Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-01-02
Controls 10 Prevent
Initiation May Be
Expanded in 1914
Situation Held Well
In Bounds in 1o43
Despite Heavy Buying
By the Associated Press.

Americans, supremely confident
at years end of victory at arms,
could view with far less certainty
the outcome of another major con-
flict-the war against imitation.
Ironically. that battle was joined,
and made desperate, by the very
factor that assures military sue
cess.
BY converting this country's vast
productive capacity to turning out
the planes, ships, tanks, guns and
myriad other items essential to
global war, the billions Of dollars
thus generated went begging for
many Of the things they could have
bought in normal times. Thus the
story Of imitation is a story of para
doxes.
The American people have more
money to spend than ever before,
but every passing day finds fewer
OF the things available that they
want most to buy.
The Government needs more and
more money to pay for the weapons
of war. The more money it bor-
rows, the more it puts into circula-
ton. The spiral goes on from there
to dizzy heights.
The money invested in War Bonds
flows out of the treasury for the
production of arms.
Cash in Circulation MARI.
Thus since the start of the de-
Tense program in 1910, cold cash in
circulation has risen from less than
So, 900 100000 to more than s20,-
600 100000. During that same period
savings in the form of War Bonds
have Increased ninefold-trom some
thing under $4,000, 900 900 to nearly
$27, 000, 100000.
| In 1943 alone Americans. even
after they paid a record $4,000, 0OO,-
900 in taxes and spent another rec
ord SOL 200, 100000 for the available
supply of goods and services, still
had an estimated $35 600, 600, 900 left
to put into bonds or banks.
That record volume of $91, 20O,-
100000 worth OF things to buy-to-
gether with the Governments price
and wage controls-has helped to
keep within bounds the imitation
that already has occurred. 1t rep
resents a far greater figure OF w hat
could be spent, without resort to
frantic bidding up prices, than even
| the most 0pfiyo,i etio ofdciol. tbe,,r.+
possible a year ago.
The record on imitation to date
is not discouraging when viewed in
the light Of World War I experience.
From the outbreak of the European
war in September, 1899, the cost
OF living as measured by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics has risen ap-
proximtely rs per cent. In the
comparable period of the 1914-18
conflict the rise was more than twice
that much, 81 per cent.
AS an indicator, however. that the
wars end won't mean an END to
the battle Of imitation, living costs
continued to mount after the World
War I armistice until June, 1920.
Controls May Be Tightened.
That's the chief reason many
leaders say controls will have to
be continued, possibly even tight
ened, well into the postwar period.
II individuals were to set loose
at once all their cash, their record
bank deposits, plus the money they
have invested in War Bonds, to bid
for the first few new cars and
radios and refrigerators to come
from the assembly lines, prices
might go sky high.
No one fears-not even Secretary
Morgenthau himself, who asked but
failed to get Congress to add $10.-
soc, 000. 900 to this country's tax bill
an imitation such as the one Ger
many experienced after the last war
"a printing press orgy that sent the
German mark to less than one-hil-
llionth OF it, pre-war value.