Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-02-07
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON

W MY old Duddy, Leon Hen
~ derson, told the lumber indus
try that $50 a thousand was an
outrageous price for southern
pine, that SIS was enough, that
if they didn't get the price down
he was going to do something
about it - and then stamped
angrily not only out of the room
but out of Washington.
/ think Leon was about 100
per cent right on his facts and
intentions-that, somehow. this
tendency toward soaring prices
must be socked every time 1t
sticks its head up and that,
exactly as in World War I, it
has already started, among other
places. in wholly unjustifiable
lumber prices.
But to control this danger,
government has got TO get in
step with itself Leon must
have forgotten that he. was not
back in his old NRA days. when
government could talk TO indus
try as a unit and tell il, as
Leon frequently and properly
did, TO police and discipline
itself and. in the public interest.
to purge its membership of i'm
proper practices.
He could do that then because
NRA made such joint action by
government and any organized
industry lawful.
TT is lawful no longer. Leon
L should have a little talk with
Thurman. The latter, Mr.. Arnold.
is trying to put industrial gents
in jail-or at least getting grand
jury indictments against respec-
table citizens for potential
felonies-if they act as an indus
try to do. for example. what
Leon commanded the lumber
industry to do.
There is a basic fault here
which NRA tried to solve. No
other nation condemns outright
all industry-wide agreements as
combinations in restraint of
trade All other industrial
countries condemn only such
agreements as are mot in the
public interest"
The NRA formula was that
such codes and combinations to
which the government itself was
n ~ oil Hxs &c
quest or explicit approval. should
not be regarded as violations of
the Sherman and Clayton acts.
4 NY other policy, especially in
"a great emergencies. such as
that which NRA addressed. or in
war, is simple lunacy. At such
times, industry must be mobi-
lied.
Industries must act as one al
the governments beheSt. No
industry can do that under
Thurman Arnold's conception
The 1918 War Industries Board
got that kind of universal team
work. The attorney general. TO
make a defensive record, kept
writing Mr.. Baruch letter each
month pointing out that what
he was doing violated those acts.
The attorney general was an
ardent huntsman. Mr.. Baruch's
South Carolina home. Hobcaw,
has the best quail shooting in
the world and fairly good duck
marsh. After no response 10
several letters. Mr.. Baruch
finally scrubbed across the face
of one:
1--WE are at war. II you ever
help the Kaiser by another
letter like that you'll never
shoot another quail or duck at
Hobcaw."
TT is simple truth and we shall
i never be able TO mobilize for
defense until it is recognized.
Mr. Henderson, Mr.. Knudsen
and the rest must be imple-
mented What the government
itself requires the companies in
any industry in combination TO
do for national defense must
be exempted from the antitrust
acts, or we are going to fail
1t must be done by statute
and not left to the independent
courage of such men as B. NJ.
Baruch to stick their heads into
moose if they are to accom-
plish the country's business in
the only way it can be done.
Copyright, 1871. by United Feature
Syndicate, Inc.