Evening star., 1942-08-09
Civilians Prosper
At Army, Navy Expense
Bu O1pen L. Scott.

Possible future hardships to be borne
by individual civilians and by civilian
industry continue to be the major con-
Germ of Congress and of high Govern
ment officials. At present this concern
about civilian prosperity appears to be
much greater than the concern over
inability to supply the Army and Navy
with the equipment needed to fight a
war.
People are being told over and over
again how much they are going to be
forced to suffer sometime in the future.
Donald M. Nelson has felt it necessary to
assure the public that as head of the
War Production Board he will see to it
that their essential needs" are met be-
fore the needs of the Army and Navy
are taken care Of Congress has voted
to divert steel that is vitality needed for
war to a superfluous program of making
rubber from alcohol.
Steel that is needed for weapons is to
be diverted to build pipeline so that
Eastern civilians may have more oil.
Congress and the White House balk at
rationing gasoline to conserve a vital
stockpile of rubber-needed by the mill
men who divide up the most vital war
material that any nation can possess-its
steel-have given so much of this prod
uct to civilian industries for purposes
that are regarded by military officials
as secondary, that war plants are having
to slow and at times come to close down.
All of this raises question concerning
just how much suffering American civil
tans are doing and how much they will
have to do in the next year or two in the
way Of living standard sacrifices. The
bare facts, so far as they can be ascer-
tanned, are these:
During this year, the American people
will buy and enjoy more food, clothing,
entertainment, liquor, hotel service, ga
rage service and more of all of those
goods and services than they ever en-
Joyed before in all of their history. It is
estimated that their bill for the goods
that they buy in stores alone will be
$45, 900, 100000 or nearly $4,000 100000
more than In the boom year 1941.
At the same time the American people
will buy retrigerators, houses, lawn moW-
ers, radios, washing machines and other
durable goods to the extent of S9,OOO.-
100000. This is $1,000 100000 less than
they bought In 1941 when there was the
greatest boom in consumers durable goods
IN history. Yet it is more in the way of
consumers durables than in almost any
other year OF prosperity. Goods Of that
kind last for many years. The country
is stocked up on them as it never was
before. Repair parts are plentiful if
household gadgets wear out. All in all
the picture IS not one of acute depression
or suffering
Then, looking ahead to a second war
year in l943. the officials who study such
things see the following:
They see the American people again
spending S45 900 ,000, 900 on food, clothing,
liquor, drugs and other things that are
bought in stores. Civilians are to enjoy
prosperity In non durable consumers
goods fully as great as the prosperity
they are enjoying this year. That, in
turn, is the highest level OF prosperity In
tllc NdtlOu t1IblIG history.
Again, however, there viii be- a reduc-
ton in the volume Of consumers durable
goods to a level Of Sc, 900, 100000. These
goods last for many years as rule so
that nobooy is going to be forced to suf-
fer. 1t is notable that more than year
after aluminium goods, and even silk
goods. were supposed to be out OF the
market they still are obtainable in stores.
OF course, people in the East who heat
with oil very probably will be cold during
the coming winter. Automobile users
everywhere, once they have voted in No
vember. very probably are to be forced
by gasoline rationing to cut their driving
by about 20 per cent. Those two depriva-
tions are the price this country will pay
for the two greatest defeats it ever suf-
fered-one at the hands of Germany in
a battle with submarines in the Atlantic
and the other at the hands Of the Japa-
nese in the Pacific. When measured
against the Importance of those defeats
the price they exact can be considered
quite small.
AS attention is turned from worry over
possible future civilian discomfort to
worry over the situation that confronts
the Army and Navy and Air Forces the
situation is very different.
Those services are starved for every
thing In the way Of equipment, from
rifles and ammunition to airplanes and
warships. In every important engage
ment of this war to date, American
@s@I M oi~ fnyHne
have had to enter battle with an infer
iority In number Of men and weapons. To
overcome that inferiority, built up during
years of satisfying civilian wants when
other nations were squeezing their cl-
| villains to build military strength, is going
| to take a long period of strain and of
| production. Japan now is drawing upon
| the raw materials and productive capa-
| city of almost all of Asia. Germany Is
| drawing upon the materials and produc-
tive capacity of all of Europe, including
| the most productive part of Russia.
| The United States finds itself able to
count less and less upon Britain and
Russia to make up its deficiency in
weapons by doing the bulk of the fight
| ing.
| Yet it is difficult to find key officials
of this Government outside the Army
and Navy, who are doing much worry
ing about the problem of military supply.
When these services demand that they
have first call upon the metals which
underlie modern warfare they are ac-
cused of trying to starve the American
| public and with trying to set up mill
tary government. The War Production
i r >.l~ LII 1 !.