The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1942-03-19
By STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Washington, DC. For many
months one of the big problems
here has been that of controlling
expenditures by the public OF
the largest national income IN
the history of our country.
Heavy taxes, purchase OF defense
bonds and necessary increases IN
prices have absorbed some OF
this extra income, but figures
lust announced show that there
still is a large surplus income
which is not under control.
There is probably no one OF
us who feels that he is not per-
fectly capable of handling any
extra income which he may be
making, and there are a large
number who are not making
more money than they have IN
past years, but figures show that
the purchasing power OF our nat
ion as whole is now so mucn
greater than the goods available
for purchase that there Will De
serious initiation unless our ex-
nenditures are drastically sup
revised.
The department Of commerce
reports our national income tor
+he year 1871 as $94, 500, 000, 600,
which is IS per cent above the
record formerly established IN
1929. Furthermore, because OF
lower prices today than In 1897
the purchasing power OF our IL
come in 1941 is estimated to De
about 80 per cent higher tna aa
the purchasing power OF our iSzs
income. Only about one eighth OF
this extra income is traced to war
expenditure.
But this is only the beginning.
Present estimates anticipate a rise
in national income this year TO
$4,000, 900, 900, which is almost
three times as great as it was IN
the depression year OF 1882 ana Is
Is billion more than in 1879. II
is also estimated that the local
value of civilian goods produced
during 1912 will not be over
sec, 600, 900, OOO-leaving At billion
dollars of income which cannot
be used for purchases. Part OF
that will be paid into income
taxes, part will go into defense
bonds, but there will still be a
sizeable amount left over.
The years of effort made by the
New Deal to boost national IN
come is reversing itself and the
administration is now chiefly
concerned with keeping the in
come from getting out of hand.
In order to prevent this aonor-
NAL income from causing the
skyrocketing of prices, the Office
of Price Administration has ad-
opted the policy of announcing
price maximums on all necessities
which start to get out OF hand.
So far, price maximums have been
set largely on products on which
there are severe shortages, such
as refrigerators, automobiles, BIZ
cycles, washing machines, etc.,
but they can be anticipated later
on a wide range of expenditures
foods and rents.
Another Tightening up on in
stallment buying has been i'm
posed to aid in curbing purchases.
On many articles all payments
must be made within Is months
and down payment minimums
will be 80 and one-third per cent.
This will include radios, refrig-
orators, washing machines, vac
UNI cleaners, bicycles, lawn now
ers and many other products sold
largely on installments.
Although the government con-
tinues to plan for making neces-
sites available to the public it is
clear that from now on there will
be no hesitation about cutting
down the civilian supply of most
any product if by so doing war
production can be increased. All
branches of the government are
now in agreement on this and eff
forts are being made to push
war production even beyond the
high goals set by the President
at the beginning of the year.
-Reverses in the war have made
it increasingly evident that the
planes and ships we can produce
in the next few months may be
many times as valuable to us as
those we might produce a year
or two years from now. No effort
will be spared to reach maximum
speed toward this end, no matter
what sacrifices the public have
to make. The new Bureau of
Industry Operations, headed by
Philip D. Reed, chairman of the
board of the General Electric
company, has been charged with
the responsibility Of seeing to it