The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-03-20

The New Deal politicians are q
strange collection of characters. For
weeks they have been sniping at the
unfortunate and inoffensive Mr..
Knudsen, and spreading poison about
the other industrialists in the defense
organization. But now, led by their
journalistic reflectors, they are chant
ing almost in chorus about how "en-
couraging" it is that Mr.. B. M. Ba-
ruch is being regularly consulted"
and his "advice taken"
##&
Of course that is encouraging-ifI
true. The more Baruch advice is taken
here, the better. However, it is some
what ironic to see the young radicals
who a few months ago were cockily
asserting that Mr.. Baruch was a relic
of the past now rushing around to ask
him what to do. The reason is clear
enough. Things are in a general mess
and he is the only man who remotely
knows the answers. Though he does
not like to admit it, the President is
perfectly aware of this, and so is
everybody else in position to have
judgment.
Mr.. Baruch not only had an expert
ence as head of the old War Indus
tries Board, which equips him, as no
other man is equipped, on this subject
of industrial mobilization for war, but
he has spent the last twenty years
studying, writing and speaking about
it. He has lived with it. He is the one
outstanding authority in the country.
are two other things about Mr.. Ba-
ruch which make him the ideal man
to Consult" One is that he knows
men as we'll as things; the other is
that he has no personal, political, fl
nancial or any other kind of ak to
grind-and everyone knows that.
###
The dirtiest tongue among the Left
Wing New Dealers-and there are
some extremely dirty ones-does not
dare reflect upon his motives or say
the kind of things about him they
customarily say about those who dis
sent from their doctrines. Though he
has unfailingly supported the Demo-
cratic ticket, they know he is no more
their kind of New Dealer than is his
friend, Secretary Hull. Nevertheless,
today they flock around him, tele-
phone him, go to see him. And so do
the defense industrialists. His White
House visits are now regular-and by
request.
~*M
Of course, the logical thing at the
start was to have reconstructed the
old War Industries Board, with Ba-
ruch as it's head to do the job. Why
Mr. Roosevelt did not take this obvi-
Gus step is just one of those things
which make it impossible to explain
Mr. Roosevelt on reasonable lines
Some of his aides say it was because
Mr. Baruch is too old-70 his last
birthday If those who think that
would try following him in the hunt
ing field some day, they might change
their views. He did not-and does not
want the job. In all probability he
would rather help as an adviser, with
out responsibility. But that does not
alter the fact that had he been draft
ed six months ago we would be very
much farther ahead than now.
That conclusion is strengthened by
his article in the current issue of the
Harvard Business Review, entitled
"P riorities - The Synchronizing
Force" With clarity and force he
shows in this that priorities are the
heart of the whole industrial mobili-
cation and production problem, but
that with priorities there must be
price control. By price control he does
not mean individual prices but cell
ing over all prices beyond which none
can rise but under which all may fall.
Priorities and price ceiling are in
separable, interdependent and essen
tial. Had they been established at the
beginning of the last war instead of
after year of feeling around, the
cost to the country would have been
greatly reduced and the general eco
nomic dislocation much less. "Price
CONTROL" Mr.. Baruch points out, sis
necessary because the priorities sys-
tenn is actually means of short-cir-
cutting the law of supply and de-
mand."
X
There is not space here to present
the reasoning by which Mr.. Baruch
demonstrates that priorities and the
price ceiling not only are the instru-
ments to control production cost,
avoid congestion, diminish confusion
and keep down the cost of living, but
the best way of minimizing strikes
and satisfying labor without large
wage increases. Moreover, with con-
troll of the money supply, priorities
and the price ceiling constitute the
one real insurance against a runaway
initiation, the after-effects of which