The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-04-18
Control by Statistics"
(New York Times

Late last October report leaked out from the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion purport- ing to show with qualifications that industry could afford to pay an increase in wages Of "A per cent. This report was never published officially Unfortunately, neither it ever publicly repudated by those authorized to speak for the OWNIF Mean while prominent labor leaders cited the figure in radio speeches and press statements official endorsement of their demands
 The OWMR calculation was followed by widely publiczed report issued by the Department of Con- merce This was dated October 25 and made public by Secretary Wallace to representative group of news paper November l. The report declared that present price relationships such throughout industry that basic wage increase possible without raising prices and that the automobile industry in particular could grant 15 per cent increase without adverse results in the first postwar year and further increase of 10 per cent for l947'
 This report was made public at decisive point the labor negotiations between the unions and the automobile companies It cited by thei unions as official backing for their wage demands. Repre- sentatives of the automobile industry asked the De- partnen of Commerce for the detailed statistics sup porting the conclusions These were apparently not supplied by the Department until February G. Statis- tcians for the industry called attention to errors Tn the figures They also found remarkable coincldences both in methods of calculation and in errors in the Department of Commerces report and in United Automobile Wcrkers-CIO report dated October 26. These coincdences such to lead statisticians for the industry to charge that the Department of Commerce's and the JAWS reports were prepared by the same persons by persons collaborating.
 Industry representatives asked Secretary Wallace either correct retract the wage report. MT. Wallace delayed reraction until the day after the General Motors strike settled and the major auto mobile companies had all been obliged to heavy wage increase. He then made statement admitting the inherent uncertainties in projecting cost price profit relationships for any specific industry and even for industry whole" Such projections, he added '"are obviously dependent assumptions to future costs, ceiling prices and specific methods Of projection This is equivalent to saying that such figures are mere guesswork. They were not intended Mir Wallace belatedy declares, nor should they have recorded official forecasts of costs prices or profits for the automobile industry for industry whole"
 There are several questions involved here. One is whether it is the function of Government statistical agencies to attempt to say what wages can or ought to be paid by specific industry by industry as whole The moment they do this it is obvious that they usurp the functions of free collective bargaining Another question is whether such figures scientously prepared be any better than guesses A third question involves the mpartiay and integrity of Government statistics.
 Perhaps it is not too much to hope that this in- direct and irresponsible kind of Government inter- vention in labor management disputes will not be repeated