Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-03-12
What's
New?
By
Edward ].
Duck,
Assistant
Director,
National
Auto>Lhe
Division

DnOf OF Leu GApiOlC AONA
Mind" has never been on the
CIO payroll. Nor is he likely
to be. The job wouldn't be ac-
eeptable to him, he wouldn't
be acceptable TO US, besides he
isn't looking for employment
Just now.
What we mean to infer is
that the good professor has
never been accused of being
on our side, shall we say?
More often than not his subtle
swipes have thwacked our
midsection, editorially speak
ing.
Wiggam and Robert Taft
seem to have been cut from
the same cloth. They are on
the same side of the fence,
economically, and they seem
to preach from the same gos-
pei. Cycles and statistics, sup
ply-and demand, survival OF
the fittest, are familiar terms
to those who have studied
their creed and are familiar
with tn cir particular Wall
street drawing room jargon.
(iargon meaning special vo-
cabulary," according to Web
ster)
So 1t was with great amaze
ment that we came across an
item in DIR. Wiggam's column
way back in AS which Taft
must certainly have regarded
as heresy, it not treason. Be-
fore the CIO had tapped on
industry's door for its first
postwar pattern increase,
here was Professor Wiggam
telling the nation in general
and industrialists in particular
that il was good business for
the corporations to give their
employees nice, fat, substan-
tial wage increase.
"Looks lik e industrialists
could get double their money
back by giving this wage in
crease" wrote Wiggam.
In terms of increased pur-
chasing power the raise sug-
gested by Wiggam would have
amounted to $500 million
spent for additional food, $4l6
million for clothing, $6l3 mil
lion for housing and rent, $2l3
million for fuel, light and re-
frigeration, $685. million for
transportation and automo-
biles, 1924 million for recrea-
ton, and $73 million for per-
sonal hygiene. A lot of mil
lions, a lot of increased pur-
chasing power for American
wage earners, a lot Of guaran-
teed future employment, and
a lot of resulting profits for
American industrialists and
merchants. The figures were
quoted from DR.. Frank Lori
mer's American Population
Policy" and covered, accord
ing to the authors proposal,
all persons earning not more
than $3.50. While this plan
would not have included many
CIO members, it would have
provided for probably forty
million unorganized wage
earnerS.
The unorganized didn't get
that raise. In fact, it took the
CIO 10 months to get 1t in
two yearly installments. And
then, after we had 1t on
paper, and the unorganized
not at all, we didn't have it
in terms of purchasing power,
and the unorganized were
deeper in the hole than ever.
Unfortunately DR.. Wiggam,
and DR.. Lorimer too, had not
rerkoned with the element Of
greed which lurked in the
shadows Taft and his con-
congressional friends scuttled
the OPA, and sabotaged the
A m erican consumer. Our
raises let us more completely
behind the economic 8-ball
than we had been in years.
We didn't have more food
clothing, housing, refrigera-
ton, automobiles, recreation,
or anything else.
To give the devil his due,
so to speak, we offer belated
thanks to the above named
gentlemen. They meant well.
They had not considered the
program in its entirety as
Senator Robert LaFollette did
when he told his congressional
colleagues on March 5, l946
that industry h ould raise
wages while lowering prices,
thereby increasing the Amer
ican standard of living while
still earning good profits.
"Give them chance to i'm
crease their standard of liv-
ing" LaFollette pleaded, "and
you automatically shift our
economic machine into high
gear"
Some day we will recognize
the necessity of considering
wages, prices, and profits as
one composite problem, and