Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-09-23
Text of Dewey's Address at Albuquerque

of Coz. Deweys address here
last night:
Two fundamental problems con
front the American people today
One is to establish just and 1astinI
peace and prevent a threatene,
world war. The other is to estab
lish at home stable and CONSTANT,
improving economic conditions ant
avoid a disastrous imitation followed
by collapse. Some people forge
about the world and worry onl,
about our own problems. But w
can't do either one. These urgen
issues cannot be separated. The.
are tied up together. 1t is perfectl.
clear that we cannot get economi,
stability at home and 60 forward II
better life for every one of us 81
long as we live in a world rackec
by the fear of war. 1t is equal.
clear that we cannot hope to MAKE
an effective contribution to worlt
peace if our economic strength j
wasted away by imitation.
Now let's squarely face up to tn,
facts about imitation. We can licl
this problem. The American peopl'
can lick any problem if they under
stand it and tackle it together.
Up Against High Costs.
Imitation is a $40 word for wha
every one of us is up against-th'
high cost of living. That include
the high cost of groceries. Thu
high cost of building new home
the high cost of doing business, tn
high cost of running the Govern
ment and everything else. Farm
prices are good, but the farmer sell
at wholesale and buys at retail, ant
he buys at prices that have almos
doubled Meanwhile the farmer
the rancher and the stockgrower liv'
under a fear of collapse of prices
The small businessman knows tina
slight drop Of business will pu
him in the red and workers every
where fear a recession will meal
loss of JOBS. That boom and bus
is what We are determined t.
prevent.
Now, what should your nationa
administration do about this prob
lem of imitation? Well, the frs
thing is to get men in Washington
who will know what caused it. TIT
immediate causes of the presen
high prices are rooted in the heav.
Government spending of the war
That, of course, was unavoidable
and we do not begrudge p cent OF 1t
Our present imitation danger Il
greatly aggravated by the mistaken
policies, bad management and poo
Judgment of the Federal Govern
ment which for years has been NOV.
ing heaven and earth trying to bring
on just such an imitation as we are
now suffering from.
The causes also include the huge
outpouring by the Federal Govern.
ment of borrowed money necessary
to fight the war. The pent up de.
mand for consumer goods here al
home, and the urgent need fol
American food and materials
abroad.
Top Heavy Bureaucracy.
Those are the real causes of infla-
ton. I propose that we face them
honestly and that we get the kind
of administration in Washington
that can deal with them effectively
The most important single meas
ure to meet the danger of imitation
is to cut down every avoidable dollar
Of spending by Government. Right
now we are supporting, paying for ii
out of our own pockets, bloateo
and top heavy bureaucracy. Why
do you suppose it is that almost
every time one of those Communists
or fellow travellers gets fired-and
few of them have been flred-he
turns up in another Federal job
Well, one reason is that there are
too many Federal jobs, and that fact
is not a red herring. There is toe
much loose and sloppy budgeting
too little business management ano
too much plain waste.
promise you that on next Janu.
airy 20, you will have a nationa
administration that will begin tt
make Roadway on this imitation
problem. We will bring to Wash.
ingtcn competent men and Womer
and we'll introduce good manage.
ment into the business of our Fed.
eral Government. Well begin tc
lower costs.
Next in Importance is that yor
have Government which will
maintain substantial surplus Of
national revenues which we car
use to retire outstanding Govern.
ment debt, particularly that par
of the debt held by the banking
system. That, too, requires lower
general costs of government.
OF course, if We lived in a police
state, if we had a completely con-
trolled economy, there might be
simple solution to the problem
Soviet Russia has given us an ex'
ample. To meet the problem of in
hation, Russia simply took away
-tenths of the money of hel
people. There are even people ir
our own country who say we car
solve our problems by a similal
drastic procedure. That, of course
is sheer nonsense. We can solve
our problems without using totali'
tartan devices, without resorting tx
the methods of the police state.
Struggle by All.
We can meet our needs il
America as free men and by Ameri.
can methods. 1t is still true thai
the price of liberty is everlasting
vigilance and the price of fret
government is that the people them
selves, as free men, do their share
We will solve our problems through
the good sense, the patriotism ane
the unity of the American people
The struggle against imitation
calls for effort on the part Of al
of us, individuals and government
alike, to spend as little as possible
to pay our debts as much as pos.
sible. I can assure that your mex
administration will practice il
washington what it breaches to thu
country.
In all that we do and whatever
measures we take, We must keep i
firmly in our minds that our pur.
pose Is to control initiation, not II