Milford chronicle., 1949-12-16
LEAK OF THE ATOM BOMB

Washington has wondered and worried
about who leaked the secrets of the atom
bomb to Russia. The first reports were to
the effect that Harry L. Hopkins was respon-
slble for the leak. That guess didn't 90 over
well, because that wasn't the way Hopkins
did things. He was an honest man and he
only had one master in his later years-and
that was President Franklin Delano Roose-
welt. Finally Fulton Lewis, Jr., one of the
best commentators on the radio said he had
found out who leaked the atom secrets TO
Russia. He declared that Henry A. Wallace.
who was Vice President at the time and
head of the Board of Economic Warfare was
the guilty guy who spilled the beans. Henry
Wallace fared back and branded the charge
against him as "sheerest fabrication" Full
ton Lewis, Jr., hasn't modified his charges
one bit. Mr.. Hopkins was as loyal a co-part-
ner as any President ever had and it was not
any trouble at all for the press and the Gov
ernment to clear him of all charges. The Onlv
other man who could take the responsibility
OF communicating with Russia and turn over
secrets was Vice President Wallace He
hasn't cleared himself of the charges. So
keep your eyes on Henry. Evidently the
Russians know altogether too much about the
atom bomb and it is to be hoped that the
real villain who spilled the beans will be
brought out and get what is coming to him."
5000
STRIKING AGAINST PROSPERITY
Every industry-wide strike, of the sort
experienced IN coal and steel this year. is
throwing backward the lOng-range effort
toward sounder and greater prosperity for
everyone In this Nation. One practical econ-
omist, c. E. Wilson, President of General Mo-
tors, pointed this out recently in a talk he
made before representative group of execu-
tlves from another consumer goods Industry.
There are many reasons why the next ten
years can be and should be the most prosper
Gus years in the history of our country" said
Mr.. Wilson. However, this prosperity will
not be achieved through annual industry-wide
strikes and continuing industrial warfare.
Perhaps collective bargaining implies some
strikes, but even our great country cannot
afford the luxury of annual industry-wide
strikes threatening the prosperity of all of
us. We can all have more only if we produce
more We cannot promote prosperity or
achieve old age security for millions by re-
stricting or shutting down production In
General Motors we have done everything we
possibly could to minimize the effect of the
steel strike on our business. Starting last
May we accumulated all of the extra steel
we could above our current requirements
hoping there would be no strike but as insur-
ance IN case there was. Thus when the steel
strike. occurred the first of October we had
about three weeks supply of steel above the
minimum that would normally have been
required to maintain our current schedules.
IN spite of this the steel strike will cost us
the equivalent of about three weeks produc-
ilon IN the last quarter Of this year and will
nave some effect on our January schedules.
It IS Wen to remember that in a PROSPEROUS
hirsk1 e
and business activity will onlv continue as
long as the people have, confidence to buy
and are willing to work for the thinos thev
would ike to have" To these remarks NAV
be added the unQuestionable fact that repeat
ed and widespread strikes touching the en-
ire National economy cannot hut decrease
the confidence Of individuals in the consumer
cafegoIy Retail businesses of all sorts have
felt the blight Of the steel and coal strikes in