The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-05-14
. Clapper
A Few Statesmen See
Our Problems Accurately
Americans Fail 10 look
Ahead. Face Hsrdships
Drastic Changes in Our
Personal Lives Certain
BY RAYMOND CI.ArrER

WARRINGTON - To very
young congressman from Ten
nessee. Albert Gore. ought 70 20
. great deal Of credit for having
the backbone 10 propose a forced
savings plan in a political cam
paign. Maybe he gets that way
because he's from Cordell Hulrs
home town Of Carthage, but
however IT comes about. it's
what We can use some more Of
around Washington.
In the same bracket goes Sem
ator George of Georgia. who
comes up at the same time with
plan for a Withholding tax Of
five TO 10 per cent of all wages,
salaries and dividends
The point is neither the rela-
tive merits of the two plans nor
their specific details. which are
matters for expert study, but the
fact that here are two men.
youngster in the house and an
oldster in the senate. who are
paying no attention to politics
but are attending 10 the urgent
business Of facing a rough dose
Of ouinine. bitter m ed cine
though they know it is bound
TO be.
Our chief difficulties in this
war come out of the fsct that
we would not look ahead and do
the hard things when they need
ed to be done.
We are In for a most drastic
change In our personal lives be
cause We did not face the trans
portation problem in time. Gas
oline rationing Is necessary In
the east partly because We
fumbled a year or more ago with
regard to pipelines and tanker
building. Coal rationing Is In
prospects Travel Is going 10 be
cut down on the railroads.
Yet we are pouring gasoline
back into the oil wells. and are
letting it run off on the ground.
We are piling up surplus coal.
We have country spider
webbed with railroads and good
motor roads. We have all Of
the basic necessities TO provide
adequate transportation for the
country.
But we are going tn be worse
off than they are In Britain
before this IL over because we
did not plan far enough ahead.
We haggled over whether to
expand steel capacity, and now
can't build both ships and rail-
road cars because there isn't
enough steel. You can fill out
the rest of this story as well as
/ can. We all know now how
sound asleep we were two years
ago and one year ago.
The same sort Of thing is go
ing to happen to us in economic
matters that has happened to us
In industrial matters unless we
use more imagination and more
foresight. Talk Of a possible
rubber shortage sounded aca-
demic in 1910, when some were
beginning to be alarmed at the
danger. And talk Of uncontrolled
initiation sounds equally sca-
demic now. But surplus pur-
chasing power is flowing out all
over the country. 1t isn't
academic.
Senator George and Rep. Gore
know what is coming unless we
take some such drastic steps as
they suggest to compel war saw
ings. Some others high in the
government know it as well as
they do. But they hesitate to
speak out. Some Of them can't
speak out without crossing up
the president, and the president
wants to allow public sentiment
10 build up more before he begins
10 play with the bitter dose.
There isn't a man in congress
who, II he knows what Is going
on, doesn't know that sooner or
later a drastic move must be
taken. With at least 25 billion
dollars more of spending money
and at least IS billion dollars less
in goods to buy, the problem
states itself.
Excess money must be
scooped up. II won't be enough
10 urge everyone 10 buy war
bonds. Fixed sums must be taxi
en- BY CONSUMPTION. That is the
fair way, as rstioning is. Every
one is treated alike.
But sometimes il is hard IN
ace these things through the
haze of campaign dust