The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-12-31
account for a 20 per cent rise.
THIRTEEN BILLION EXTRA

THIRTEEN BILLION EXTRA
From a larger. national point
Of view. IL shapes up like this;
Some SCI billion have now been
appropriated for national de-
Tense. Since the beginning Of
the war in Europe, September,
1889. prices Of everything have
gone up about per cent a
month. Thus the cost Of the de-
tense effort, on the basis of s67
billion appropriations, is sl3
billion more than it would be
If prices remained level. And
If the Victory defense program
requires an expenditure of some
$3.50 billion. then the initiation
airy overhead might amount to
more than the entire cost Of the
last war. s37 billion.
As of September. 1871. the
country was in relative economic
balance. Increases in the costs
Of living were absorbed by in
creased wages paid out Of in
creased profits and earnings
which resulted from using the
country's productive capacity to
the fullest. For 1912. however,
there Is an apparent SIT billion
supply of consumers goods. with
an SSS billion demand. The diff
ference Is the So billion initiation
airy gay which needs control.
Price control is not enough.
ALLEGATION of materials for
civilian uses, control of savings
or excess spending capacity and
other similar measures must be
taken to keep this inflationary
gay from getting out of hand.
A tax which would absorb this
IS billion has been suggested,
but Henderson points out that
anything of that sort would be
good bit like rain. falling on
the just as well as the unjust.
If the United States is to
wage war calling for increased
production, il must do as every
other country already in the war
has done and control that pro-
duction. Loss of control of the
productive capacity in Italy,
says Henderson, is probably
more damaging than British
bombs.
UP TO SENATE
That being the case, the need
for control over all elements of
the cost of living becomes a
little more understandable, and
it is with this preface that the
u. S. Senate begins considera-
ton of price control legislation.
The price control bill passed by
the house and sent to the senate
is generally admitted to be total
ly inadequate.
The Senate Committee on
Banking and Currency. which
takes over the job that the
house bungled, has q much more
intelligent grasp of the problem.
1t was apparent at the opening
sessions of the committees
hearings at which Leon Hender-
son testified, that the senators
Glass, Barkley, Maloney, Dow
ney, Taft, and the others-had
some appreciation OF the fact
that the cost of living was an
important element in the cost
of the war and that more defense
could be secured In making the
dollars buy more through price
control than by permitting in
flation TO make the dollars buy
less.
What this means is simply
that if the cost of living is per-
mitted TO go up, then wages
must be permitted to go up to
meet the increased cost Of liv-
ing. Increased wages mean only
costs of war.
The traditional congressional
farm policy has been to let
prices rise. Unless this is
changed, and some Sort of disci-
pine put on the prices of farm
products, then the country Is in
for a repetition of World War
experience in which the cost Of
living rose more than ITO per
cent.