Evening star., 1946-08-28
American Economy
Is RudderIess Today
Congress and President Seen
Fleeing Responsibilities
By Dapid Laurence


Fleeing. Responsibilities
By David Laurence
This may become known at some fu-
ture time as "the lost summer" For
this was the period when the presence
of President Truman and Congress was
most needed in Washington. Instead
Congress and the administration de-
cided on holiday, and the Nations
most important task-reconversion from
war to a peacetime economy-has been
neglected.
tired or fatigued a chance for rest. But
the Congress and the President didn't
agree on the recess just to get rest.
Their reason was to get chance to
handle the political campaigns and
preparations for elections.
Almost everybody in Washington has
grown so accustomed to excusing poll
ticians when they want to play politics
that 1t is natural to speak OF how tired
and worn out our ofsicials and elected
officers happen to be. Actually men
In business and men in the ranks of
labor do not get such long vacations
with pay. The business Of the Nation
is no exception to the rule which re-
quires fidelity to the job.
II these times were normal, long
| recess Of Congress would be justified.
| But these are not normal times, and
a fal hi
show up in another IL to Is months
| in severe decline in business and en-
| ployment.
Flee Responsibilities.
The administration and Congress have
run away from their responsibilities,
and the strangest part of it Is that the
country does not seem to have expressed
any particular protest. Possibly 1t is
because the people as q whole are not
aware Of the economic dangers which
face them in the next few years and
of the imperative need Of action in 1916
to prevent the damage which will have
been done by 1s47 and 1s48.
The problems which are most acute
! relate to the distribution Of materials
and the fixing of wages and prices. The
American economy today is rudderless.
Even the so-called liberals who used to
argue for economic planning have aban-
doned their fight, and now it is every
group for itself and no consideration is
t given to the impact of any groups de-
mands on the whole economic system.
The price problem is not solved by
Congress or the administration. The
labor problem was scuttled by the
President. After declaring to the joint
session of Congress last May that he
wanted a study made to improve labor
management relations, Mr.. Truman
never made another public statement or
pressed for the settlement of that ques-
ton. Likewise, the President told the
country in vetoing the Case bill he
knew the Nation was not facing choice
between that bill or no legislation. Yet
that is exactly what happened and
the President never made the slightest
effort to get any other legislation
passed.
AS consequence collectivism Is thriv-
ing inside the American labor move
ment, and the laws of Congress which
should be placed on the basis of a fair
deal for both management and labor
are helping the collectivists.
More Monopolies.
The immediate consequence Of this
failure to remedy the labor laws is to
create more and more monopolies. The
labor unions with their closed shops,
have monopoly on manpower and are
using it. The big industries have a
virtually monopolistic position because
they need have no fear of growing
competitors All the antitrust laws in
the world will not restore competition
when small businesses are forced to
liqu1date because big unions impose
Nationwide or industry-wide scales on
companies which do not have enough
volume of business to compete with the
larger units and pay the high costs.
The days of free competition in Amer
lea are numbered. An actual alliance
between big unions and big business
could not deal any more severely with
the smaller businesses than the labor
unions have with their misuse of the
collective bargaining power. More than
100000 businesses were forced to Iiqui-
date in the war years, but many of
them cannot get back into production
because they cannot operate at .
profit with the present wage scales
and in some instances with the present
price ceilings.
This summer afforded an opportunity
Tor Congress to restore competition In
America by removing the barriers of
monopoly which have been restraining
the growth of small businesses. But
Congress voted itself an increase in pay.
adjourned, and the President went fish,
ing. Within the next two years the
effects of this loss of time will become
manifest in an economic crisis of major
| proportions.
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From the New York Herald Tribune