Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-03-20
Priori+ies
Threaten
Makers
Nickel and Aluminium
Units Raise Homes
BY PAUL MALLON


of enthusiastic defense pub
licity, troublesome cries are
coming in increasing volume.
More reorganization obviously
cannot be long delayed.
The Bernard Baruch state
ment demanding attention to
economic phases, price fixing
on industrial products and food,
and freezing of wages, was only
a mild indirect disclosure of
difficulties encountered.
The annoyed groups in the
trenches around defense head
quarters are talking now of the
necessity of immediate co-ordi-
nation of economic effects (Mr.
Baruch's first point. Some
nickel plants, they say. are on
the verge of going out of bust
ness because they have insuffi-
Gent raw material. The priori-
ties board tells them. in a
hypothetical case, three-fifths of
their production must go to de-
Tense industries, which means
they must lose three-fifths OF
their old private business.
With only two-fifths produc-
ton left TO supply this whole
outside market: they must ra-
ton their finished product
among old customers. They
could charge any price they
wanted to ask.
MANUFACTURERS of alumni
A'A mum pots and pans are not
far away from the same predic-
ament, and motor manufac-
turers are only six months or
so away if steel priorities come
by July l as expected (Mr
Roosevelt's Gano DUNN report
to the contrary notwithstand-
ing.)
Some sort of economics con-
troll board is called for by these
developing facts. Unless some
governing agency takes hold of
the effects of the vast expendi-
lures. the spiral of increasing
prices. then increasing wages TO
take care of increasing prices.
and then more prices, more
wages will soon reach threat
ening altitude. The symptoms
of increased food prices and
union demands for higher wages
have already appeared.
Greatest sufferer will be the
salaried employe and small bust
nesses comprising the great bulk
of the unorganized people of
the country.
THE weak spot in Hitler's
l. armor still is Italy. The
British know it, but cannot get
at it. Enclosed avenues of SUBJ
terranean information from
Rome describe Mussolini as a
broken man. forced into retire
ment by failures. Criticism of
his conduct of the war is eX-
pressed openly on street corners.
and goes unpublished. Yet the
chances of revolution or a sep
arate peace with Britain seem
TO be out of the current ques-
ton.
Italy cannot break away from
Berlin because her economic
sustenance is now coming from
Germany. Hitler is still feeding
in million tons of coal a
and practically all gaso-
line and oil used in Italy now
comes from Germany. If she cut
away from the Axis now, Italy
would face economic starvation.
MO ENCOURAGING evidences
~ of Italian revolt can yet be
seen. The Fascist Party clique
always working closely with
Germany is indulging itself in
no apparent plotting against ii
Duce, although letting him be
the public goat. Instead it is
welcoming Nazis into daily ex-
panding positions of power.
Hitler's men are in the army
as advisers, in the police head
quarters. in all the ministries.
Uniformed German soldiers can
now be seen daily on the streets
of the larger cities.
The fall of Mussolini. there
fore. represents so far only an
other secret conquest by Hitler.
If the Nazis cannot close both
ends of the Mediterranean
against the British. they can
save their weak and fallen sis
ter from the natural conse-
quences of her war collapse.
Distributed by King Features Synd., In