Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-11-13
New Point
Advanced for
Wage Peg
Costs Are Human Effort
johnson Shows

HERE are some figures sent
H me by a fan for the edifica-
ton of those who believe, or at
least say, that you can put
ceiling over prices 10 keep them
from a runaway initiation and
yet leave rises in wages and
salaries unchecked.
OF course, there are a dozen
different ways of dividing up the
costs of things. But il has al
ways seemed 10 me that. consid-
ering the elements that go into
things, from the time they are
raw material or seeds or,what-
not until the time they are con-
sumed. nearly their whole cost
is that of human effort of some
sort in rough processing, finish
ing, packing and distribution.
If this be so, to say that you
can control prices and not con-
troll wages is as crazy as TO say
that you can destroy the popu-
lation of the United States but
not its people. Its population is
its people, just as prices are all,
or nearly all. wages.
WRITES my friend:
w "NOw. 80 far as profits
are concerned, II you will refer
to the Business Week issue Of
Nov. 2. 1910. page 81, YOU will
find figures taken from the gov
ernmental reports showing that
from 1926 to 1887 inclusive the
capital that reported income To
the government received, after
paying taxes, yearly income
that amounted to only IL per
cent on its investment, and
which averaged only 3.65 per
cent Of the total national income
when estimated at SIS million
dollars a year.
Furthermore, this was the
net profit after taxes, but IL
was not the profit before bank
ruptcies, and IL all of the cap
ital lost In this period had been
deducted there would probably
have been little left In the way
OF profit.
I'm fact, the return as IL was,
was far less than would have
been received on an investment
In government bonds during the
period. Even In 1926 about five
billion dollars of capital went
broke.
ESINCE the receivers of rents
~ and royalties get from
these sources a small percentage
of the national income, you can
say that the wages and salaries
actually received average
around 95 per cent OF the ma
tionaI income, and any gink who
thinks that prices can be held
down while wages and salaries
are going up ought TO have his
brain examined by an alienist-
whether IL Is man or woman
who thinks IL.
Furthermore, we hear people
talk about capital profiteering In
the last war. III you will look
back at the figures for 1918 you
will find that capital received a
smaller percentage of the ma
tional Income I'm 1918 than I'm
most Of the years before the
war.
lin 1918, the profits on capt.
tai. even before paying enormous
taxes on profits called for that
year, were 20 per cent less than
the average return of the pre-
ceding nine years. and after
paying the taxes the return 10
capital was probably the least
In history.
W0N THE other hand, labor,
" In 1918, received Its high
est percentage Of the national
income, much higher than I'm the
years 1909 TO 1918 inclusive. and
labor paid no income taxes
therefrom, so To speak. Who,
then, were the profiteers i'm
1918:
"Mr. Roosevelt, In his speech
the other night. said that some
business men thought that we
ought to carry on business as
usual. and this was all wrong.
Mr.. Roosevelt expects business
TO make a tremendous sacrifice
and TO let labor go Its own in
fationary way"
Here my correspondent WAKES
a little too hot in his Indignation
even for this column. But on his
main point he is perfectly cor
rect. II is absurd not TO include
labor under the wage ceilings,
and the reason that absurdity is
practiced is pure cringing fear
Of its political power.
Distributed by King Features synd.. Inc.
pcnvoaurtfov, A., y,kot. - A. ~art