Evening star., 1942-01-25
Washington ond
Postwar Activities
BIZ Frederic J. HnSEin.

Aside from war, probably the most dis
cussed subject in Washington today is
the citys immediate future after the
emergency is over. The topic is not en-
gagged in by Federal jobholders alone, but
by almost every one from street cleaners
to top men In Government agencies and
private enterprise. Since Government ac-.
tivity Is the very life of Washington, this
local interest Is understandable. -
Apparently there are two reasons why
this discussion Of how Washington will
be affected when Hitler is collared,
Mussolini Gagged and the Japs brought
to a full realization of their greatest
mistake, has taken on its present pro-"
portions. When the first World War
ended there was great cessation of ac-
tivities in the Nations Capital. Thou
sands were released from emergency.
work fostered by the Government, and.
large number of employees in private
business no longer were needed. The
war was over and almost everything else
was over, 1t was thought, and there was
a tendency to return to what Warren c..
Harding later coined as phrase, back ,
to normalcy." So persistent was this
belief that minds which thought other
wise were swept into oblivion. The
other reason underlying the present dis
cussion is the thought that. following
the wars close. the country will face
its worst depression. And since Wash.
ington does not have sufficient private
enterprise to absorb its greatly in-4
creased population the city will be the =
first to feel postwar effects.
But these two thoughts are due sec. .
ond consideration. The present world
wide conflict is different from the other
and seems destined to bring in its wake
demand as well as a need that new 2
business and social order be established,
and for this the help of the Federal Gov
eminent will be needed. At the close Of
the first World War, business sought, but
mostly in vain, to go back to the place
where it had left off. And in most in
stances, too, business thought it had
taken up where it had left off. only to
discover later that the habits of people i.
had changed so radically that old pat
terms of service no longer sufficed Thus,
return to normalcy" was found to be
only a catch phrase, whose author, like
millions Of others, believed that the coun-.
try could return to its former pursuits
with the same tempo. But time wrote
a different story. -
The possibility of a depression follow-o
ing the present war is deserving of more
than a passing thought. The country
was barely emerging from the greatest
economic upheaval known to the world
when hostilities broke out. America.
naturally enough, because of its then
neutral attitude, spent relatively little for
defense. But, as the conflict in Europe
spread, Congress voted more literally for
| the building of warships, planes and
other things needed for combat service.
AS the European war theater widened
and Congress was in almost constant
session, an ever-increaSing number Of
appropriations for preparedness helped
to substitute for, the emergency relief
funds granted SO generously in previous
days. Thus, gradually, members Of Con-
gress voted funds for relief employment
in the name of a national emergency.
Curiously enough, bitter debates and po-
litical differences on emergency meas
ures almost ceased, but the country at
large profited by the new face which
Congress had acquired in the trans
formation of its votes from relief funds
to money to carry out program of ma
tional defense. In essence, the depreS-
sion Of the past decade was not over.
| Only a circumstance had changed the
| form of appropriations with which the
country continued to carry on.
But since pay rolls for defense work
have been substituted for those insti-
tuted for relief purposes, the question
naturally arises as to what will inev-
itaoly follow the emergency. The an,
| swer 70 that is the answer to Washing
tons question of what will happen when
the Allies have won their victory. 1t is
an answer which concerns not only the
Nations Capital, but the country at
large, for never in the history of the
United States have so many people
looked to their Government for help in
some form. Consequently Washington
as the Nations administrative center is
ever increasing in Importance. People
have come to realize that, after all, their
Government functions for them, and
they support it for that purpose. Thus
the citizen who signs on the dotted line
on March Is and transmits a certain
amount for income taxes to help sup
port his Government, feels he has right
to seek help or advice from that same
Government on the difficulties he faces.
That comes down to the question Of
Washington's future as the central point
from which national activities and ben
efits of the future will be administered.
There seems to be more than a likelihood
that there will be more, not fewer, Gov
ernment bureaus and agencies after the
war is ended Names and functions OF
some will be changed, but the Nation
wide service they are rendering will be.
either requested or demanded For In,
stance, civilian defense activities will
likely be transformed into civilian edu-
cation so that pupils in public schools.
from the first grade upward, will be
taught the principles of first aid, SELF.
protection and self-reliance in all types
of emergencies This will appeal not
only to the children but to their parents.
With, perhaps, millions of disabled ex-
service men, pensions and social security
will become more important and extend.
ed With increasing taxation, the United
States Treasury will need additional
workers The Department of Commerce