Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1946-01-11
Whats
New!

Editors note: Pvt. Duck Is suf-
fering from an acute gall blad-
der attack and Is confined to
Brooke General Hospital, Fort
Sam Houston. He will appre-
ciate hearing from his friends.
COMPETITION
The question has often been
asked, What's free about
free enterprise'?".
don't know. Don't ask me.
From what / have observed, II
means freedom for the whales
to eat the minnoWs, without
interference from government
or public. Any restriction
placed upon those who evil
IDENTIFY think theirs are the
only rights to be protected Is
promptly labeled socialism"
or class legislation.
Free enterprise should mean
freedom to engage in business
without trampling on the
smaller fellow or swallowing
him up. 1t should mean, in
practical terms, the likelihood
of the corner grocer or phsr-
macist or haberdasher to earn
a living for his family by op-
Grating his business.
That's what we would like
TO have it mean. That and the
possibility of an ordinary guy
with a bright idea or unusual
ability being able to open up
a factory or laboratory or sim
liar establishment and watch
ing it grow and prosper, as
businesses are supposed to
grow and proper.
But that, my friends, Is
only the thought held by one
of us. Is the person who fa-
vors monopolies and the elm
ination of competition think
ing along these lines?
MONOPOLY
When the presidents of Gen
eral Motors, American Can,
Atlantic g. Pacific Tea Com
pany, or Aluminium Corpora
ton of America, for example,
speaks of free enterprise, they
don't really mean free en-
terprise at all. They mean the
right of their monopolies or
near-monopoly to do just as
they darn well please. II isn't
fighting to stay in business. It
is fighting TO hold a position
where competition will be at
a minimum.
One of the things wrong in
America and in the world in
general today is that there are
not enough businesses. A few
corporations own and control
American business, and con-
sequently the A m eric can
peoples economic life.
Between the years 1928 and
l945 the corner grocer found
himself without a grocery, the
filling station owner found
himself tied to one of the large
oil companies, and the drug
stores and pharmacies were
replaced by giant chain stores.
Free enterprise-real free
enterprise--has been thottled
I'll its neck looks like a piece
of spaghetti. Whatever this
type of free enterprise" is
that the daily press writes
about and which some OF our
would-be statesmen talk about
when 1t suits their purpose,
I'm sure ! don't know.
The only enterprise can
find nowadays isn't free at all.
It's entangled in monopoliieS,
cartels and a meshwork so
complicated that only a few
people comprehend it.
do know that certain mo-
tor companies own certain ma
tion-wide communications cor
porationS, certain grocery
near-monopolies and millions
OF dollars OF stock in other en-
terpriSes. Every one OF these
industries represents field
in which very little competi-
ton exists.
NO FEARS
These giant corporations
have nothing TO fear from
competitors, because competi-
tion, is practically nil.
This leaves them free To die
tate prices to the American
public, and they are willing to
take a final stab at debating
wages to their workers, who
unconsciously helped them
create their monopoly, by
making the corporations rich
beyond all comprehension.
The tail has become bigger
than the dog. Now we have
reached the point where il
these corporations executives
cannot elect their representa-