Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-03-13
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON

~ like a lot of jack to be leas-
ing, lending or giving Britain to
help her save herself from Hit
Ter. Actually. the figure is not
so important now that we have
decided on about aid. 1t is I'M
questionably just an overall
figure plucked from the air. 1t
couldn't possibly be result OF
statistical estimates OF specified
munitions.
In the first place. nobody
knows what direction the war
will take or what we shall be
called upon to send or where.
In the second place. 1t is impos-
sible to spend seven billions
more than have already been
contracted for in one fiscal year
or two.
In this uncertainty, the adj
ministration decided to make
the figure high enough to give it
a free hand in any direction
and. since Congress has decided
to do that, the outside figure OF
seven billions was probably the
wisest and frankest request that
could have been made.
THE administration already
l. has authority to spend 81
billions for American defense
and has been trying to spend it
by steam shovel methods. and
yet its estimates for total spend
ing to the year ending June 80.
1941. is only ga billions and,
according TO Mr.. Arthur Krock.
for the next year ending June
30, 1912, only 1913 billions-and
it is spending as furiously as
possible.
1t is inconceivable that many
of these seven billions could be
spent in addition for good
many months to come. Finally.
if there is a tendency to goose
pimples about this stupendous
figure-seven billion dollars-we
lease-loaned a larger amount,
90 billions. in the last war and
never batted an eye.
1t may be said:
"Oh, that was q loan OF
money"
AS a matter of fact, about all
that was ever paid back was
equaled by our postwar loans.
public and private. most of
which were defaulted. AS a
matter of further fact. much of
it was just about what is pro-
posed here. We sent more NUM-
tons than dollars abroad.
There is one way in which we
could spend that money. We
learned it in the World War
That is to permit price imitation
in the months ahead. In that
way. we could spend the bill
lions easily enough and we
would have to pay them back
but we wouldn't get the goods.
NOR example, in 1918 and 1919.
L we did manage to spend the
prodigious sums of 1913 and ia
billions. But in terms of pre-
war dollars, that bought IN
warlike goods just IA billions
worth and S.5 billions worth.
respectively. II that could have
been prevented re-wetiia- have
saved about 13 billions. The
lesson from all that is that an
appropriation of 7 billion dollars
for Britain isn't half so disas-
trous and important as pre-
venting a runaway price struc-
ture on our own markets.
We are not doing much about
this except rot of talking.
There are a good many forces
working that slipped war
initiation over on us in 1917; inn
pending shortages, federal cost
plus contracts and frantic
counter-bidding for a dwindllng
supply of labor in some areas.
such as those that doubled the
estimated costs of the canton
ments. A good many labor
leaders say that profits of busi-
ness are soaring and that labor
is entitled through higher wages
to its share in the gravy. That
is one sure way to still higher
prices.
No one of these and similar
forces may mean much sepa-
rately. but put them all to-
gether and they can mean a
lot. The annual reports of most
great corporations show higher
gross profits than last year but
after deduction of greatly in
creased taxes, net earnings are
about the same.
We learned toward the close
of the last war how to control
and even reduce initiation but IT
requires a wise. combined and
determined effort on many
fronts-organiZation of industry
TO integrate it with government.
wide system of priorities,
price control and conservation
and substitution of uses. 1t re-
quireS an adequate organization
for the cooperation of labor and
management. All this is being
more clearly recognized but
almost nothing has been done
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