Evening star., 1945-07-30
British Vote Is Cited
As Sign That People
Demand Job Security
Wagner ond Murray
Soy U. S. Must Act Now
On Postwar Employment
BY ]. A. O'LEARY.

Two Senate advocates of the
full employment bill today cited
last weeks British election as a
warning that the people want
job security after the war.
They were Senators Wagner, DEM
ocrat, of New York, and Murray,
Democrat, of Montana, co-sponsors
of the bill, which seeks to head off
future depressions by having Con-
gress and the President take steps
each year to find out whether pri-
vate enterprise will be able to pro-
vide jobs for all in the succeeding
year.
The bill would require the Presi-
dent TO submit to Congress each year
an estimate of the expected volume
of private business and the number
of jobs that volume would create.
If this volume appeared inadequate
to provide full employment, joint
congressional committee would rec
ommend Government steps to pro-
duce the additional jobs.
Hearings Are Opened
As the Senate Banking and Cur
rency and Postwar Policy Commit
tees began hearings on the meas
ure, Senator Wagner, chairman of
the Banking Committee. denied the
British election, in which the Labor
party defeated the Conservatives.
means a swing away from democ-
racy.
mo one who knows the history
of all the English-speaking peoples
will put any stock in that theory"
Senator Wagner said. They we're
not satisfied that the government
in power was sufficiently resolute in
its determination to achieve post
war full employment-and so they
have elected another government
which is pledged to that purpose. !"
Taking the same line of argu-
ment. Senator Murray declared:
I'VE have in this country reaction
aries and tories who are just as
blind to the dangers which threaten
our country as the reactionaries and
tories of England, who failed to
heed the social and economic sig
mails of our time until they were
overwhelmingly defeated and thrown
out of control by the people of their
country who could no longer accept
a system which offered so little in
happiness, opportunity, and Sc
curity.'
Turns to Socialism.
Senator Murray said the British
people seem to have turned toward
Socialism, and Senator Wagner
added this comment
Let no one misunderstood what
I have just said. America is very
different from England. I can see
no reason to believe that we need
to commit ourselves to the same
specific programs, or to the drastic
changes, to which England is now
committed. But I do believe that
we must commit ourselves to a full
employment policy in accord with
our own traditions, in order to re-
main on good terms with the rest of
the world and at peace among our
selves"
Senator Murray denied that the
full employment bill undertakes Ito
regiment our economy"
Senator Taft, Republican, of Ohio,
took issue with the statement of
Senator O'Mahoney that the bill
calls only for advance planning
without committing the Govern
ment to a policy of spending to
create jobs. He said he is in ac-
cord with the planning features of
the bill, but thinks it goes beyond
that in the section which sets forth
Government responsibility ito pro-
vide such volume of Federal in
vestment and expenditure as may
be needed to assure continuing full
employment"
Will Cut Federal Spending.
Senator O'Mahoney replied that
whenever a depression occurs, the
Government has an obligation to
step in, but said his own belief is
that once this system of planning
is in operation, the need for Gov
ernment investment to meet any
deficit in the volume of private job
creating activity will gradually
diminish.
The wyoming Senator said much
of the Governments spending of
the WPA type in the last depression
was inefficient because it avoided
the use of machinery in order to
create more work. He praised the
(see EMPLOYMENT, Page A-l00