The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-11-13
THE GREAT
GAME OF
POLITICS .. .
Copyright by The Baltimore Sun and
reprinted in The Republican by per-
mission,
THE WORST CASE
By FRANK r. KENT

he WORSl NAOE
The fumbling with the price-con-
troll problem presents the worst case of
muddleheaded incompetency that the
defense effort upon which we are now
engaged has yet produced. That is
good deal to say, but there is consid-
cradle evidence to support the state
ment.
The unhappy manner in which this
very vital business has been-and is
being-handled exhibits all the least
attractive traits of this Administra-
ton. 1t shows its craven attitude to-
ward the labor professionals. 1t testi-
fies to the dreadful confusion of
thought among its most conspicuous
officials. 1t reveals the petty vanity
and small jealousies in the White
House, where advice is rejected be-
cause it comes from an independent
source and the teachings of expert
ence are disregarded because they
compel acknowledgment of error.
= =
Here is a question the prompt and
proper settlement of which is i'm
portant to every man, woman and
child in the country. 1t is being dealt
with in a way that might create
public revolt-and would if for eight
years the public had not been anesthe-
tized by New Deal complacency and
economic Stiffness. The inexcusable de-
lay, for which Congress must share
responsibility with the White House,
in acting upon this price-control prob
lem has vastly enhanced it's difficulties
and greatly increased the dangers of
the imitation which everybody recog-
nizes can become a disaster second
only to war itself.
***
Partly this delay can be blamed on
Congress, but the other features which
have contributed to the almost in
credible botch which now exists can
not be. They lie squarely upon the
White House doorstep. The record is
too long to review in full here. All
there is space now to present. are the
outstanding mistakes which have led
up to a situation in which all those
with any degree of authority are
sitting around wringing their hands
in a wholly helpless fashion. The
first of these mistakes was the selec-
ton by the President as the man to
direct this indispensable activity-and
to whom must be entrusted life
and-death power over business-of
New Deal radical with an inherent
hostility to business and nothing what
ever in his record to justify belief in
his fitness for so great task.
$685.
The second mistake was in the
Presidential attitude which prohibited
any attempt to regulate or control the
rise of food prices and wages. First,
Mr.. Roosevelt inaugurated his move to
avert imitation by putting in charge
of price regulation an egotistic the
orist. He then imposed conditions that
would render futile the efforts of the
most competent and experienced man
in the country. The result has been
unprecedented delay and confusion,
with the experienced authorities, such
as Mr., B. M. Baruch, urging the neces-
sity of flexible ceiling over all prices,
including wages and food, and the
New Dealers, who live in fear of the
labor and farm Hobbies, insiting that
wages and food prices must not be
touched.
In the meantime, Canada, after
years trial of the piecemeal scheme
which this Administration now adj
vocates, has abandoned that idea as
Intellectual and boldly adopted the
flexible ceiling over all prices, includ-
ing wages and food which has been
urged by Mr.. Baruch for ten years.
Logically, it would seem that this
would settle the question of procedure
in this country. 1t would seem that
we would not want now to adopt a
plan which another nation has lust
tried out and found futile 1t would
seem that we would now drop the
plecemeal plan and go directly to the
other plan, in the soundncss of which
most detached authorities concur.
That would be the logical thing to
do; but that is not the way in which
this Administration operates. Its first
reaction to the tremendously signif-
cant Canadian announcement was not
to consider how best to avail ourselves
of the Canadian experience and avoid
the Canadian mistake but how best to
avoid conceding that we are on the
wrong track-and are about to repeat
the Canadian mistake, despite warn
ings from inside as we'll as out. This
week the two most articulate of the
Administrations economists - Mr.
Leon Henderson and Mr. Isador Lu-
bin-ruShed to the front with arpu