The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-03-24

EuSOm OCner CnlngS, New Deal witch hunt, but that misses the mark by a million miles. What the outfit has been doing is study and investigation to find out why machines and men have been idle. It's as simple as that.
 Whether or not they found out is another question. In trying to find out, a committee of six con- gressmen, headed by Senator Joseph c. O'Mahoney of Cheyenne, Wyo., and six men from other government agencies heard 655 witnesses from 95 characteristic American indus tries and businesses ranging from milk to life insurance. The testi- mony is published in 32 volumes with a total of 10000 pages. Supplementing these are $500 exhibits, ranging in size up to three. volumes each. On top of these, 180 economists made 108 separate in- dustry studies, the results of which are published in A monographs. Each volume of the hearings was run in an edition of 5000 copies, and each of the monographs 1000. Tn all, over 36,00O volumes have been sold, and 250,000 distributed to libraries, universities, government officers, the press and others. RETURNS
 MONEY
 To do the job, the committee was given $l,070,000. It will turn back part of the money, thus justifying the economic" part of its name, and since It's is winding up its af- fairs, 1t justifles the temporary" You must give the government credit for setting up one agency which isn't trying to perpetuate It. self.
 As to the permanent gain from all this mass of deep, and at times dull research, old Father Time will have to do the telling. For eight months. though, the secretary of the committee, Dewey Anderson and its economic adviser, Theodore J. Kreps, two California economists with plenty of experience in politics and study abroad, have been boiling down all this testimony into one volume of 16 chapters which will be the committees official report. It will be ready about the end of March. It will contain specifi rec concentrations as to what should be done about 1t all. Some will be for immediate action, some for long range planning.
 Main gains of the committees work come under five heads:
 1. It has supplied 8 new mine of information on the functioning of U. s. business, big and little.
 ?. It has already resulted in numerous proposals for specific new legislation before Congress. Patent procedure revision and petroleum industry control are two examples.
 3. Business has been stimulated to make voluntary reforms for self control, as in the mutual life in- surance companies.
 4. The government has been moved to correct existing errors in business regulation. Some of the antitrust activity of the Depart ment of Justice has been inspired by T. N. E. 0. disclosures
 5. All books on economics--par- ticularly all textbooks for colleges and universities-may have to be revised in the light of the com mittee's findings.
 BRAND NEW
 ECONOMICS
 This last is far more important than most people might think. Whether you like 1t or not, the economies of the world has chang ed beyond all recognition in the last 10 years. Economic Jaws" have been shot fuller of holes than @ Garand rife target. The easy theories of Adam Smiths "Wealth of the Ma tions," dating from the last cen- tury, no longer have standing. thanks to the nifty innovations of soviet and totalitarian states and the compromises of the rest of the world to meet their competition. What must apparently b done, therefore, is to rewrite economies, passing on present practices and dfarting whatever new Jaws" and ! JIlCOIiCo CdAA UC diuWh AAOAh ssSVuuh- ties.
 Where T. N. E. c. falls down is in the gaps of its study-gaps big enough to drive through whole cross sections of American industry. Mar keting, fire and casualty insurance, the entire field of transportation, were untouched Farm economy was gone into in only a few phases
 Further weakness of the investiga- ton is that 1t is being discontinued now as the national economy goes into 8 new stage-war and defense. What the economies of the country will be in this war, and what 1t will be in this war, and what 1t will be whe nthe war is over, no one can guess.
 Senator Wagner has introduced a resolution to establish post-emer- gency economic advisory commits sion to formulate comprehensive program for full utilization of Am erica,s men and machines. If the lT. N. E. c. torch is to be picked |up, some such organization will have to do 1t. Otherwise, whatever light of reform has been kindled prob ably will sputter out as so much l -.~~l. aNA x.aoa~ fY, the