Milford chronicle., 1947-06-06
IN RECENT WEEKS a number of high.

IN RECENT WEEKS number of high
ly-publicized cuts in the costs of certain COM
modities have been made. Business has
shown disposition to cooperate with the
Presidents request for lower prices, and
the retailers of the country have been espe-
cially aggressive in their organized efforts to
protect the consumers buying power. Some
have voluntarily absorbed wholesale price
increases.
However, so far as the average family /
is concerned, there certainly has been no
appreciable change in the cost of living No
price reductions of consequence have taken
place in the basic commodities which must
be bought from day to day
Furthermore, distasteful as the fact may
be- the cost of living will not go down to any
extent so long as philosophy of grab char
acterizes our national life. Millions of Amer
leans are working on the theory that they
can get more while they do less This ruin
Gus theory is being followed by large seq
ments of organized labor Wage rates in all
industry are far above any previous level
Yet industry after industry reports that
worker productivity is down ten, fifteen and
twenty-five per cent from the prewar level.
The philosophy of grab appears in man.
agement as well. There are undoubtedly
businesses which could reduce prices. The
sooner competition forces these enterprises
into line or out of business, the better off the
whole country will be.
Government itself, through it's fiscal pol
icy, will finally resolve the question of infa-
tion one way or the other Waste and ex-
travagance here are a constant threat to our
national stability and the value of the dollar.
Too many of us seem to think that it is up
to the other fellow to fight initiation and bring
prices down. The unpalatable truth is that
all of us, regardless of our particular place in
the scheme of things, have a direct RESPONSE
bility. The philosophy of grab is inf1ations
most potent ally.
1T is ESTIMATED that there are more
men under arms now than shortly before
the Second World War. Save in the Western
Hemisphere, there is no real peace anywhere
on earth. Violence, disorder, oppression
these are the symbols of the postwar world.
AND, as inevitably occurs in an age of SuSpi-
cion and unrest, the liberties of peoples
everywhere are being limited and destroyed
The position of the United States in this
dark and dangerous time is clear. We, with
handful of allies, none of whom are eco
nomically or militarily powerful, are the last
citadel of individual freedom. With few
exceptions, the English speaking world alone
still maintains and respects the basic rights
OF man-and even in that world there are
= ominous signs of weakening. The American
government, in its dealing with the other
powers, is the leader of the forces of free
dom against the forces of darkness and the
total state.
The duty of the United States is equally
clear. To put it in phrase, this duty is to
maintain our strength. And strength can be
divided into two different and distinct classi-
fications. There is military strength-the
strength OF force. Much as Americans hate
war and thought of war, we must maintain
this, in the interest of self-preservation.
Second and still more vital, there is the
KIND OF inner strength which only a free
people can possess. This is the heart and
soul OF nation and it's institutions. 1t is 2
nations greatest resource in time of trial
And it rests upon the proposition that the
rights OF the individual are inviolate. Sc
long as we have this, we shall be ready tC
meet Whatever the coming years bring.
A NUMBER OF SENATORS who in
dulge in long-winded speeches were given :
deserved hazing few days ago when Sena
tor Iydlngs arose in his place and said tina
: ne, for one, isn't going to sit here and lister
to tour or five hour speeches" He said tina
: the reason he had gone rebellous was tina
you get very little information out of
e speech that takes four or five hours to deli
yer. Inc average man would say it all il
: thirty minutes
7 AT the end of the first hour of the speec]
Senators on the floor.
Inere is very sensational reason for alb
O senteeism in the Senate during these Iono
: Winded affairs we