Browning chief., 1948-01-16

LnngS. IhOSe things
are owned today by hundreds Of
thousands of American people, the
stockholders, who have put their dol
lars together to build and maintain
an industry. If socialistic govern
ment were in control, it might con-
fiscate that industry for the purpose
Of dividing its wealth among the
'have nots," or the hundreds of
thousands Of employees.
1t is wealth, not just dollars,
that would be divided. To ono
might 60 a piece of a machine,
to another a few bricks from a
building, another might get the
rudder Of ship. No one would
have anything which, in any
way, could be put to productive
use. The government would
have taken from the "haves"
and given to the "have nots,"
who had not frugally saved
that they might "have," and
given nothing Of value to the
shave n0ts."
We would have destroyed an in
dustry; would have deprived hum
dreds of thousands of jobs, an oppor-
tunity to provide for themselves and
their families, and deprived the ma
ton OF a necessary commodity.
DOLLARS MUST WORK.
But suppose it was money that
was being divided. Suppose 100000
workers each received 5000. Such
sum would be valueless except for
what it would buy, and would be
gone within three to four weeks.
Those workers must at once invest
their money in the tools they had
been working with. If they did we
again would have a United States
Steel; we again would have stock
holders; we again would have
"haves" and "have nots." If they
did not, source of production would
have been destroyed; there would
be no jobs, and we would have but
multiplied the number of "have
nots." Such is the logical conclu-
sion of the socialistic theory.
Dollars must be congregated if
they are to work. When they are con-
gregated and invested in buildings,
tools, materials and the many things
that 60 to make an industry, they
cease to be mere dollars, but have
become productive industry from
which those who provided the dol
lars. those working at the jobs those
dollars created, and those who util-
ize the products of industry, the con-
sumer, all profit.
For a nation to attempt an equal
distribution of wealth seems utterly
silly. Under our economic system
the wealth of America is much more
equitably distributed than would be
possible under any brand of social
ism or communism. Our industrial
and distribution wealth is owned by
close to go million shareholders.
That industrial and distribution
wealth today is providing wages and
salaries to better than 60 million
workers. AS going concern that
wealth provides commodities for
each and every one of US. 1t is the
system of operation that creates and
maintains the high standard of liv-
ing we enjoy.
The un-American system of social
ism our theorists from Washington
attempted to foist upon Japan is
worse even than the monopolistic
system the Japanese people have
known for generations. That, at
least. provided jobs of a sort.
Many workers in the building
trades are paid as high as SIS a
day as wages. OF that they pay
in direct or indirect government
taxes about one-third. It may
be an exorbitant wage, but it
Is certainly an exorbitant tax.
One of the reasons urged by the
administration for the consolidation
of the armed services was the ad-
ministrative economies it would
make possible. Congress passed the
needed legislation. Within the first
month following the consolidation
the army and the air force added
more than 10000 names to the civil
ian employees payroll Of those two
departments. Senator Byrd Of vir.
ginia insists on knowing the reason
for such an increase. Possibly he is
unaware Of the fact that a national
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