Evening star., 1949-01-06
Left Turn Ahead

sage, the PreSldenC seeks 10 discount III Dy
predicting that there will be strong oppo-
sition from selfish interests" Probably so.
But there is no justification for the impli-
cation in this that only those who are
serving some selfish interest will look
askance at the philosophy embodied in the
message, for there Is reason to believe that
adoption of Mr.. Trumans proposals would
mark long step in the direction of state
socialism. And there are many people, not
identified with any selfish interest, who
will be extremely reluctant to take this
step without more persuasive showing
of necessity than the President sets out,
and without a clearer understanding of
the long-range consequences of adoption
of Mr.. Truman's program.
The essence of this message is an appeal
for big government-for government that
will get bigger and bigger as it takes over
more and more new functions. Repeatedly,
the President uses such terms as the
increasing responsibilities on the Govern
ment," and "the Government has still
other opportunities" to do one thing and
another. Perhaps continued expansion
of government is inevitable, and it may
be that this is not, in and of itself, a bad
thing. But the President ignores the conSe-
quences, and they should be made clear.
The people should understand that bigger
government means more Federal employees
and bigger Federal budgets. They should
understand that the area of individual
initiative and responsibility diminishes as
that Of government expands. And it should
also be made clear that, historically, the
tendency Of expanding government is to
feed upon itself, and to grow constantly
larger in the process.
Is it necessary that the Government take
on ever-increasing responsibilities? Mr..
Truman points out that since the boom
year of 1929 there has been a population
increase in this country of only 20 per cent.
In the same period agricultural produc-
ton has increased by As per cent and
industrial production by IS per cent So
We have been making progress, although,
In the Presidents Judgment, not enough
progress. He would go faster and further.
Business he says, should expand and
produce more at lower prices. In event
business and industry cannot or will not
do this, the President submits an interest
ing though somewhat ambiguous proposal.
In the case of materials In critically short
supply, like steel, he suggests Government
loans for expansion of production facili-
ties II this does not do the trick, he wants
authority for construction Of such facili-
ties directly" Presumably this means
construction by the Government. If 1t
also means Government operation, or
Government-direct operation, as 1t
probably does, then the champions of
free enterprise may well wonder whether
they have not come to their Waterloo.
What is the prospect that private in
dustry will meet the demands laid upon
1t by the President? He wants $4,000, 000,0 900
In new tax revenue, to come principally"
from corporations. He demands enactment
of all of the economic controls heretofore
advocated. He attacks the Taft-Hartley
Act on generalized grounds which are not
supported by the facts, and demands its
repeal. Finally, in the background, he
brandishes the club of direct Government
competition. Is this an atmosphere in
which private investors will want to risk
their money, or in which private industry
will care to expand its plant facilities?
The answer Is no, and the inference can
be drawn that the President, consciously
or otherwise is calling for state of affairs
in which p-.vate industry cannot expand
and in which the scope of government will
have to be enlarged.
These things are by no means all that
the President proposes. While calling for
lower prices he wants higher minimum
wages, maintenance Of farm support
prices and, one can infer, higher overall
price-ceiling increases. Other items on his
program are extended rural electrifica-
ton, river development, better health
facilities, Federal aid to education, and
an expansion of public housing. Mean
while, he urges that the Federal budget
be balanced and that substantial sur
plus be raised for public debt retirement.
No one can be blamed for wondering where
the money for all this is coming from.
There are certain important facts on
the other side of the picture. One is that
private industry has not been able to give
the people all they want in the way of
better homes, better health, better schools,
etc. Another is that the proposals in the
ASSoose oAe, LII CAAe AAoAAi' 'Aio pAopoooAo
upon which the President made his bid
for reelection, and he won. If it be
pointed out that he won with slightly
less than majority of the total vote, the
fact remains that the congressional results
were somewhat Of a sweep for the
Democrats.
So when Mr.. Truman says the election
shows that the American people are in
favor of the kind of society he advocates,
he may well be right. Certainly, he and
the new Congress cannot be blamed for
thinking that 1t is good politics to try to
create this utopian society. The people,
by voting or by not taking the trouble