The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-09-28
hterlocking Platform

With his speech last night at San Fran.
cisco it seems to us that Mr. Dewey lust
about completed the process Of running for
the Presidency on the domestic platform of
the New Deal. This process, of course, was
pretty well under way before Mr.. Dewey reach
ed California, or even before he entrained for
the West Coast. 1t began at Chicago, when the
Republican party borrowed for its platform
practically all Of the New Deals major legis.
lative enactments of the last ten years. Since
then Mr.. Dewey has added other items. Last
night at San Francisco he succeeded in elimi-
mating all but a few traces Of any still niger
ing division between the Republican position
and the New Deal position on three important
domestic issues.
These issues are credit, wages and agricul-
ture. On the subject of credit Mr.. Dewey came
out fatty for the New Deal philosophy of Gov
eminent Intervention to keep interest t e S
Stable at an artifically low level On the
subject Of wages he came out for the New
Deal philosophy that the savage old cut
throat adjustments are gone for good.'' I'VE
simply will not tolerate them The idea that
wages should fall during periods Of depression
part of the classical formula by which in
dustry attempted to reduce costs to the con-
sumner in order to adjust itself to deflation
after periods of inflation-Mr. Dewey describes
as do Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr.. Wallace, as
lone of the brutal ways" of the days of the
old time dog eat-dog economy" Those days
are never coming back again. Wages must
be kept at their high levels, and if at any
time there are not sufficient jobs in private
employment to 60 around, then Government
can and must create additional job opportuni-
ties" No reservation is made to this sweep
ing promise, even though the lack of sufficient
jobs in private employment may be the re-
suit of wage rates SO high as to discourage
activity, as happened so clearly in the building
trades before the war. Finally, on the subject
of agriculture Mr.. Dewey accepts the New
Deal philosophy that what he and MIR. RooSe-
welt and Mr.. Wallace call the old iron law
of supply and demand" has seen its day.
1t is no longer to be an iron law. 1t is to be
bent by some degree of Government interven-
ton in the free workings or our economic Sys-
tenn Farm prices have risen spectacularly
under the impetus of war demand. Are they
kept high, through subsidies of one kind or
another, paid from the public purse? In Mr..
Dewey's view: The prices of major farm
crops must be supported against the menace
of disastrous collapse. We have undertaken
that commitment for the sake of the entire
nation
Where, now, is the New Deal?
Mr.. Dewey, Of course, is clear-eyed enough
to see that it is right beside him on the
platform, practically at the microphone In
all this he frankly agrees, there exists an
obvious danger to our fundamental freedoms.
The danger is that in accepting the support
of Government in certain broad aspects OF our
economy we may slip by stages into complete
Government control of our lives" This is pre-
cisely the danger, under Mr.. Roosevelt, against
which Mr.. Dewey has been warning us. But
Mr.. Dewey assures us that, unlike Mr.. Roose-
welt, he knows when to stop.
He assures us, too, that his Administration
would be friendly one to private enterprise
ard that it would encourage an expansion OF
private industry and private employment by
such methods as a tax program offering gen
Zine Incentives No doubt this would be his
purpose. But the questions which arise are
whether. however friendly the purpose, prl-
vate enterprise could prosper, and taxes that
discourage Jobs could be reduced, under any
system in which post war wages were frozen
at their wartime initiation levels all OF the
slack of the unemployment certain to result
from this was taken up by large governmental
spending to create artificial work; and farm
prices were pegged at war market hgures
by subsidies which would inevitably have 10
be raised by taxing the consumer.
| To these questions Governor Dewey did not
address himself last night. New York Times
-V--
| We need new industries more than ever,
| more idle land pat to use in new ways ana
old. more soil conservation, scientifically
determined balance between conflicting forms
of land-use and water-use, better bodies ana
! far better minds. - Dr. Isaiah Bowman, pres
ident johns HOPKINS U.