Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-01-03
u. S. PeriIed
By Too Much
Prosperity
Initiation Would Increase
Defense Plan Costs
BY PAUL MAL0N

NAsHlNElON' Jan s.
W What brought the spend
ing leader Mariner Eccles
around to the reining-in recon-
mendations of his New Year
statement was mildly suggested
by his announcement.
An unsharpened forceful eX-
PLANTATION of il was set forth in
the respected, conservative pub
LEGATION The Lond on Econo-
mist of November Is tpages
602-4). This Embarrassing warn
ing of initiation had been CO.
ing the private rounds of gov
eminent economists for some
days prior TO the Eccles an
nouncement. Paraphrased into
everyday language. il says:
The abundance-of-bank
policy in the United States tgOld
buying. etc.D Just failed to in
crease private spending. The
theory that buying could be
started by an inflationary gold
silver money policy did not work
out. A plethora of money cam
not cause a buying wave.
But if the public, for some
reason should begin spending
its own money now, there is no
possibility of any control be-
ing exerted. An inflationary
movement, once touched off by
the growth of defense appropria-
tons, as it we'll may be within
year or Is months. might
well run away with itself.
This runaway would not nee
essarily appear first in rising
commodity prices or stock eX--
change values. although both are
probable. but what would most
certainly follow would be such
an insistent demand for all kinds
of labor and materials of the
defense program, that both Brit
ain as well as America would
find itself seriously impeded.
In very real sense what
America has to fear in the near
future is not too little prosperity
but too much.
Out of a chance remark
" dropped by the President
some time ago. the popular
.fallacy has been created that we
are giving half of our defense
plane production to the British.
We are giving so per cent as our
production has been running
about 700 planes a month. this
means we have been slipping the
British about $50 planes a
month. which is more than they
have been losing. This formida-
BILE contribution has been main
tanned for the past several
months. -
The erroneous public notion
has been allowed to continue
apparently because the actual
figures are confidential What
Mr.. Roosevelt really said, how
ever. was that we were contrib
uting about so per cent of all
our military production. of
which planes are only a part.
The navy is holding a. grim
grip on its destroyers in the face
of rumors that the British have
tried to get about 40 more.
1t is true the naval building
program has been quietly eX-
banded to provide 40 more
destroyers n an the origi-
nal two-ocean fleet plan pre-
scribed. These are now building.
But the navy has no intention of
releasing 40 more average YES
sells to the British in anticipa-
ton of acquiring these new ships
n year or more from now as
they are completed-not unless
some one raps the knuckleS of
the admirals with sufficient
sharpness to relax their grim
grip.
WHILE rumors of new deals
w with the British have lately
descended upon Washington like
New Years Eve confetti, our
techni cal authorities have
largely relaxed interest in de-
tails of the subject since Nc.
Roosevelt's speech. The Presi-
dents new policy doctrine as
laid down through his fireside
microphone was that we will
give the British whatever they
need. 1t is. therefore, largely
up to them to decide what will
be given them.
Assumption in army circles is
that they will ask for and get
large numbers Of tanks and
rifles. possibly other military
equipment. although our def
cheney in these materials is but
fraction of minimum defense re-
quiremcntS. The army is plan
ming to hold on to only what is
needed for training purposes. No
objection is. therefore. to be eX-
pected from that quarter under
the new presidential yardsticH
of British need.
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