Evening star., 1942-09-07
President Demands Initiation Curb to Win War

Continued From First Page)
stead of using those earnings to buy
articles which are not essential
g. To keep the cost of living from
spiraling upward, we must ration all
essential commodities of which
| there is a scarcity, so that they may
be distributed fairly among consum-
| erS and not merely in accordance
with financial ability to pay high
| prices for them.
7. To keep the cost of living from
! Spiraling upward, we must discour-
age credit and installment buying
and encourage the paying off of
debts, mortgages and other obliga-
| tionS; for this promotes savings. re-
tardS excessive buying and adds to
the amount available to the credit
ors for the purchase of War bonds.
Legislation Required.
In my message of four months
ago l pointed out that in order to
succeed in our objective of stabili-
all seven fronts at the same time;
but that two of them called for
legislation by the Congress before
action could be taken.
1t was obvious then, and it is
obvious now, that unless those two
are realized, the whole objective
must fail. These are points num-
bered one and four-namely, an ade-
quate tax program, and a law per-
mitting the fixing of price ceilings
on farm products at parity prices.
I regret to have to call to your
attention the fact that neither of
these two essential pieces of legis-
lation mas as yet been enacted into
law. That delay has now reached
the point of danger to our whole
economy.
However, we are carrying out, by
executive action, the other parts of
the seven-point program which did
not require congressional action.
Price ceilings have been fixed on
practically all commodities tother
than certain exempted agricultural
products), and on rents in war-pro-
ducuon areas of the United States.
This process of keeping prices and
rents at reasonable levels constitutes
one of the most far-reaching eco
nomic steps that this Nation has
ever taken-in time of peace or war.
Ail-Inclusive Control Needed.
Our experience during the last
four months has proved that gen.
eral control of prices is possible
but only if that control is all-in-
elusive. If, however, the costs of
/ production, including labor, are left
| free to rise Unfortunately, or if
other major elements in the costs
of living are left unregulated, price
control becomes impossible.
! If markets are flooded with pur-
chasing power in excess of avail
able goods, without taking adequate
measures to siphon off the excess
purchasing power, price control be-
comes likewise impossible.
Our entire effort to hold the cost
of living at it's present level is now
being sapped and undermined by
further increases in farm prices
| and in wages, and by an ever-con-
tinuing pressure on prices resulting
from the rising purchasing power
of our people.
Annual wage and salary disburse-
! nentS have increased from 437
billion dollars in 1889 to an esti-
mated rs billion dollars in 1912 This
represents an increase of II per
cent. To obtain full appreciation
of what that increase means, we
should remember that rs billion dol
lars is more than our total national
income was during any single year
in the 1930s.
Due to constantly increasing en-
plUyment, overtime and wage rate
increases, the annual wage anC
salary bill for the entire country
has been rising by more than bill
lion dollars month.
1t is impossible for the cost of liv-
ing to be stabilized while farm prices
continue to rise. You cannot ex-
peCt the laborer to maintain fixed
wage level if everything he wears
and eats begins to go up drastically
in price On the other hand, it is
impossible to keep any prices stable
farm prices or other prices-if
wage rates, one of the most impor-
tant elements in the cost of pro-
duction, continue to increase.
Income Rising Per Cent Monthly.
But even if the process of stabiliza
ton of all prices and wages a.
present levels were to be brought
about, there would still remain the
great upward pressure on the cos
of living created by the vast amount
of purchasing power which has beer
earned in all sections of the country
The national income has beer
increasing since January /, 1871, a
the average rate of per cent each
month. This purchasing power nov
r exceeds by an estimated twent,
/ billions the amount of goods which
= will be available for purchase b,
civilians this year.
t The result obviously is that peopl
/ compete more and more for tn
+ available supply Of goods, and tn
2 pressure of this great demand com
/ pared with the small supply-Whicl
will become smaller and smaller
/ continually threatens to disrupt ou
= whole price structure.
|. A recent study by the Bureau o
!, Labor Statistics has shown yer,
S strikingly how much the incomes O
the average of families have, gon
y up during the first quarter of 194G
II we assume that the income TO