Evening star., 1946-07-22

plunged into economic chaos and
the free enterprise system ire.
trievably wrecked.
That is the general notion con-
veyed by the radical press and
politicians who, without intending
to do SO, manage also to convey
the idea that that is exactly what
they want and that they will be
deeply disappointed if it does not
happen. And, perhaps, it will. Ger
talnly, to any clear eye the i'm
mediate prospect is none too pleas
ing. Nevertheless, it seems worth
while to recall the prophecies OF
this same group hardly more than
year ago just to show that they
can be wrong. At that time they
were so completely wrong that one
would think they would hesitate
to prophesy for year or two any
way.
Forecast Deflation.
At that time they did not prophesy
imitation; what they prophesied was
def1ation with equally horrid con-
sequences. 1t was agreed that we
would have between eight and ten
million unemployed; that veterans
would be selling apples in the
streets" by the spring of 1916. The
only way, we were told by Mr..
Wallace and others, to avert dread
full unemployment and deep dis
tress was to embark upon vast
and costly public works program
to be carried out under the So
called full employment" bill. All
this and more was explained in
Mr.. Wallace's book, Sixty Million
Jobs" and was echoed in, and
elaborated upon, in every left-wing
publication in the land. And also
mouthed by every leftover New
Deal spokesman in Congress.
If we did what Mr.. Wallace and
his friends advised, we would have,
it was declared, 100000 jobs (Mr.
Wallace's exact figure was between
56,OO0,00O and 57000,000) in 1850.
Well. we did not follow Mr. Wallace.
Congress passed his full employment
bill in so emasculated form that
it became a general joke-and Mr..
Truman has not yet appointed the
operating commission therein pro-
vided. No great public works pro-
gram such as he and his labor
leader friends suggested was adopt
ed.
Yet, the free enterprise system
according to the latest Census Bu-
reau report, had created 56,740,OO0
by July / of this year. Instead OF
eight to ten million unemployed,
there is an actual labor shortage
and the number of officially unem-
ployed Is only 2,500,000, in which
are included a great many who
cannot work and many more who
will not work-not right away, any
how.
Goal Already Reached.
In fact, Mr.. Wallace's goal OF 80
to 81 million jobs in 1850 has been
reached four years ahead OF ms
schedule and without any OF the
expenditures, conditions, govern
mental management or legislation
which he said were essential. This,
it would seem, speaks pretty well
for the free enterprise system-par-
ticularly when it had to operate
against a not too well administered
Price Control Act and under the
severe handicap of hundreds Of un-
necessary strikes-which lnter1ereo
with production and threatened
from time to time to stall the in
dustrial engine completely.
That. under such circumstances,
the free enterprise system could
reach the large employment and
production figures now revealed Is
an extraordinary achievement. 1t
shows what could be done If gov
ernmental handicaps were removed
and a sensible and just national
labor policy enacted
into law. At this time businessmen
are far more anxious to avoid infia-
ton than the radicals who are pre-
dieting it. To this end they urge
that everything possible be done to
encourage employment and produc-
ton; that a long-range program OF
financial and economic reform be
adopted.
In addition, they want Federal ex-
penses pruned to the bone; the
Federal budget balanced as soon as
possible; the Government to stop
expanding credit and currency; in
brief, as quickly as possible they
want to get back to fiscal sanity and