Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-08-28
None Know
Meaning Of
War Debt
Dollars Aren t Viewed
in Material Terms.
BY HUGH =. JOHNSON

WE ARE soon to have a lease
w lend bill of an amount eSti-
mated at from five 10 eight bll-
lion dollars TO add TO the old one
of eight billions Of which we
haven't begun To spend any Con-
siderable fraction
Add TO these tremendous
naval, marine and military tx
pendture, not all appropriated
for, but easily % billions.
ON top of this add whatever
il IS that Jesse Jones is going
10 do for Russia He is not going
TO "leaSe-lend" them equipment
emily iend Ltt1er1-UUt equip
mcnt-but money. What's tn @
difference? His authority TO do
tins is apparently unlimited and
If that were not 50, the Sudve,
Shrcwd Jesse could escape. or
lift whatever limit there may
be.
TO what does all this add up?
] don't know and nobody seems
10 care. If any one did care II
wouldn't de any good The
figures approach infnlty so
closely that the finite mind
can't comprehend them But IT
* tixualiy SAID thar so billions
of new spending Is an undercstl-
MATE and 100 billions of federal
-UCht certainty perhaps much
more.
I THINK few viii argue that
L this hundred billion or more
OF federal debt, added 10 Colos-
sal public debts of states cities
and counties can ever be Ic-
paid.
II so much is ever incurred IL
is bound 10 be repudlatcd, not
by a fortnight refusal TO pay.
hut devices that governments
have to-do such things do
valuation of the currency per-
uniting the value of government
bonds 70 decline appailngty
and making this intcrcst-bcar-
ING paper rcdecmablC AZ par IN
MISUNDERSTANDING paper cur
Icncy and so forth.
II Is a gloomy. terrible pros
pect for The savings The wages
The salaries and social->ccW'y
and other pensions and the IN
>uranCc policies of thpE poor
gloomy, bat not exaggerated
That. however isn't half The
picture OF the pinch 10 come
Dollars arc merely pokcr-chpS
for something more substantial
for the production If things
that people must consume or
have for the business of mere
existence for food, shelter
clothing and transportation
enough 70 keep out hunger
thirst and cold
If THE government begins by
L such spending, to take so
large a proportion OF all these
things il Is becoming clearer
daily that there IS not going 10
be- lott Tor our civil population
enough OF some OF them for
daily living
There must be a limit ~ot0c-
where some balance OF aC-
counts between what we can af-
ford 20 broadcast over tho >ur-
face of Tire globe and what a~
MINIMUM We must keep at
home VINO Is striking that ac-
count? Who is making that
balance?
II Is also becoming clearer
daily that Is the reason why az
TINS relatively early stage some
civilian supplies are cut off and
others threatened II was be-
cause. even on the modest pro-
gram 50 far attained nobody
had computed and planned what
, these grandioSe figures in dol
lars by the billions and produc-
ton IN millions Of tons meant
when converted into materials.
a .Ayr1vv it1U- programs and t4+--t44--
iScS Of dollars by the billions
and tonnage by the millions has
been multiplied, on paper many
times and still nobody has trans
lated II into quantities Of ma
tCralS or made any attempt 10
balance the scant supply against
the more neCcSSilOuS sccd> IN
Guiding. and never forget that It
must be included, al least "A sub
siStcnCc ration for our people.
We talk of taxes as a burden.
At least there * pretenSe of
( equality of burdens IN taxes
some regard for the capacity Of
the sources Of them But who
regards what an implanted ma
tcrIal program may do actually
10 wipe out the business OF mil
lions of small operators. the IN
come of their employees and 20
impose on every home burdens
OF want and hardship IN COmpar-
iSon with which the irritation Of
taxes would be hut as fly-blte
10 the sting of a cobra?
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