Evening star., 1943-11-01

'CO1llllueQ from FIeCeQllS 1dRe.'
enough to meet our war require
ments.
The support price program, cou-
pied with the program to meet spe-
clal farming costs without raising
prices to consumers. is an essential
part Of winning the war The sub
sides that are used cannot properly
be called producer subsidies or con-
sumner subsidies. They are war sub
sides. The costs which they cover
are war costs. On the farm as in
industry the war has pushed costs
above the levels that prevailed be-
fore the outbreak OF war. and above
the levels that will prevail when VIC
tory has been Won These are costs
Of war, and it is entirely appropriate
that they should be met out Of the
public treasury, just as are the
costs of producing tanks and planes
and ships and guns. There is no
valid reason why the present Stabl-
lization subsidies should not be con-
tinued as we'll as the support prices
to farmers. so long as they are
clearly III our national interest-aS
they are in sta tabilizing the cost OF
living in time of war.
Consumer Food Prices.
In the Sterilization Act OF Octo-
Der 2, 1912. the Congress directed
that the cost of living be stabilized
as far as practicable at the level OF
September Is, 1912 Between that
date and May Is, l943, however the
cost of living rose So per cent This
was serious increase, constituting
a grave threat TO the entire Stablll-
zatlon program. 1t was particularly
serious because the cost of living
since January. 194l. had risen con-
siderably more than the Little Steel
formula had permitted wages to
rise
Obviously. wages cannot be Stabi-
llzed at certain level unless there
is also stable cost of living OBJ
viously, too. the millions Of people
with incomes fixed long before the
war-salaried white collar workers.
clergymen. school teachers. other
State, county and city officials. po-
liCemen. flremen, clerks. old-age
pensioners. those living on insur-
ance policies, dependents of men at
the front-all had to be protected
against the rise in the cost of living
which was eating steadily into the
buying power Of their unchanged
incomes, SO much public attention
has been directed at the increased
income of workers in war plants.
that it has been diverted from this
great mass of our population many
of whose incomes have remained
fixed all during the war.
1t is essential that we keep prices
down also in order to prevent the
spiral of imitation from beginning.
AS soon as the price of food goes up
materially. workers naturally de-
mand higher wages in order to meet
those prices, Higher wages will in
turn boost all production costs-for
civilian and military items both
This in turn will cause farmers
costs to rise and will result in even
higher prices for food No one can
tell where the end will be. A higher
cost of food can increase the total
cost Of the war in geometrical pro-
gression.
In the face Of this situation. I is
sued an order in April, l943. to hold
the line; and, at the time it was
issued, l said:
To hold the line we cannot tOl-
crate further increases in prices af-
fecting the cost of living or fur
ther increases in general wage or
salary rates The only way to
hold the line is to stop trying to find
justiflcationS for not holding it here
or not holding it there"
Although last May. the cost of
living did stand e. Per cent above
the September, 1912. level, not all
the items in the family bulge,
showed this increaSe-or ANYTHING
like it. On the contrary, the greater
part of the budget was firmly sta
bilized. Thus. rent had increased
not at all over the eight month pc
riod housefurnishings had in
creased by only a little over l per
cent; clothing by IL per cent; fuel.
electricity and ice by 1.3 per cent,
and miscellaneous items, such as
laundry services and drug supplies
by 3.5 per cent.
Food Prices Rose 13 Per Cent.
The major portion of the increase
in the cost Of living-to be precise.
three ee-fourths-was attributable to
the failure to stabilize one sector of
the economy-food prices. These
prices rose by l3 per cent. Even
with regard to the foods themselves.
however, the record was not all so
black. Most of the family food
budget-in fact, the whole range of
foods except only fresh fruits and
vegetables-was held to an increase
of less than per cent. 1t was the
remainder Of the food budget-the
fresh fruits and egetables-that did
the real damage. Fresh fruits and