Victory worker. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1942-1943, 1942-12-01
President RooseveIt's 1912 g
Goals Almost Reached

agement committees in some plants
have given us the basis for eff
fective cooperation and for partici-
patton by labor in the productive
process. Still some unauthorized
strikes remain as do the lingering
traces of business-as-usual in vari-
Gus corners of the production eff
fort.
Cost of Living Rise Checked
The refashioning of our civilian
economy has taken much effort.
Effective sterilization of the civil
ian economy was delayed for many
months over disagreement as to
means and methods. By March
10, 1912, the cost of living had
risen some Is per cent over the
end of 1889. But price regulation
instituted in April held down the
increases in prices subject to con-
troll to clio of one per cent as of
Oct. 10.
Wage sterilization, one of the
great issues of the year, has
reached the stage of solution.
Growing shortages of rubber, meat,
sugar, coffee and gasoline and fuel
oil in the East brought the neces-
sity of rationing these and some
other commodities to sinsure an
orderly and fair distribution of
our supplies.
The total volume of goods avail
able to civilian consumers has
steadily grown smaller. In the
plenty of peacetime we can permits
anyone to buy as much as he
wants because some will always
remain for those who come last.
In the scarcity of war, those who
cannot stock up must be able to
secure their share along with their
richer neighbors. For the coming
year efforts will be directed to-
ward guaranteeing the essential
CT civilian living to prevent such
faltering of the civilian economy
as will impair the war effort.
The campaign of the home front
has had to be carried on in many
other sectors. Unprecedented sums
of money have been raised through
taxes and public financing.
In the first ten months of 1912,
over Is billion dollars was collect
ed in taxes, and over 33 billion
dollars was raised through the
sale of bonds and other govern
ment obligations.
Provision had to be made for
expanding health, sanitary and well
fare services. More housing has
been and still is needed for war
workers. A civilian defense or
ganization of 100000 volunteers
has been built. The safe guarding
of our shores and establishments
from spies and saboteurs has re-
quired constant vigilance.
Government Has New Tasks
Not the least of our hosts of |
problems have been those of gov
ernmental organization. New or
CARNATIONS have been created for
manpower, economic !
sterilization, handling of labor dis
putes and wages, price control,
economic warfare, war information
and other matters.
A network of combined boards
has worked to fuse effectively our
resources with those of the other
United Nations. Controversy still
revolves over organization prob
lens, and some of them will con-
tinue to be with us in the coming
year.
1t took generations to build our
structure of peace-time govern
ment. Now we are trying, as we
must, to build wartime govern
nlent in year or two.
Our country has done great
deal in this one year.
Under any ordinary standard we
would be entitled to indulge in
some degree of satisfaction. The
standards of war, and in particu-
lar of this war, are much too ex-
acting for any feeling of satisfac-
ion.
Next year calls for greater tasks
and presents us with equal, if not
greater obstacles. The record of
he past many give us this much
lssurance-that we have no cause
or feeling that the job ahead
'annot or will not be done.