Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-11-08
Baruch Plan
Denounced by
New Dealers
johnson Says Price Bill
Calls for Courage
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON

PEPOHTS are that the anti
~ imitation price-control bill.
under presidential urging. is now
to extend a ceiling over all
prices. including wages and
farm prices.
That would be very encourage
ing-except for a single circum-
stance. News reports to this
effect persist in calling this ex-
tension The Baruch Plan"
So far as the now triumphant
extreme New Dealers in charge
of the defense effort are con-
cerned. il might as well be called
the Bubonic Plague Plan.
They have their own ideas
about industrial mobilization. 1t
Is a common saying among them
that they don't want TO be fight
ing a 1871 war on a 1918
formula.
They have other ways to con-
troll prices.
ONE way is TO increase taxes.
" Low taxes may now make
high prices and high taxes make
low prices, but If so il is the
first time in the history OF the
world. Nevertheless that is how
ii is going to be.
Mr.. Morgenthau wants TO have
employers nick 10 per cent 10
Is per cent out of workers pay
envelopes. He wants to call part
OF IL taxes and part increases in
social security and then spend
large parts to give away TO
Britain. China and Russia. He
says this will keep prices down.
One thing sure. IL will keep
wages down. Whether il will
keep prices down without price
control bill also is guess-work
and my guess is that IL is ridicu-
lous to suppose.
I SHOULD think that the av-
erage man or woman would
say:
81 don't want to see you make
any guinea pig out of my pay
envelope. Suppose you use the
simple and tried method that Is
presented to you to keep prices
down by keeping them down -
by direct action.
Then tell me what my part
Il In paying defense taxes. But
don't take this chance of jimmy
Ing prices up and cutting wages
down ut the same time. We've
got enough chances to take.
And another thing dent
want my employer acting for
you to be telling me how 10
spend my money. I work for Il
and earn II. The check-off In
bad enough In labor union prac-
tice for labor dues.
IF the government once starts
forcing the boss to check-off my
pay for everything IL happens TO
decide, at the end of the year,
I'm soon going to look like
share-cropper In parts OF the
cotton belt and will owe some
body two months pay"
THERE is hardly an impartial
u and competent observer that
does not know that you can't
control initiation without con-
trolling all elements of initiation
Including wages and farm prices.
But for reasons just stated.
even IL the President can swal-
low the words "Bar1lch Plan"
this plain common sense is not
apt TO be adopted.
One reason is the one lust
stated-the cocky arrogance of
some of our professional think
ers."
30 Another is the selfish habit of
each strong pressure group to
advocate sacrifices for all other
groups but none for itself. Mr..
Wallace. Mr.. Wickard and Mr..
O'Neil for the farmers are taxi
ing a high-minded and patriotic
attitude about a farm price
ceiling.
OUT some powerful congress
- sional representatives of
farm states are not. Almost
nobody in the labor-pressure
groups seems willing 10 give an
inch on this or any other con-
cession. A.
Is there any hope? Only IL
the President would take a fear
less fortnight stand. In that
he could unity the country. His
lilo speech was logical and
beautiful.
But logic and beauty won't do
this trick. He has got to be
what he once described himself
TO be:
"A tough guy on the model Of
the barracuda and the shark"
Distributed by King Features synd.. Inc.
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