Evening star., 1946-09-15
5Big Financial Groups
Dominate Industry,
Clio Researchers Say
BY the Assoe;oted Press

C1O research experts, contending
American economic power is becom-
ing concentrated mainly in five big
financial institutions, said yesterday
that serious consideration" of pub
lie ownership or greater regulation
OF business may become necessary.
Outlining their views in the Eco
nomic Outlook, monthly publica-
ton of the CLOS research and edu-
cation departments, the experts
named "the big five" which they
said dominate American industry as:
The Morgan. Mellon, Rockefeller
and Du Pont families and the
Cleveland banks.
With three other money blocs"
represented by the Kuhn-Loeb firm
and Boston and Chicago banks, they
controlled together 106 of the $50
largest manufacturing and nom
financial corporations in 1884, the
Outlook said.
WAA Is Criticized.
Arguing that Government policy
is aiding tendencies toward the
alarming growth" of giant corpora
tlons, the CIO publication said that
since the war the War Assets Ad-
ministration had turned over. on
priority system, large quantities of
surplus goods and facilities to the
largest corporations and helped
bring about situation where eco
nomlc concentration had been car
rled almost to the ultimate"
Elghty-three per cent of the
Government-hnanced industrial ia
cillties were operated during the
war by 1853 of the $50 largest cor
porations," the Outlook said. "One
hundred of the largest corpora "a tions
operated three-fourths of them and
nearly one-half were operated by
only Is corporations.
Our economic structure in wears
to come will be determined to
large degree by who gains control
Of these facilities"
Sources Are Listed.
II the 81 corporations owned and
controlled "by the five powerful
families were to acquire the usable
Government-oWned facilities which
they operated during the war" the
Outlook said, they would hold
about half as many facilities as
the entire economy had before the
war, or 30 per cent of the Nations
manufacturing facilities"
The CIO researchers, using records
of the Commerce Department, War
Production Board. Smaller War
Plants Corp, Senate Military Affairs
and Small Business Committees.
and statements of Secretary of
Commerce Wallace and Senators
Murray, Democrat, Montana, and
Morse, Republican, Oregon, ex-
pressed the conclusion that:
In the light of present economic
tendencies, it may become neces-
sary to give serious consideration
to this suggestion (of Senator
Morse that public control either
through regulation or ownership be
explored as means of curbing
monopoly practices"
Case of White Shirts Cited.
The Outlook declared that price
fixing and production restrictions
go hand in hand with economic
concentration.
warehouses are jammed with
mems white shirts. while it is al
most impossible to buy one in
store" the article declares. The
same is true with hides and leather.
many textile items and even food |
stocks. Why? Because monopoly in
terests are maintaining artificial
scarcity in order to keep prices
high
These restrictive practices-fx-
ing prices, creating scarcities to
justify high prices, withholding new
scientific developments-will set the
stage in coming years and maybe
even months for serious economic
repercussions.