Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-01-21
Control
OF All Trade
Seen Coming
New Democratic ST d Re
viii Be Absolute
BY PAUL MALLON

BY PAUL MALLON
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2l.--
w This government is firmly
stepping out now upon an eco
nomic roller coaster-and knows
it. Mr.. Roosevelt glanced briefly
at dizzy ascents, screaming
curves and chutes in his mes
sages laying out the S2S, 100000
600 program.
The violence this is likely TO
do to our economic ways is clear
when you consider the initiation
AIRY awe with which the 40 bill
lion-dollar debt is now viewed
in many quarters. The defense
expenditures now contemplated
may shoot il up so per cent
With The shortages of mate
rails and labor already creating
price initiation problem and
the peak OF the program a year
off-the prospects are obvious
ALI Landon has said the~pro-
gram is putting the capltalistic
system through The wringer,
and he wonders if the republic
will so through the rock crusher
at all
As I SEE the New Deal adj
"a ministration beginning to
move now toward more con-
trolls, tt seems=te- me what
we are going TO get on the
ascent is control, control, con-
troll. Prices, credits, production,
distribution, money-every cor
puscle of the economic Likelihood
lis apt to feel increasingly the
hand of the centralized state.
As bigger doses ef-the same
thing are already being talked
10 ward off the postwar de-
scent, ii seems to me you are
apt to wind up in this thing
not necessarily with imitation,
-deilation and the other natural
consequences = but more prob
ably with a distinctly new kind
of democratic state. a form OF
economic democratic absolutism
creeping -the=neeessity OF
warding off consequences.
TO START with the govern
l. ment men (mind you, busi-
ness does not yet concede these
things will be necessarily are
talking about aluminium. They
see the time coming when house,
wives will have to get along
witt less and pay ffaeth more for
what they can get. This will be
the first instance in which the
general public may notice that
we are getting off the ground.
Next is likely to be autos.
BY July the defense experts
suspect some steps will be nee
essary to curtail private car
production.
These limitations will I'M
doubtedly have to be extended
as the program develops to most
of the other necessities and lux
uries of everyday living. But the
administration is likely to hold
back and apply controls piece
meal in order to avoid any more
dislocation than necessary.
TO KEEP imitation from float
Il ing off with the ascending
spiral, five or more steps are be-
ing considered by defense COM
mission economists. One prim-
airy problem is to prevent the
greater circulation of money
from causing a bidding up of
prices for materials which are
only limitedly available, situa-
ton which will cause a deprecia-
ton of the value of money.
First remedy all the New
Dealers favor is taxes They
look on higher taxes nu par
ticularly as a means of paying
the defense program, but as an
economic suction pump to draw
money away from consumers
which might otherwise be spent
for consumers goods and thus
clog the defense program. I'm
partial Brookings Institute has
recommended draining one
fourth of the national income 10
pay as you 60 for defense.)
A campaign will undoubtedly
be started to promote cash pay
ments for all goods and less in
stallment buying.
A SYSTEM of forced savings is
n likely to be set up. A GER
tain amount of a workers earn
ings might be required for in
vestment in government bonds.
A new kind of Liberty Bond
campaign will be started tMr.
Morgenthau has already prom
ieed this much TO sell baby
bonds and thrift stamps.
But the main overall control
Will be priorfties.
THIS will be accompanied by
L controls over money and
banking along lines suggested
in the Eccles plan. But all these
and the other controls that have
been mentioned are not likely to
be sufficient. They are merely
mild brakes which can be ar
ranged in advance. The full force
of centralized restraints will
have TO be determined as situa-
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