The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-11-06

I crease, to say nothing of the in. creased cost of goods to the con- sumer. The unfortunate part of a tax by imitation is that 1t affects us all as consumers, but affects us very unequally. Labor is being sadly misled by the politicians under the prospect of higher wages to assume a very speculative risk in paying more through higher prices than in the higher taxes they might reason- ably be asked to assume at a far less risk.
 All of this political "shenanigan" is directly related to the spiralling of prices produced by artificially rising wages. The Farmers are now in revolt against the putting of cell ings upon the prices of food -stuffs, including farm products and those procesSed from farm products. At least 30 per cent of the cost of many agricultural products is labor or wages. The Farmers are fearful, and not without reason, that what ever may be the intentions of the Administration. no effective ceiling may be put upon wages even after the present increase in wages has been put into effect as indicated by the Little Steel Case". Further, there is no guarantee of any effec- tive stops being put by the stabili- zation program upon either the level of wages or the prices of food-stuffs. The standards set by Congtess are so vague as to depend entirely upon administration for their effective ness. The vicious spiral may still go on by which the one leads to the other. Congress has merely passed the responsibility for its control to the President.
 very difficult for the Farmers to ab- sorb because: CD few of them have advanced wages since the first of January of i94l, by IS per cent; (2) they will find 1t practically impos- sible to engage labor for next years crops unless they pay wages more nearly approximating to war indus try rates. Such wages they reason. ably claim will make it impossible to market their crops and get their money back except at higher prices. So higher wages compel higher pric- es to pay the higher wages, which in turn must be raised to maintain the same purchasing power, and so on around and around the disastrous inflationary circle.
 The root of this evil lies in the initial failure, which is now contin- ued, to recognize that since wages constitutes the major part of all costs 1t is hopeless to control prices without controlling wages. Instead, the Government has played ducks and drakes" with prices by putting no effective curb on excessive wages. Not only has tt done this but it has encouraged and established the DOW Ef to create a monopoly of labor through the closed shop. By this means it has given it the potential power in the future to limit the sup ply.
 It is becoming more obvious every day that We will not get tough enough to win this war until we say to the politicians We are not con. cerned now with the interests of the farmer, the laborer, or with indus try. Our only interest lies in what will further the ability of the whole country to prosecute this war with all We have and to come out Of 1t as Q true democracy. ready to as- sume it's burdens and meet its due ties.
 To accomplish this we not only must get tough. We must continue to be tough.
 CONN. ECONOMIC COUNCIL
 HoWEL CHENEY, Secretary.