Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-10-21

10 prevent collective increases in
even the smallest salaries, the
rules he set will allow individual
increases for practically any
purpose the employer seeks TO
set.
So also with the restriction OF
big incomes to So, 600 net
year. The only way the order
can be enforced is 10 prevent
corporations from taking tax de-
auctions on salaries paid to.
executives above that figure. II
the corporation chooses to pay
the tax. apparently 1t can also
pay the salary.
Thus Justice Byrnes seems to
be working up a formula which
is little easier than those con-
sidered in the public debate. GER
tainly much easier than an arbi-
trary freezing, and no one can
yet safely predict its overall
effect upon wages. although it
must be assumed the average
Will slowly rise.
MIR. WENDELL WILLkI E
A'A seems to be running some
place fast. but the bordering
polticos here are wondering
where.
Naturally, in view Of the gen.
eral direction he is travelling.
there has been speculation that
he may wind up in Mr.. Roose-
velt'S cabinet, some say as
secretary of state, some as war
secretary. when and if Judge
Paterson, the heir apparent
there, is appointed TO the Su-
preme Court bench.
In such talk, the seriousness
OF the recent pointed interna-
tional conversations b e t ween
MesSrs. Willkie and Roosevelt
are discounted. The second front
dispute certainly served no per-
manent evil. 1t must have made
Stain happy and caused
Churchill TO remember the idea.
One thing he has continuously
done since the last campaign is
10 correct the apprehenSions of
the New York radicals. who
thought him a barefoot boy of
Wall Street, instead of Rush
vile. Along that line his prog
resS has been continuous. but in
that progress he has lost Re-
publican support and ceased. in
fact, 10 be the leader of any
party.S
The only safe prediction is
that the breeze will grow before
IL dimlnishes.
GONE people suspect this is a
~ corporation tax bill. True.
IT proposes TO collect only ST.
300,000000 more from corpora
tons and more than three times
as much. or $4,900,000,0OO from
individuals.
But IFS top average corpora
ton rate (which will hit the big
corporations like United States
Steel and General Motors), is 80
per cent, and. as they are gen.
orally operating under govern
ment orders, restricting their
profits supposedly 10 6 per cent,
the bill means roughly that they
VIII be allowed 10 earn 20 per
cent of 6 per cent.
Consequently, while the stock
market has been shaking off its
Chronic despair -resaltef
the bill, and the market men
are saying the bill means busi-
ness IS going 10 have profits
which will continue 10 increase
slightly as production swings
into its highest gear. there are
no reasons for corporate cheers.
As for what il does 10 the
individual taxpayer. the most
extreme statement yet printed is
not exaggerated
nNE Of the old stories now go
" ing around. with a new war
twist. is that the government is
letting the banks issue paper
money against nothing more
than government bonds. The
inference is that money is being
inflated artificially. as well as
through price-wage increases.
Under the present system of
issuing money, the treasury de-
posts a gold certificate in the
federal reserve banks and money
is issued against that certificate.
The federal reserve banks may,
upon the approval of the treas
ury and the Federal Reserve
Board. issue other money up TO
so cents on the dollar with bond
backingl N
But today the amount of gold
held by the treasury is far above
the value of outstanding cur
rency. so there has been no di-
rect initiation from that source.
The real value of the dollar
today is fixed by Mr.. Henderson.
not by bookkeeping devices, but
by decreeing the price 10 be paid
for the food we eat and the
wage we receive for our work.
We have gone far beyond cur
rency manipulation into COM
pletely managed economy.
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