Milford chronicle., 1947-06-20


opposed philosophy that the purpose of gov
ernment is to promote and protect the rights,
freedoms and liberties of the individual.
All governments, regardless of what they
may call themselves, fall squarely into one
of these two classifcations. And the titanic
struggle for power that is now engaging the
entire civilized world is the result of the enOr-
NOUS differences between the two concepts.
1t is not an exaggeration to say that the
United States is the last powerful state which
holds that the right of the individual to live
his life as he chooses is the most basic and
precious of all rights. This, essentially, is
the principle which makes all our institutions
free enterprise, representative govern
ment, freedom of speech and press and reli-
gion-possible. History has proven thou
is followed by the destruction of all other
rights. The totalitarian state-whether it
calls itself socialist, fascist, communist, or
anything else-invariably ends in oppression.
The kind of government which controls the
economic life of country, sooner or later
must control all other phases of life. If it
tells man what he must do, where he must
work and who he must support, it will also
tell him what he must say and think.
The American people must never forget
that freedom must be eternally defended If
we are to maintain the individuals freedom
to speak his conscience, without fear of the
state police, we must maintain all the liber
ties upon which free society depends Those
who tempOrize with freedom always lose it.
SOME TIME AGO the President made
dramatic appeals for price reductions. A
short time later Newburyport, Massachusetts
blOsSOmed forth with a spectacular program
for cutting retail prices ten percent. The
merchants of that community voluntarily
assumed the burden of an arbitrary, across
the-board reduction, in the hope that the
movement would SNOWFALL it's way back to
producers and manufacturers and gradually
become nationwide. 1t was brave attempt.
The publicity was terrific. Everybody in
the country soon heard of the NeWburyport
plan. But the grim reality of natural laws
could not be sidestepped with a circus. The
cost of the things that the merchants of New
burypOrt had on their counters continued to
creep upward. People were still asking for
wage increases. Many politicians were still
thinking up bigger and better public spending
schemes. Local groups across the country
were still applauding appropriations from
the public treasury for the home town. The
two hundred and sixty billion dollar federal
debt with all of it's indirect infationary eff
fects, sat like a block of granite across the
path of the happy planners. The Newbury-
port plan died. .....,. .-.
The retail distribution industry has been
doing everything within its power to control
prices. But in the light of present narrow
margins, there is not much it can do to bring
prices down. The source of the trouble goes
back to spiraling government debt, spiraling
wages, and finally the philosophy of grab that
prevails in everything Spectacular appeals
to business and the Newburyport scheme are
good publicity stunts-and that is ALL For
practical purposes they are about as effective
as trying to stop the muzzle blast of shot
gun with a cork, after the trigger has been
pulled.
IN A LONG EDITORIAL on the Senate
labor bill, the New York Times said "The
history of this country has demonstrated that
every so often one group or another has at
tanned under the existing laws powers which
threaten the preservation of our free society
and that the condition has been rectifed by
revising the rules under which we live"
There are two outstanding examples o.
that. Many years ago it became apparen
that certain segments of American business
had obtained monopolistic powers which
threatened the common welfare. The people
acting through their federal and local gov
ernments, corrected this through a long ser
les of laws, beginning with the antitrust sta
tutes.
The second example is in the headline
today. Labor is in much the same position
as was capital at the turn of the century. 1
small number of labor leaders have obtaine
powers which are direct and growing threa
to all the people of the country-includin
the workingman himself
A democratic country must correct thes
: abuses-if democracy is to survive. The Am
erican people have had enough of labor mt
5 nopoly, labor dictatorship, labor arrogance
: labor terrorism. They have determined ths
{ no one shall have the fright to deprive tn
$ country of essential goods and services b
fiat. They have determined THAT the worl
r ingman shall have free voice in the col
S duct of union affairs. They have decided thu
n the closed shop is intolerable in supposed
e free country. This is not an "anti-labo1
S movement. 1t is movement to force labC
- TO accent RESPONSIBILITIES commensurate wit