Evening star., 1941-04-20
Rapid Changes
Signal Opening
OF New Era
Higher Toxes, Wages,
Price Fixing, Auto
Rotioning Cited
BY FRANK MAC MILLEN,
Associated presg Financial Writer.


broke with head-swim swiftness this
week to make ever clearer the out
lines of the new America in which
we are coming to live-a war-torn
world wherel ong fixed personal and
business habits are iolte5 daily into
new patterns.
Higher taxes, higher wages. price
fixing, rationing of automobiles and
abandonment of new models for
1943, all moved across the headlines
in diZzying succession.
Here are some Of the things that
happened to old habits and ways of
doing business in the past seven
days.
/. For the first time since the
motor car became ordinary mode of
daily transportation, production is
to be restricted below demand-by
a million cars or 20 per cent begin
ming next fall perhaps more later
and the man with money in his
pocket may not be able to get the
car he wants when he wants it.
General Motors announced new
models for l943 would be dropped
to conserve men and materials for
defense.
2. Plans were laid to boost taxes
25 to so per cent for individuals
and business concerns with the aim
of raising one-third Of the record
sl9,00O00O0OO budget for Federal
expenditures for defense and
Government in the year beginning
next June 30.
Result Is Awaited.
3. Wage boosts totalling more than
S100 100000 went to workers in the
Nations steel plants and many mil
| lions more to coal miners, as
economists and business men spec
ulated whether this pay raise in the
"backbones of industry" was to be
the signal for a general upward
spiral of wage levels and prices.
a. For the first time since The
World War, and for the only time
in peace, the Government interviewed
to freeze" the price of the chief
industrial metal, steel.
5. Business men got for the first
time an actual picture of what's the
Governments new emergency powers
(other than the taxing power could
mean to profits when the price
freeze in steel was decreed almost
on the heels of the 10 cents-an-hour
wage boost An expected increase
in steel prices died aborning The
load went on profits and to operat-
T,1rr 1RE E1T1
of directly on the user of steel.
6. Statisticians who had made
early calculations that Americans in
1910 would receive the enormous
total of $4,000 100000 in salaries
and wages, about the same as in the
last big boom year 1929, began to
revise their estimates to higher
figures which would break all
I records.
The mere speed with which these
events came left many of their i'm
plicationS vague in the minds of
businessmen, but some of the details
became clear.
Materials to Be Freed.
AS the Government gave its hold
| back order to motor car makers
they were known to be preparing
to release valuable materials for the
| peak load of arms production, which
| probably will come some time next
year, and to free skilled workers
/ for a feared shortage later.
A million pleasure cars fewer
means these things which can be
turned into tanks, guns, planes,
ships and military transportation:
/ 1.437.262 tons of steel, 1860 tons
of rubber, 28,230000 square feet OF
plate glass, 5,035 tons of aluminium,
| 26,400 tons Of copper, 2,400 tons of
| tin, 54.700 tons Of lead. 1920 tons
of zinc, 4,796000 pounds of nickel.
Even the cut of 100000 cars in
the industry's output would leave
100000 cars to sell to the public.
! which is more than have been sold
on the average in recent years, but
/ considerably fewer than are cur
rently moving to the public, and
probably a still smaller percentage
of what rising employment and pay
rolls will make car buyers want later.
Tax proposals still were in the
formative stage and Washington re-
ports indicated President Roosevelt
might bring some definite figures
to the country shortly in a fire.
side chat.
Wall Street, however, which has
followed Washington discussions
closely, thought changes something
like this might be in the making:
| Individual incomes-A raise to 5
| or 6 per cent from the present 4
/ per cent normal tax; higher sur
taxes, and other changes, all de.
signed to increase the amount due
from the taxpayer
| Corporation incomes-A hike in
the normal income tax to 30 per cent
from "a and lower exemptions and
credits allowed against the excess
profits tax
Excise taxes-Higher rates on
liquor, gasoline, cigarettes, auto
mobiles, radios and refrigerators and
levies on some consumption items