Evening star., 1945-01-25

WALLACE TAKES TURN-Fol
Wallace raises his right hand a.
before the Senate Commerce c
For Americas capacities should be
the measure of Americas future.
Americas known capacities are
not difficult to calculate. We are
now producing goods and services
to the gigantic total of 5000 900 ,OOO.-
600 year with $4,000, 900 workers
and 100000 soldiers. In simple
language that means that today
America is producing nearly twice
as much as she had ever produced
before the war But an enormous
part OF the goods and services we
are producing today does not find
its way into the American home
No, it represents the ships, the guns,
the planes and tanks we are using
to fight this war.
Says Output Can Soar.
But I know, and you know, that,
II we can produce huge flow of
ships and guns and planes and
tanks, we can also produce an
abundance of houses and cars and
clothing and provide education and
recreation and the other good
things of life for all Americans.
And I know, and you know, that
when our boys return home from
the war and are again able to put
their power into the stream of
peacetime production, Americas
capacity to produce will be even
greater than it is today. Yes, much
greater than today even when we
remember that some of our return
ing soldiers will prefer to resume
their education, that some older
people will begin a retirement de-
layed to participate in war work
and that many women will give I'D
their jobs in favor of home-making.
Making full allowance for these
groups, the fact remains that Amer
lea will have the capacity after the
war for producing houses, CATS,
clothing, education, recreation and
all OF the other good things of life
on scale that staggers the imag-
tnation. That is what America can
and will do if we have the courage
and vision to give her the chance.
But to accomplish this task of
utilizing our full productive capacity
year after year it is childish to
think that this can be accomplished
by a small segment of business and
finance, even though that small seq
ment consists of the giants of in
dustry and the tycoons of American
finance.
Must Not Limit Aid.
Nor can this be accomplished by
throwing crumbs to a reported 90
600 business enterprises out of
total of over 100000 struggling
small businesses in the United
States. Why an America geared
to that limited conception of our
capacity will find itself faced with
millions of unemployed. The same
people who set their sights too low
for war are now asking the Amer
ican people to set their sights too
low for prosperity. They do not
grasp the strength and the spirit
of America.
Nor do any of us think for min
ute that there is any quick remedy
or cure-all that can be automatically
applied. The sober facts are that
genuine progress will be achieved
only through concrete plans and
real effort.
In the Presidents message to Con-
gres last year and this year he set
forth eight self-evident economic
truths as representing a second bill
of rights under which a new basis
of security and prosperity can be
established for all - regardless of
station, race or creed.
America led the world in estab-
fishing political democracy. 1t must
lead the world once more in
strengthening and extending politi-
cal democracy by firmly establishing
economic democracy. Let us not
forget the painful lessons of the rise
of Fascism. Let us remember that
political democracy is at best in
secure and unstable without eco
nomic democracy Fascism thrives
on domestic economic insecurity, as
well as on lack of or divided re-
sistance to external aggression. Fas-
cism is not only an enemy from
without, it is also potentially an
enemy from within.
Asks Economic Bill of Rights.
We now must establish an eco
nomic bill of rights, not only out of
common decency, but also to insure
the preservation of our political free
doms. We must accord to this
economic bill of rights the same
dignity-the same stature-in our
American tradition as that we have
accorded to the original Bill of
Rights.
Let us therefore affirm this eco
nomic bill of rights-and keep af-
firming it-until it is as familiar
and real to us as our political Bill
of Rights.
The economic bill of rights as
embodied in the Presidents mes
sage to Congress last January is:
The right to a useful and re-
munerative job in the industries or
shops or farms or mines Of the
Nation.
The right to earn enough to pro-
vide adequate food and clothing
and recreation.
The right of every farmer to
raise and sell his products at re-
turn which viii give him and his
family decent living.
Other Points.
The right of every businessman,
large and small, to trade in an at
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