Milford chronicle., 1947-01-31

MILFORD Gil
IN THE OPINION of many authorities,
one step necessary to the fair solution of the
strike problem must be the elimination of ma
tOnal bargaining
Under national bargaining, one union
signs agreements with all OF practically all
of the concerns producing given commo-
dity. If that union then strikes, production
of the commodity ceases in its entirety. Coal
is good example The contract signed be-
tween the United Mine Workers and the gov
ernment last May covered the vast majority
of the nations soft coal mines. The strike
was called and the entire nation was imper
lied at a time when uninterrupted coal pro-
ductlOn was essential not only to industrial
activity but to the public health.
National bargaining, in effect, gives
unions monopoly power over induStry-pre-
clsey the same kind of monopoly power that
was Outlawed in management by the anti
trust statutes. And it presents exactly the
same danger to the public interest
Competition and free enterprise should
be restored; and they can be restored only by
limiting the size and the scope of bargaining
agreements, whether in coal, steel, autOmO-
bileS, tires OF anything else. There is no
question here of imperiling the rights of la
bOr-they can be completely protected by
agreements between the employers and en-
plOyes in individual companies The sole ques-
tion is to protect the American people
against a principle of bargaining which has
resulted in giving special groups dictatOrial
control over the production of a long list Of
essential goods. That is an obvious duty of
the present Congress.
900.
AN ARTICLE IN THE Wall Street
Journal tells of the preparations grocery
manufacturers and distributors are making
to attract customers. MOderniZatiOn and
expansion plans which had to be postponed
because of material shortages, are being re-
vived. Sales forces are being expanded
New products are being readied for market
AS the article puts it, "Men who make and
sell groceries are getting ready to fight for
the housewives business"
This spirit, which auguls we'll for the
consumers welfare, is general in all retail
fields, from foods to clothing and furnish
lngS During the long war years, retailers
had to take what was offered in the way of
stock and struggle along with dccmated and
lll-tralned sales staffs. They had to cut down
on services. Now, with the restrictions off,
and with the available supply of goods of all
kinds steadily growing, they are returning
to preWar standards as rapidly as possible
The trend will be seen in every part Of
the country-in the village as well as the
metropolis. You, as king consumer, will get
better service, 4 more varied assortment of
gOOds-and the lowest prices consistent with
the times.
This competitive urge is traditional to
the American merchant. His whole philos-
ophy has been to sell goods cheaper, offer
more service, and in general do 4 better Job
for the consumer. { He knows that the only
good customer is pleased customer. And
he was as unhappy as anyone else at what
the war did to his establishment.
~&oE>
AN AUTHORITY ON large-scale mer-
chandslng recently made this sage observa-
ton: AT the end of the first world war con-
SumerS seemed to have the money to DUR
chase all the luXurleS and then they COM
planned they could not afford the necessities.
That seems to be the situation today" He
cites the case of woman who recently
bought very expensive fur cOat-and then
complained bitterly at an increase in the
price OF soap which could not add more than
i've dollars q year to her living expenses.
There are signs that this "silk shirt" atti-
tude is diminishing A good many of the
"anythlng-at-any-price" buyers have finally
run out of cash, and others are beginning to
realize that Spcndthrift policies are not good
iol elthcr lhdlVldualS or the nation And it
Sc IS 10 the credit of retail merchandising that
1or the most part, it is not trying to encoul-
age reckless spendng-nor is it ATTEMPTING
TO profit unduly by charging all the traffic
will bear
The chain stores long ago announced q
policy OF holding prices to the lowest possible
lcVel, whether OF not governmental controls
existed. The majority of independent stores
nave pursued a similar policy. And the mex
orable laws of competition are taking care OF
the occasional merchant who wants to ex
plot the unWary purchaser. Under the com
petltlve system, prices find their own natura
level, whether that level be high OF low. In
any event, 1t will be the level established b,
the costs and conditions of the time.
NN>&oN>>
AS WAGES HAVE GONE up during tn,
year 1910 many prosperous industrial con
Germs have ceased to operate full time be
cause they could not show profit. Other
industries have kept out of the red through