Milford chronicle., 1948-05-14
THE MINIMuM Wage

Senator Ball has proposed a number of
important changes in the Fair Labor Stand
ards Act, including an increase in the mini
mum wage, and clarification of various par
agraphs which have led to involved differ
eIlces of Interpretation in the past. One of
the changes would permit certain variations
in wage rates and worker classifications de-
pending upon regional economic conditions
That proposal is all to the good. The Fair
Labor Standards Act is designed to protect
the least skilled worker from exploitation,
and to guarantee him subsistence income.
There is a variation in the cost of living be-
tween urban and rural communities, and
also between different sections of the nation.
Arbitrary standards, which permit of no de-
Walton in pay regardless of business or To-
cation, are discriminatory and unSound. AS
for proposed raises in the minimum wage
it is certainly true that conditions have
changed since Congress first enacted the law
in 1888. At the same time, great care must
be taken against establishing so high a min
imum level that the incentive to improve and
qualify for better job is minimized, that
the lntiatiOnary wage-price spiral is given
another shot in the arm, and that new bur-
dens are placed on business. People who are
paid the minimum wage are usually begin
ners who are completely unskilled. Those
with aptitude and ambition swiftly move up
ward to higher wage scales. These are the
considerations that must be kept firmly in
mind when Congress considers a revision of
the Fair Labor Standards Act
&SON&
A GREAT SOLDIER PASSES
Although he never carried gun into
battle, one of the great soldiers Of America
died in Detroit the other day. He was among
those Adolph Hitler failed to consider when
he mounted World War III on wheels He
was William S. Knudsen, Danish-bOrn pro-
ductiOn genius, who gave up his post as pres
ident of General Motors in 1910 to become
the armOrer for the Allies. Knudsen'S mass
production ability was of caliber that
brought him rank as the greatest in that line
ever to be associated either with Ford or
General Motors. He spent many years with
each, his contact with the former dating back
to the early days of the century, when he was
with supplying firm in Buffalo. 1t was all
training for his war career. America would
have been hard put without him. 1t was mass
productiOn-in hurry-that the United
States needed then, and Knudsen was the
man who knew how to get it in hurry. He
told the story that when he was landing at
New York as an immigrant boy of 20, back
in 1900, someone shouted Hurry up, there %
and that he had been hurrying ever since.
Bill KnudSen poured so much of his hurry
%1AOO VI WdIClIllC
that America armed itself on land and sea
and in the air more quickly than anyone had
dared to hope. And he armed our allies, too.
GSO&&
DON'T HOLD Your BREATH
You still hear people talking about buy
ing something or other "when prices 90
back to normal" Anyone has perfect right
to defer his purchasing in hope of price
millennium. But, judging by the evidence, he's
going to have long wait indeed. The infa,
tlonary preSsures are as strong as ever. The
usual upward wage adjustments are taking
place. The national income is still at or near
its peak. The government is showing little
disposition to economic in any direction
The cost of the European Aid Program anC
the preparedness program will turn more
dollars loose, and lead to more competition
for scarce goods. Nothing, in fact, indicate.
the probability of important price drops fol
any kind of commodity in general use.
Stores have voluntarily cut their profit mar
gins, discouraged consumers from buyins
high priced wares worked with manufactur
ers to improve qualities and lower prices. re
duced their overhead to the last nickel, anC
so on. This has helped enormously to retarC
lncreases-but it hasn't caused a swing bacl
to the 1941 price level. There is a defnit,
point past which retailers or any other groul
can't go and stay in business. They have Il
make both ends meet like the rest of us. w,
all hope for lower prices. But don't hold yOu1
breath while waiting.