The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-08-07
TODAY and TOMORROW
By WALTER LIPPMANN

There is no doubt that the talk
about an early peace is having a
bad effect on war production. But
that is because so much IS said
about it and so little has been
done, to prepare for peace. War
workers are moving away from
the war industries hoping to be
among the first to make sure of
time jobs; many manufac-
turers are fixing their eyes on
being the first among their COM
petitors to produce civilian goods.
The talk about peace simply
cannot be silenced when the mill
tary news is so spectacularly good.
But it is provoking a painless and
disorderly reconversion among the
male workers who happen not to
be subject to the draft, among the
women workers who are under no
national obligation, and among
manufacturers who are so placed
that they do not now have to take
war contracts.
The answer to all this is not to
stop talking and thinking about
the problems of peace but to
agree promptly on a strong and
convincing program for meeting
the problems of peace. The trou-
BILE is not the talk but the lack Of
an adequate program to deal with
the questions men and women are
bound to talk about.
If the rehabilitation of the
forces, the reconversion of domes-
tic production, the liquidation Of
the worldwide war economy, and
its reconstruction, are not planned,
agreed upon at home and abroad
and firmly regulated at home and
abroad, there will be a chaotic and
destructive stampede of private
individuals and corpo atoms.
Those of us who believe that the
world is not likely to be free,
prosperous or long at peace un-
less there is established a very
large amount of free enterprise by
individuals - those of us who be.
lieve that - must not delude our
selves at this time. We must not
imagine, as so many do, that by
dismantling the bureaus" and
de-controlling the economy, a
workable system of free enter
prise will automatically result.
What will automatically result is
scramble for jobs and sales, a
feverish boom and a devastating
collapse.
To get away from the controls
we shall have for 4 time at least
to use control; to get away from
the governmentally planned econ
omy Of wartime We shall have to
have a governmentally planned
economy and great international
agreements to regulate the diff
cult and dangerous transition to a
civilian economy. AS we remove
the plaster casts Of the war sys-
tenn. capital and labor, before they
start romping about, will need for
a time to use crutches and braces
II they are to recover their
strength and their equilibrium.
Otherwise, as sure as shooting,
they will break their legs.
We must not again make the
capital error-which the name of
harding symbolizes-of assuming
that normally will result simply
from ceasing to do the abnormal
things that war requires. This
country and the world around lis
are now organized in a war econo.
my. We shall not 60 forward to a
peace economy just by disorgan.
lzlng the economy In which re
now live. ALI that that will ae-
comp'lsh Is DISCRIMINATION and
chaos.
The peace economy has itself Ia
be organized. 1t requires positive
collective action under govern.
ment control to organize now =,
free economy which can operate.
when it has been established, with.
out too much collective action IN