The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-05-07

than yelled white slave recruiting drives to procure women for the soldiers and sailors Of the armed services. If there is any suppress sion of civil liberties in squelchinG people who spread stun like this bring on Hitlerisln.
 Lt.-Gen. Brehon Somervell com mander of the Service of Supply and his experts say it's impossible to make any accurate calculations of how many workers are needed behind the fines to keep one soldier in the field. There have been un- official estimates running from three to lS. The top figure is ob- viously ridiculous, for on that basis an army of 10 million men would need 18O million workers in reserve and the total population of the country, including babies, is only 130 million.
 In the first World War, just be- fore the armistice, the A. E. F. had about two million men, 36 per cent of whom were in the Service of Sup ply. This being a mechanized or gadget war, the supply problem is more complicated, and the ratio may be higher. But the effort is being made to keep that ratio as low as possible.
 If you want a rough guess of how you'll be fixed at the end of this year or a year later here's one official economic guess from the Henderson staff: By the end of 1942 tke standard of living will be down to what 1t was in 1885. A year' later, 1t wall be back to the level of 1882.
 LEAKY NIAGARA
 Big Washington news has a way of leaking out long before 1t is of- ficially announced. A lot of it doesn't leak down the gully, but the trickles indicate what's com ing. That was particularly true on the recently announced General Maximum Price Regulation. The leaks on this schedule were so fre- quent and SO many that Dexter Keezer, administrator of the Con- sumers' division, dubbed it "The Niagara of Leaks"
 
 The War Labor Board, which IS supposed to settle the labor con- troversies that can't Ee conciliated, is up to its neck. The board has had about 125 cases referred to it for settlement, some 25 of them being inherited from the reorgan- ized National Defense Mediation Board. The board has settled only 30-odd cases.
 Price Administrator Leon Hen- derson every now and then has to get into what he calls. a lecture on economies to explain some of the background for his anti-infia- tionary moves. "A lot of people, i" he says, "have had to take courses in Henderson I or Henderson IT." BATTLE IN BOLIVIA
 If the Board of Economi: War fare were of a mind to do 50, it might issue communiques. just as the army and navy do. telling of battles fought on the fields of in. ternational big business.
 For instance, here is one of the engagements for which the eco- homie warrior strategistg might have to map battle lines soon: Ar gentina. unable to get her usual rubber supplies from the United Stateg. has been sending rubber buyers into Bolivia to scout for native crude rubber, in eompeti- ton with U. S. buyers. To beat the Argentinos, several attacks might be made. First, Argentina might be guaranteed a certain per- centage of her normal nanufac- tured rubber imports from the U. s. Or, U. 6. buyers might make a deal to buy all the rubber Bolivia can produce, thus freezing AFgen- tina out of the market. Or, long- term contracts must be offered Bo- liviap producers by U. s. buyers, at prices higher than Argentina can pay ard with bonuses for amounts delivered over contract quotas, to encourage production and make the Argentine buyers work more difisult.
 See History 0f Economic War for Survival, yet to be written, as to hoW 1t all comes out, and a thou. sand other battles just like t, only