Evening star., 1942-04-27
To the Congress Of the United

States:
In certain ways the present
world encircling war presents
problems which were unimagin-
able during the first World War.
The theaters OF combat today
cover vastly greater areas. Many
more millions of human beings
are involved. The new factors
OF mechanical power, In the air
and on the land and on the sea.
have produced radical changes In
basic strategy and tactics.
In this new war the nations
resisting the Axis powers face an
even greater challenge 10 their
very existence. They fight more
powerful. more sinister foes. but
their understanding OF the mag
nitude Of the task and the very
hrmness Of their determination
make victory certain In the long
days TO come.
In some other ways. however,
the circumstances of today
parallel those OF 1915. Nov, as
In the last war, the common
enemy has had all the advantage
at the outset. Now. as then,
bitter defeats and heavy losses
must be endured by those who
are defending civilization, before
we will be able to establish the
vital superiority In men and
munitions which will turn the
tide.
The United States was far bet
ter prepared for actual war on
December 7, 1e4l, than 1t was on
April 9, 1917. For over two years.
by q succession OF congressional
acts, we had carried out or initi-
ated safety measures for our own
defense In growing volume and
importance. There were re-
visions of the neutrality laws, the
adoption OF tee selective service
law and the knd-lease law,
and the great increases Of our
Army and Navy and the instru-
ments of war which they needed.
War Effort Dislocates
American Way Of Life.
After Pearl Harbor, the Ameri-
can people adopted . national
program of war production which
would have been called fantastic
by most people two years before.
II has required the shifting Of the
major part of American industry
from the products of peace to
the weapons OF war.
Ineyitably-but with the full
approval OF the Nation-this
enormous program Is dislocating
industry, labor, agriculture and
finance. 1t Is disrupting, and will
continue to disrupt, the normal
manner Of life Of every American
and every American family. In
this, we repeat the pattern Of the
first World War, although on q
vastly greater scale.
During that earlier war there
were certain economic factors
which produced unnecessary
hardships; and these hardships
continued long after the signing
of the Armistice. I use the word
unnecessary" because 1t II my
belief that q very great deal OF
the suffering which wis caused
then can be avoided now.
These economic factors relate
prirpSfily TO an easily ulderstood
pirse which Affects 4Ae lives Of
all Of us-the cost of living. Be-
cause rises in the cost Of living
which came with the lASt war
were not checked In the begin
ming. people tn this country paid
more than twice as much for the
same things In 1920 as they did
In 1914.
The rise In the cost Of living
during this war has begun to
parallel the last. The time has
definitely come to stop the spiral.
And We can face the fact that
there must be . drastic reduction
in our standard Of living.
An-Embracing Program
Alone VIII SufIlce.
While the cost Of living, based
on the average prices OF neces-
saries, has gone up about Is per
cent, 30 far since the autumn of
1899, we must now act to keep 1t
from soaring another 30 per cent
or 90 per cent during the next
year or two--to hold 1t to some
where near the present level.
There are obvious reasons for
taking every step necessary to
prevent this rise. I emphasize
the words every step" because
no single step would b. adequate
by itself. Action in or direction
alone would be Offset inaction
in other directions. lily an all
embracing program will suflce.
When the cost of living spirals
upward week after week and
month after month. people as
q whole are bound to become
poorer, because the pay en-
velope will then lag behind rising
retail prices. The price paid for
carrying on the war by the Gov
eminent and, therefore, by the
people, will increase by many bill
lions II prices 60 up. Further
more, there is an old and true
saying that that which goes up
must always come down-and you
and I know the hardships and
heartaches we all went through
in the bad years after the last
war, when Americans were losing
their homes and their farms and
their savings and were looking
in vain for jobs.
We do not intend after this
war to present the same dis
astrous situation to those brave
men who today are fighting our
battles In all parts Of the world.
Safeguarding our economy ut
home Is the very least that our
soldiers, sailors and marines have
a right to expect of us civilians
in Government. In industry, on
the farm and In all other walks
of life.
We must therefore adopt as
one Of our principal domestic
detectives the stahilixation Of the
cost of living. for this is essen
tial to the fertilization of our
whole economic structure.