Evening star., 1949-06-08

u
through. men we're baltns hay, Imagine
seeing that on one's way home from work
in the Federal Government! Sometimes
they are plowtng, sometimes planting. some
times cutting or husking corn. moving or
harvesting wheat and many other things.
And the cattle. they are beautiful. Herds Of
beautiful white and black cows and little
calves
wonder II anywhere else In the world
there In q large city with q real farm In the
midst Of II. Are we not o fortunate people
here In Washington to have these peaceful.
rolling acres, with their lovely trees and
lakes and horses and cattle and real farm
life SO near? A breathless bit OF natures
own loveliness In the heart Of the Nations
Capital. GEORGIA B. JONES
Argues That Free Enterprise
Is Based on Series OF Hidden Subsidies
To Editor Of The Star:
Most people agree that subsidies are quite.
quite evil things these days-that Is so long
as someone other than themselves 10 receiv-s
ing the subsidy. Loudest anti-suhsidy group
are business leaders. which. OF course. leads
one TO assume that they have always stood
squarely on their own two feet and borne
business trials and hardships manfully with
out any old subsidies TO help them along.
am sure that Is the impression they have
Of themselves and want NIL others 10 have
Of them.
Yet close scrutiny shows that business
probably is the most highly subsidized group
In our Nation. I have no desire TO deal In
semantics. but q subsidy" Is not merely one
thing only-namely assistance by Govern
ment direction and money gifts. A subsidy
also Is assistance through governmental in
direction-failure Of government to protect
human and natural resources that should
have been protected In the first place. In
deed. virtually the only time q subsidy is
required Is to correct an existing inequality
or danger due to previous neglect. Only
when the danger becomes immediate and
obvious Is subsidy attempted: yet that nee
essity has It's roots, Its causes In past actions
actions which. during their actual per
Torrance. were being subsidized by inatten-
ton or lack Of control over them.
Landlords Blamed for Neglect.
Let us not be fooled by propaganda against
subsidies. We must not forget one basic
law Of physics. and one which applies to
economics as well-that for every action
there Is an equal and opposite reaction. Sub
sides cannot be construed as anything
| else but reactions; and we must therefore
search for the action" that initiated the
| reaction.
To cite examples Of the truth OF the fore
going: I. We have Just been informed that
20 million dollars must be spent In slum
clearance and for building new housing TO
replace the slum dwellings In Washington.
This money comes from the taxpayers. On
the one hand 1t may seem like o subsidy TO
present residents OF the slum districts. As 1t
appears to me, 1t Ii quite the opposite-it Ia
direct evidence that q previous subsidy had
been given to the owners and landlords OF
these slum homes. the subsidy Of permission
to collect rent from dwellings not At for
human habitation To have taxpayers now
spend 20 million dollars to correct this con-
dition is merely to pay In lump sum that
subsidy granted to those owners In the past.
Was II not the duty Of slum property owners
to have paid as they went; in other words.
II theirs can be called free business enter
prise. should 1t not have been self-sustaining
rather than unsustaining to the point that
all taxpayers now must share the losses
that previously accrued as profits to the
landlords?
Lumbermen Also Criticized.
To carry 1t further how much additional
money have the taxpayers spent to combat
disease and crime spawned In these slums?
Rest assured It Is not nearly so small as 40
million dollars / should say that these
businessmen" landlords and owners have
had quite a substantial subsidy granted them
for some time. It would be interesting to
know how they feel about subsidies to
farmers.
2. How loud is the uproar because iva
projects and flood control projects must be
Federally sponsored. But what are floods
but results of reckless and subsidized scuan-
dering Of forests by lumbermen IN business
for profit? A self-sustaining business? Ger
tainly not: we now must pay for uninhibited
destruction Of forests by men who received
q subsidy every time O tree was cut down
and not replaced Little good IL does TO
protest taxation for this: the debt must be
paid. Not only by taxation must 1t be paid
but by human lives, destitution and physical
flood destruction.
Merely two examples. but innumerable
others exist. They will come to light as fast
as the Government presents Its Federal
projects-all Of which will be decried as
"sociaIistic" Each project will point up the
,, actual subsidies we are permitting and have
permitted In the past. Il Is no wonder the
national debt increases. We are having 70
pay of more and more Of these hidden sub
sides For which Of our today's actions
will our children be having to pay In cash
for the subsidy we are stealing from them?
On free enterprise rests most Of the blame.
1t viii do no good to fuss about bureaucracy
and government waste" It tfree enterprise,
already has collected It's subsidy. Tt admits
1t every time 1t says: I'VE know that Capital
ism isnt perfect" The imperfections are
precisely the things that have been sub
sidized. WIN. II. REYNOLDS
This Reader Gives Another Side
To adults Only" Controversy
10 Ike EDITOR Of Tns star
The modern conventional trends toward
having small families has 10 O certain extent
controlled the size Of housing units ct present
being built Thus your correspondent Mrs
cosner. with her six children would have dif-
ficuity In finding accommodation under any
circumstances. However her attack on ad-
yertisements which stipuiate Adults Only"
REQUIRES some investigation 10 there any
reason why this should be necessary? La II
possible that the landlords feel that their
property might be damaged by. uncontroneo
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