Milford chronicle., 1947-12-12


anyone in inexpensive staples. AS one re-
taller put it, "Our profit margin is damn
little now and it's still narrowing" And
representative of the National Association
of Food Chains said that the systems he
represented were operating on narrower
profit margin than ever before.
The consumer naturally looks at price
imitation almost solely in the light of what it
is doing to his budget and his living stand
ards. He knows that bag of groceries costs
more than twice as much as it did before the
war, and he becomes suspicious that manu-
facturerS and stores are prOhtlng heavily at
his expense. The truth is that imitation hurts
everyone Everybody engaged in the food
business, from the farmer who grows it to
the retailer who sells it to you, is being
squeezed by higher labor costs, higher supply
costs, higher taxes-higher everything. And
there's nothing they can do about it. Re-
member that next time you shop. Gripe at
inflation-but don't blame it on your shop
keeper or the professors or any other group.
It's not their fault.
IT MUST HAVE BEEN APPARENT to
everyone that President Truman's program
for preventing further price increases was
doomed to defeat, so far as this Congress is
concerned, as soon as proposed. 1t came too
close to the late OPA to be palatable to the
majority in either House or Senate. 1t would
have conferred unprecedented peacetimel
powers on the Executive Branch, and many
think it would lead to what the President
himself termed a police state short time
ago. Only two relatively minor features of
the program-stricter control on exports,
and brakes on consumer credit-will be SER
iouSly considered. These are in agreement
with the anti-infiation program developed by
Senator Taft, in his capacity as majority
leader
From the purely practical point of view,
most commentators regarded the program as
highly dubious. They doubt if such thing
as Limited control" over the American econ
omy is possible Our industrial machine is
an extremely complex affair, and each cog is
dependent in one way or another on the rest.
One group of workers would certainly not be
happy with wage controls if other groups
were free of them. And to attempt to ration
and fix prices on some commodities and ma
terials while others were permitted to move
in free market would produce similar diff
ficulties.
The Taft program is essentially different
from the Presidents. He believes that the
four principal points must be a reduction in
the export abroad of goods in short supply ;
very substantial cuts in Federal spending;
I tax reduction on all income levels, and in
creased production. In short, he thinks that
the free enterprise system, given a favor
able economic climate, can work out its
problems without governmental domination.
In the meantime, the effort to conserve
foods continues. 1t is pretty generally be-
heved that the meatless and poultryless days
idea was ill-advised and impractical. The
mo fowl on Thursdays" plan was abandoned
hastily when the chicken and turkey breed
ers came out with their case. On the other
hand, according to energetic Charles Luck
man, who has been busy publicizing conser-
walton, something like 25,000,000 bushels of
grain had been saved by early November,
through the distillers' and brewers shut
down and similar measures He still expects
his goal of 100,000,000 bushels to be reached
by the turn of the year.
Key businesses have given the Luckman
program strong support. The American
Meat Institute has inaugurated a program
whereby it will work with farmers and
others to attain maximum utilization of our
grain crop. The Ohio plan has been given
much publicity, and has received the enthus-
iastic approval of the Secretary of Agricul-
ture, the Chairman of the Presidents Food
Committee, and other high officials. It's OBJ
ject is to accomplish an immediate saving OF
meat, wheat-and the consumers money as
well. 1t urges the housewife to buy plentiful
food, and will feature "food of the week
through advertising, posters billboards, ra
dio announcement, car cards, restaurant anC
hotel tie-ins, etc. The "food of the week" will
be chosen for abundance and availability il
all sections of the country, and will consist
of such items as grass-fed beef, fish, liver
dried fruits potatoes and plentiful vege
tables. 1t is an extremely well organized
plan, and involves cooperation between pro
ducers, professors, distributors and consum
ers. High hopes are held out for it.
To return to the President and Congress
it is clear that the special session will not d.
much about cost of living legislation-fol
the very sound reason that this is far to-
complex problem to be dealt with in hast
and will concentrate on emergency aid t.
Europe. 1t won't adopt the Marshall Plal
!, in toto, but it will go along with it in prin
ciple. During the regular session which be
gins in january, it will again take up govern
ment economy, tax reduction, and the rest.
There are explosive political potential
ties in this. 1t is certainly probable that MI
Truman knew that his program had n
chance of enactment. But, no matter wha