Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1946-04-11
Washington
.aborReport
BY Bradford v. Carter

President Truman last week
issued the quarterly report on
the state of the economy pre-
pared by Reconversion Ad-
ministrator John Snyder. 1t
might serve a useful purpose
to single out for special en-
phasis here some of the seam
ier sides Of the report which
were hardly even noted In
most Of the newspaper ac-
counts which / saw.
The pressure toward infla-
ton will remain for months
to come the single most seri-
Gus threat to successful COM
p1etion Of reconversion."
What Snyder didn't say in his
report was that a dangerous
tendency on the part of OPA
to sppease business and Con-
gress may be an important
contributing influence toward
initiation. Labor people close
to the OPA here are alarmed
at the kind of price increases
which OPA Is granting to
businessmen - price increases
which 60 far beyond any con-
ceivable relief needed to &C
commodate the wage boosts.
On the contrary, there is no
Sposi ton in government
anywhere - and that goes for
the administration as well as
for Congress-to relate con-
version price policy TO the
enormous profits earned In
wartime in all segments Of the
economy. Snyder's report OBJ
serves in connection with the
textiles indutry that although
total production last year
was only SO greater than in
1899 profits in the cotton tex
tile industry were more than
9O0% above the 1860 av-
erage."
PROFITS UP
Nor is the cotton textile in
dustry an exception 10 the
high profitability OF industry
during the war years. OPA
data show that in comparison
with the 1869 base period,
the profits of all companies
were up by 217.7TO; in the
transportation equipment in
dustry profits were up by
1897, lumber by 1111%,
rubber products and whole
sale trade profits jumped more
than 500%o, electrical ma
chinery, department stores
and paper earned over 300%.
These statistics can be con-
tinued endlesSly. One conclu-
sion Is inescapable; despite
OPA controls business earned
huge profits.
Referring to the Employ
ment Act OF 1946, Snyder
says, "The Nation now has an
effective implement 10 foster
the free and efficient function
ing OF our competitive sys-
tenn" What Snyder is talking
about is the bill that finally
emerged from the original
Full Employment legislation
sponsored by Senator Murray.
The elimination OF the word
full" from the emasculated
act is very symbolic, because
the Employment Act OF 1946
has nothing TO do with full
employment.
THREAT
The controversy over the
original Murray bill and what
finally came out OF the Con-
Rressionsl mill points up the
complete state of unprepared-
ness and avoids any concrete
commitment by the govern
ment to do anything about full
employment. There is no indi-
cation in the report that
Snyder appreciates how really
innocuous the Employment
Act really Is, although am
sure he knows better.
On housing, and food for
Europe, Snyder says things
which are worth saying. But
even so, II we may inject a
sour note here, Snyder must
bear a major responsibility for
the precipitous dropping OF
food rationing and materials
priorities after VI day which
made these problems even
worse than they ever needed
10 be.
Congressional paradox: Two