
"when you do that you've got to
throw money away"
You don't have to throw
money away unless you are ir
a panic of ignorance and hys'
teria-but that is where We
seem to be. Our abortive or
ganization for industrial mobili
cation is mostly a dismal flop.
Copyrighted by United Features synd., In
nGXHSiT . GrR~G