The people's voice., 1942-07-03
THE
WASHINGTON
SCENE
By HENRY ION

Leon Henderson, wagging his over
sized cigar as though it were spear
charged into his congressional foes
With all the flair that Don Quixote
once smacked into windmills, Hender
son shouted that he would resign il
it will save OPA appropriations from
the ak.
Labor more than anybody else ap
preciates how important it is that
OPA have sufficient funds to enforce
price orders but Henderson has made
it difficult for the unions to give him
wholehearted support
His fallacious economic theories on
which he bases thinly disguised de-
mand for wage freezing and an out
right demand for bigger taxes on low
incomes come in for quite drubbing
in the June Public Affairs Guide of
the United Electrical Radio G. Machine
Workers (CIO).
"The practical program derived
from his theories" the UE contends,
SIS not only striking a telling blow
at the living and working standards
of that very group so vital to the
whole production phase Of the war
effort namely production workers, but
it is in addition failing to achieve the
results which Mr.. Henderson appar
emily expects his program to achieve,
the encouragement of infla-
ton"
Henderson warns that we are on
the verge of disastrous initiation, that
every increase in wages pushes up the
cost of living and that the remedies
are to prevent increases and even
bring about decreases in the incomes
Of the low-bracket families and in
dividuals. This leads to wage freez-
ing and taxation program that hits
hardest at those least able to pay.
AS to Henderson's claim that wage
Increases are responsible fol- price in
the union points out that
under the impact of the war effort,
with its vast demand for constantly
production, chronological
accelerate" with the re-
suit that "the labor cost per unit of
product is continuing to decline"
AS way of appraising this situa-
ion, the UE advises us to consult
he Federal Reserve production index,
which shows the quotient of labor cost
ell from ia in December 1910 to Ill
n December 1941, and that was be-
ore Pearl Harbor. The world knows
low output per man has increased
ince that event.
"If the labor cost is declining, but
he price is rising" the union says, |
it is difficult to avoid the conclusion
hat the increase is going, not to la
'or, but to profit on capital
Henderson's pet notion that too |
nuch purchasing power is going into
n6 must be drained off to prevent |
nflation is confounded by figures |
rom his own Office of Price Admin
stration.
These figures, the UE says, show
hat none of the increased total con-
umer income will go to incomes at
r below the s2,500-a-year mark (S7eo
( all workers belong in this class) |
.ctually less consumer income will go
D the s2,500 and under group in 1912
nan in 1941. The incomes ranging
'cm $4,000 to $4,000 will get about
4 4,000,000,000 additional, and incomes
angling from $4,000 upward will get
bout $1,000, 100000 additional"
Henderson's best publicized buga-
90 is the inflationary spiral. which
based on belief that prices are
1t on basis of labor cost
ITO this we reply" the guide says,
hat whole categories of prices have
0 demonstrable relation to costs Of
by kind, especially prices controlled
y monopolies or quasi-monopolistic
roducers; that the recent period of !
sing wage levels did not result in
sing labor costs, due to chronological
nd related factors and that
lere is no reason whatever for as I
ming that If labor costs did go up, s