Evening star., 1941-10-19
HitIer's Policies May Be
Used in America
BIZ ODen L. Scott.

OHlItu 0ldIeS Is ILlc
same kind of order
In the years since 1888. Hitler has is
sued order after order designed to cur
tail every activity not related to war
preparation or to war. In the months
ahead, the United States Government
is going to issue order after order that
will look like the same kind Of orders
that Hitler issued
AS a result, the cry Is going to arise
that this country is only doing what
Hitler did and, If that is the case, why
be excited by what Hitler did or is doing?
The answer is: OF course, the United
States is doing and is going to do what
Hitler did in organizing Germany for
war.
That isn't the point. The point is this:
Hitler's idea is that the sort Of economic
organization required to run a modern
war is the kind of economic organization
that should be in effect all of the time.
This country and Great Britain. al
though doing somewhat haltingly what
Hitler has been doing for the past eight
years, hope that the organization they
are creating will be only temporary and
that there someday can be return to
situation in which government does a
minimum of directing.
Another point is that if Hitler controls
Europe and if Japan gains control over
the richest areas of the Far East. then
the people of the United States can ex-
pect to operate for very long time to
come under the sort of government
controlled economy that is being built
for the present emergency. In fact, this
country can just about make ups its mind
to permanent operation Of that kind.
The reason is that in world in which
vast areas are operated on a govern
ment-controlled basis there is little if
any place for nation which tries to
operate without much the same sort of
controls The United States has been
coming to that rather painful conclusion
ever since 1888. Today's emergency is
forcing this country to act on that con-
clusion by creating what will look rather
like duplicate of the machinery which
Hitler created.
The machinery includes the following:
l. Priority control. This will take
many forms and have profound effects.
Its purpose is TO direct the energies of
the Nation to a particular objective
this time TO armament-and to divert
energies from activities that do not pro-
mote that objective. For example. by
controlling construction the Govern
ment can prevent expansion of plant in
industries that do not bear on war
preparation At the same time 1t can
direct the flow of materials into the war
industries and away from other in
dustrles. The others suffer but the war
industries grow and gradually absorb
the workers and the plants that formerly
were producing things for peace-time
use.
2. Price control. This is necessary to
keep the whole economic machine from
getting out of gear due to disturbances
created in part through use of priorities
and in part through the great expansion
that occurs in purchasing power due to
Government spending on a vast scale.
Priorities force curtailment Of many in
dustries that normally create things for
the public to buy. The resulting tanks
and battleships and airplanes and guns
are not for sale. Consequently, people
have a growing number of dollars to
spend and a diminishing volume of
goods on which to spend those dollars A
price rise is the almost mathematicauy
certain result unless ways are found to
divert and to control purchasing power.
There again. Government enters the pic
ture.
3. Investment control. It becomes es-
sential for the Government to have a
directing hand in determining what the
public and what the corporations do
with the funds that they have to invest,
either as result of savings or of profit.
Otherwise these funds might flow into
uses that, directly or indirectly, would
compete with the defense program for
commodities. Or those funds might Gre
ate speculative boom of one kind or
another as they seek an outlet There
already are warnings that land boom
is becoming a real danger.
4. Export and import control. II
Government is pushed into the task of
controlling industry and finance at home,
it must set up controls at the same time
to avoid an upset to its plans, either
through unplanned exports or through
imports of character that do not pro-
mote its objective.
All of these controls are used aggres-
sively by Hitler. The same sort of con-
trols now are being created in the
United States and are functioning with
increased effectiveness
! Hitler did an amazing job with his
controls. The German dictator took a
| country that was bankrupt and lacked
a large proportion of the essential raw
| materials. In eight years. by mobilizing
every resource and by playing upon the
weaknesses of other nations, he built an
| army that is the best in the world.
armed with a superabundance of weap-
ons of every kind and apparently sup
| piled with enough of the materials in
which Germany herself is so short.
What Hitler has been able to do is an
| object lesson in planning and in what
large nation can do when that nation
devotes its every energy to one purpose
The United States and the British
| Empire are incomparably richer in raw
materials, in industrial machinery and
in skills than is Germany even with her
control over Europe. But Germany
really is organized for war while both
| the British Empire and the United
States are just getting we'll under way
| in the job of mobilizing their energies.
| The United States in particular, is max