Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-04-26
BY HUGH s. JOHNSON

eSSdry 10 increase produce
ton of war materials must be
made. There is no opposition at
10 that. The American peo-
pie need no Paul Revere on that
principle. But the phrase what
ever is necessary" must be made
10 mean something definite.
II is easy enough for men sud-
denly pushed into responsibility
for industrial decentralization
10 go the easy route-to say ut
doesn't make any difference now
what may be the eventual roper
cuSsion of confscatory taxes on
our economic system. We will
boost them TO The skies. -
This will take away from all
classes of people money 10 spend
for the usual attributes off not
necesSitiesl of American life
and make more industrial capa-
city available for war produc-
ton.
1t is easy also for them to say
"cut automobile Tor some other)
production 20 per cent. Make
it harder for people to buy auto
mobiles by shortening the usual
period of loans to pay for them"
- 1t is easy. too, by too arbi-
trary an application of the pow
erful principle of priorities to
choke off much or all of the
process of American production
and consumption for civilian
uses.
OUCH is the kind Of urging
~ that is coming out of Wash
ington in a chorus from OPM
gentlemen which is swelling in
volume.
If it is necessary for our nor
NAL economic system to go into
indefinite Information. without
regard to consequences at the
end, no voice will be raised in
protest. least of all this voice.
But, easy as they seem, are
these the necessary first steps
in going about this business
Are they wise and prudent
steps in the winning of the war?
Above all, are they intelligent
steps in view of as great a goal
survival of the war?
make bold to doubt it. There
is a wealth of recorded expert
ence left over from 1918. Some
thing of this sort was done then.
When the smoke cleared away,
il became clear that, in many
respects, in panic, hysteria and
bad managerial engineering we
put an unnecessary crimp in our
economic system from which it
has never yet quite recovered.
1T IS generally conceded in
Il Washington that, while we
have crowded a few great in
duStrial corpor ions with
mountainous orders, a vast num-
Der of small foundries and forg-
ing, machining and manufac-
turing plants are left with little
buSiness-and some of that de-
clining.
While steps to control over
ordering. unnecessary building
up of stock-piles and even some
conservation and substitution of
uses of such strategic commodi-
ties as steel. tin and aluminium
have belatedly begun, they are
not yet producing much effect.
The emphasis has been on the
cry of shortage and eliminate
all but war production.
Proper price control can be
many times more effective in
preventing initiation and reduc-
ing costs than any conceivably
possible tax program. We are
moving in that direction too. but
again lamentably late and not
yet effectively.
4 Ii these things had been
"A spelt out in A b G language
by = NJ. Baruch and others for
a year--two years before any
attention was paid TO them and
not enough attention is being
paid yet. 1t IS so much easier
to raise taxes and cut off civilian
consumption.
one of Mr.. KnudSen'S assist
ants, Nj. Bait, told industry re-
Gently to stop thinking about
what would happen after the
war Maybe that is good advice
for industry. but it is a rotten
psychology for men in charge of
industrial production.
In the war itself, civilian NOR
ale IS Just as important as mill
taTy morale.
After the war. civilian morale
is everything. and preservation
Of our economic system to the
maximum extent consistent with
present productive efficiency is
absolutely necessary to the
pcrmanence of both our political
and economic system in the
great crisis in world trade which
Is bound TO follow. this volcanic
human eruption-no matter
which side wins.