The sub., 1945-12-06

so that the weekly salary did not go as far as it should. Today the cost of living still remains high, prices continue to go up Gust re- gently butter went up five or six gently per pound) while take home pay has been cut drasticalIy. Dur ing the war it was the long over- time hours worked that gave work CTS decent wage. Today the worker no longer collects overtime or double time pay which helped him meet his living needs. This drop in take home pay while the cost of living continues sky high has resulted in severe hardshipS for many workers. There is grave concern for their future and their security.
 The feeling of insecurity on the part of American workers brought about by the severe drop in take home pay and worry about the future of jobs, has been the cause of many strikes throughout the country. Workers cannot afford a drop in pay while the cost of liv- ing continues so high. And so they are asking industry to increase wages to make up for this loss.
 Industry which has profited greatly during the war is able to raise wages and still increase prof. it's. And this can be done without
 raising prices. For if prices are raised the raise in wages would be
 meaningless. Price increases can only lead this country on the path to imitation.
 How can industry increase wages
 and make profits, without raising prices? Let me give you the facts
 In the next year industry will in-
 crease profits by 24% according to President Truman and the War Production Advisory Board. First
 of all the overall profits of indus try are now being increased by 10% due to the decrease i'm corpOr- ate taxes which goes into effect the first of the year. Secondly, profits will be increased by 91s % due to the elimination of wartime over
 time pay for time and half and double time. Thirdly, profits will increase by AZ % due to the com
 plete elimination of production in-
 centive payments In industry. And fourthly, the technical develop
 ment of machinery has increased so much during the war and with it labor efficiency that far more goods can be turned out by indus try.
 Because workers can put out more goods and because we have greater technical efficiency indus try can turn out goods at much lower cost. Therefore industry is today in a position to increase the
 volume of goods and so make greater profits by producing more. An expanding economy that pro- vides more and more goods pro- vides jobs for labor, profits for in- dustry, and consumer goods for the people.
 By raising wages which I have shown industry can do due to A % increase in profits, the great drop in take home pay which the end of the war brought could be made up. And it is to the interest of in- dustry as well as to the whole country to do this because without adequate wages workers certainly cannot buy the products industry has to sell Therefore it would benefit all groups if wages were raised Many people who oppose strikes, brought about by the low ering of take home pay, because strikes hold up reconversion do not take into account that strike is also taking place on the part of management. And by this l mean the mass layOffs which have taken place in the country since V-J Day. By laying people off industry is certainly not getting goods to us any faster.
 Full employment then, 60 million jobs, wages to meet the cost of living. coupled with price control, benefit not only labor, but the country as a whole. Full employ ment benefits the man in business, it benefits the farmer, and industry