Evening star., 1947-01-08

View That Another
Depression Is Sure
FOLLOWING are tertual excerpts
from President Trun,an's eco
non,ic report to Congress:
To the Congress Of the Unitet
States:
AS the year 1947 opens Americ,
has never been so strong or so pros
porous. Nor have our prospects eve
been brighter.
Yet in the minds Of great man!
of us there is a fear Of another de-
preston, the loss Of our jobs, oul
farms, our businesses.
But America was not built or
fear. America was built on courage
on imagination and an unbeatable
determination to do the job at hand
The job at hand today is to see tx
it that America is not ravaged b!
recurring depressions and lons
periods. of unemployment, but thai
instead we build an economy 81
fruitful, so dynamic, so progressive
that each citizen can count upor
opportunity and security for himself
and his family.
Nor is prosperity in the United
States important to the American
people alone. 1t Is the foundation
Of world prosperity and world peace
And the world is looking to us.
1t Must Not Happen Again.
I believe that the American people
have the wisdom and the will te
use our abundant resources SO that
all may prosper. I reject, and
know the American people reject
the notion that we must have an.
other depression. ] am not referring
to minor detours and bumps in the
road ahead-these we know we shall
have. I am referring to economic
collapse and stagnation such as
started in 1929. This need not hap
pen again, and must not happen
again.
The Congress passed the Employ
ment Act Of 1946 by an overwhelm-
ing bipartisan vote. This act wisely
provided for Council of Economic
Advisers to the President, men who
as result of training, experience
and attainmerts are exceptionally
qualified to analyze and interpret
economic developments, to appraise
programs and activities of the Gov
ernment and to formulate and
recommend national onomis
policy.
The Congress also provided for a
permanent joint committee to re-
ceive and analyze this annual eco
non1ic report Of the President and to
submit recommendations concern
ing it to both houses.
In transmitting this first economic
report, I am conscious Of its sig
nificance as the beginning of a
series of reports that will serve the
Executive and the Congress as the
basis for an orderly and continuing
review of the economic state Of the
Union and for integrated and COM
prehensive steps to insure the per-
manent economic health Of the
Nation.
Challenge and Opportunity.
The economic report is an op-
pertunity for national self-examina-
ton and self-criticism. It is a chal-
lenge to the President and the Con-
gress to determine the causes OF
whatever problems we face in ouI
economic life and to find the solu-
tions to those problems. 1t pro-
vides an opportunity for all our
citizens to judge the merits OF the
analysis and proposed action It
Is a new and splendid tool to help
us in our tasks. And like all gov
ernmental tools, its effectiveness
will increase year by year as we
learn by doing.
Prosperity cannot be the concern
Of one party or of one group. 1t
cannot be attained without the
goodwill and the cooperation of all
To build greater America we
must approach the task with unity
of purpose, with patience, with wis
dom and with determination k
overcome all obstacles. If we dc
this-and we must-I have no doubt
about the ability of Americans tc
build, on a firm basis Of security
and political and economic freedom
a country in which the rewards we
enjoy can be doubled within the
life span of many of those now
living.
Conditions and Trends.
On the plus side of the economic
ledger we possess fabulous wealth
of resources. Our industrial plant
is larger and, in many cases, better
than ever before. Funds for busi'
ness expansion are ample and profit
incentives are high in most lines
Our labor force has greatly, in.
creased its number Of semiskillee
and skilled workers, The spending
power of consumers, as a whole
is much higher than it ever wa
before the war.
Consumer desires are fortified b.
q backlog of unsatisfled wants, par
ticularly for housing, commercial
construction, automobiles, house
hold appliances, furnishings ant
other durable goods. There art
long-deferred and needed publ,
works-Federal, State and local
There is a strong and sustained
foreign demand. More than that
we can be optimistic about the de-
sire to buy, because of the highe'
standards of living which almos
all of our people have recently en-
joyed and which they do not wan
to forego.
While these favorable factors II
our economic situation are funda
mental, it is more practical ant
profitable to examine weaknesse
that need corrections than to con
graduate ourselves upon the bless
ings which we already enjoy.
Higher Purchasing Power Needed.
!. Chief among the unfavorahl
factors is the marked decline II
real purchasing power OF great mum
bers of consumers, resulting from
the large rrice increases in the sec