Evening star., 1947-01-02

cisions-it also was "our year Of
confusion" Whether the business
troubles of 1947 are large or small,
it would seem to be at least reason
able wager that the difficulties would
be less confusing, In the sense that
most of them will have happened
before in one form or another and
can be better dealt with in advance,
than have been those Of the last IL
months.
The two principal potential difi-
culties already have been highly ad-
yertised:
l. That the fiat insistence by large
,segments of organized labor that
wages could be raised without in.
creasing prices, and the fiat in
sistence to the contrary by many
industrialists, might result either in
a second round of strikes or in rails
ing prices to a point where even
hungry consumers would not buy.
2. That these or other factors
might speed the widely heralded
possibility of business depression
or recession deep enough to leave
scars on the American economy.
Money Still Plentiful. /
AS 1916 ended there appeared to
be no absolute necessity and no
certainty whatever that there would
be a depression in 1947. The back
log of demand was still high in most
lines of industry and money was
still plentiful.
The national income was around
its all time peak. Consumer credit
although climbing around the record
total of l941 and going far beyond
it in such lines as charge accounts.
and single payment loans, was still
available in billion dollar chunks.
Some economists and businessmen
were worried about the volume Of
manufacturers inventories. The
latest available official figures, dated
just before the November elections,
showed these inventories had climbed
to new all-time peaks during each Of
the four succeeding months and were
then. around the $4,000, ,o00, 900
mark.
There was worry, too, that the
almost constant talk about a COM
ing depression might in itself pro-
duce one.
Strikes High Light Year.
The high lights Of the year, Of
course, were the great number and
extent Of strikes and their effect on
production, coupled with the of
again, on again, off again perform
ance on price controls.
The General Motors strike already
was on as the year opened. Within
a few days, Western Electric work
ers walked out. BY January Is, more
than 100000 employees of General
Electric, Westinghouse and the elec-
trio division Of General Motors had
fgone on strike. Shortly thereafter.
100000 meat packing plant em-
ployes also went on strike, leading to
Government seizure of the plants.
Then on January II came the big
steel strike, directly involving $780,
900 workers. Before this four-week
walkout was over, steel production
in the Nation was down to SIS per-
cent of capacity. The dearth Of
steel affected production across the
Nation for months to come.
The first soft coal strike started
at the end of March, involving AGO.
600 miners, and by the time Presi-
dent Truman seized the mines near
the end of 12-day truce proposed
by John l.. Lewis in May, steel pro-
duction again was down to 43.6 per-
cent of capacity. The lack of coal
virtually crippled many other lines
of business.
What so few people realized, ex-
cept for corporation executives who
were unable to finish their products
because of a lack of some essential
part, was the small and unpublicized
strikes continued later by the score.
At the end of May, for instance.
there were 143 strikes in progress
among suppliers of General Motors
alone.
OPA Confusion Cited.
Second in its effect on business
only to these walkouts and the Sec
ond soft coal strike was the con.
fusion over OPA, which resulted in .
tangle of considerable magnitude.
Many prices had been raised after
the agency's temporary lapse, and
had to be rolled back.
Some manufacturers held back to
see what would happen and goods
piled up. 1t was q period Of un-
certainty for most Of the country.
But some supplies such as meat and
butter, jumped quickly from the all
(See CHESTER, Page AID