Evening star., 1941-04-18

In these cues David Lawrence.
tions depends whether the American
economic system is going to be
demoralized in the next 18 months
to such an extent that the planned
economy" advocates and the public
ownership devotees who are still in
fuential in President Roosevelt's
third term administration will look
upon the consequent chaos as JUS
tification for the start of what might
be called system of national
socialism.
Administration officials are pretty
touchy when labels are applied to
them, and the fact is they are not
deliberately embarked on any pro-
gram to upset the system of private
initiative, but they are handling so
clumsily the economic side of our
war preparations that, even though
they may be sincerely anxious to
prevent it, they are going to bring
on a situation which may never be
ameliorated when the war is over.
Bungle Labor Problem.
The reason is that in the Govern
ment today the right hand does not
know what the left is doing. The
blunders in handling the labor
problem have been camoufaged and
soft-pedalled. The administration
has shown itself timid about labor
1t has had about one answer to all
labor disputes - give the strikers
their way, permit compulsory union
ization, and when violence occurs,
pass the buck to the States.
Within the last fortnight two
major industries have undergone
a surgical operation. One is steel
and the other is coal. In the matter
of steel, wage increases have been
looked upon with favor by the ad-
ministration and these have been
granted. Now when the industry
wants to move the price up, the
administration announces it will
"crack down" and use some form
Of coercion vaguely derived from
abstractly worded laws. AS for the
coal strike, the C. I. o. again had
its way and wage increases are
being ordered, but the adminis-
tration is reported to be ready,
through the rice-hxing machinery
of the Guffey Coal Act Commission
here, to tolerate a price increase.
But, supposing prices are held
down and profits are cut by reason
of the enormous increases in pay
roll. Where will that leave the tax
collectors of the United States
Treasury? Secretary Morgenthau
has just announced that he expects
a new law to collect a third more
taxes next year above the existing
rates. Somebody is going to have
to pay that bill and, If corporate
profits are confiscated, there will
have to be sales taxes and other
levies reaching into the laboring
mans pay envelope. This, being
political, is avoided for the time
being.
The idea of substantially increas-
ing the output per man and thus
reducing costs even as wages are
increased doesn't appeal to the ad-
ministration, because 1t has never
had the temerity to tell labor it
must do anything to cooperate
beyond a pious expression here and
there. No steps have been taken to
accelerate the output per man per
hour. Indeed, losses of man-hours
due to strikes are CLOSED over by
the highest Government officials.
Can Burst Bonds.
This sort of refusal to face facts
cannot last long. Sooner or later
prices have q way Of sky-rocketing,
not because of the law of supply
and demand alone, but because of
q fear that the Government itself
Is incompetent as handler Of fiscal
affairs.
All the rest of the world, which
Is at war, has found it necessary
TO lengthen hours and increase out
put per man. But in America time
and-a-half for overtime, which
raises the cost, is enc0uraged on
the theory that 'labor-as-usual"
can 90 on indefinitely, even when
investors are about to be deprived
of customary returns on their
savings.
Again, sooner or later, this bum
Cling with national defense eco
nomics will come cropper and the
Nation will find itself with tre-
mendous debt and a price level
of an infationary character which
can undermine seriously the Amer
lean capacity for recuperation once
the war is over.
May Lose on Home Front.
The Nation is trying to remain
united behind the President. Thus
far he has shown himself bold in
international policy and on the
alert to head off Hitler's dream
of world conquest. But he retains
in his cabinet men who preach
hatred and class disunity and he
has put into key positions in the
defense program men who have
shown themselves hostile to indus
try or incompetent as admins
traitors in Government. The So
called dollar-a-year men really
have no power. They are over
shadowed by New Dealers and, as
long as this is the case, there can
be no enthusiasm among indus
trialists for a maximum, all-out
effort. Mr.. Roosevelt may lose this
war on the home front because
his leadership has not yet risen
to the point of treating all groups
alike and putting the most eff
cient men III the highest posts ir-
respective of whether they have
been champions of his political or
reform programs.
When the President asks labor
10 make sacrifices comparable to
those he is forcing upon industry,
he will be amazed at the unity
which his program will command
from every quarter. For at pres
ent the rank and file of labor Is
willing to cooperate, and only the
profiteering union organizers and
some of the high-salaried national
labor chieftains are standing In
the way of progress by playing
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