Evening star., 1949-05-01
Truman Plans AssaiIed
By Landon as Reason
For Business Decline
By Gould Lincoln

pY SV0to 6u$OfH
Former Gov. ALI Landon Of
Kansas, Republican standard
bearer in 1896, in an address in
Topeka last night, declared the
best thing that could happen to
the country would be an adjourn
ment Of Congress, after ratifying
the North Atlantic Security
Treaty and passing the necessary
appropriations for Government
administration and national de-
fense.
The darkest cloud on the busi-
ness horizon today" said Mr.. Lam
don, is politics"
He added that If President Tru-
man continues to press his lavish
spending and taxation programs
on Congress and calls a special
session to force through his
'Facist" program, business will
continue shaky and unemploy-
ment will increase until I'VE have
real tadSpln.
1--WE are suffering more today
frsm the administrations politics
than we are from unsound business
conditions" Mr.. Landon said. The
air is full of warnings of the spec
tor of socialism inherent in Pres
ident Truman's welfare state. The
phrase welfare state" is one OF
these slick slogans that has the
political advantage of meaning all
things to all men"
Changes Feared.
The administrations recommen-
dations to Congress, Mr.. Landen
said, mean a brand new form of
government for the American
people. making the Federal Gov
eminent the master Of the lives OF
the people. Large groups, like the
farmers, will be forced to surren-
der their liberty and become mere
wards Of the state.
THE basis of that new form of
government is attractiyely de-
scribed as planned economy-an-
other description like the welfare
state" he continued. But there is
nothing new about that form OF
government. History is replete with
its failures"
Mr.. Landon cited number of
instances in which the planned
economy of the Democratic ad-
ministrations of the last Is years
have failed.
The planners" he said, have
not even been able to keep the
Social Security fund solvent. The
old age fund is seven billions short
OF what 1t must be to meet the
future payments under the old
age act. That is the harsh reality
of the super-state 50 far in Amer
lea. -,
The warm hearted. generous
souls who are marching under the
banner of the welfare state do not
see that it is simply the forerun-
ner. of the super-state.. The. super
state does not long stay socialist
of Communist. 1t always turns
to despetism.
Britain Criticized.
There are few left today that
are so benighted that they cling
to the delusiol4. taaat Ausssa is still
following the principles of Marx
and Lenin. The liberal socialist
government in England only exists
by reason Of the dole handed to
1t by capitahstic America. 1t is
only a short step fro ma planned
economy to a controlled economy,
and that means a Fascist economy.
Already President Truman has
only short step from a planned
economy to controlled economy
when he advocated building Gov
ernment steel plants.
Turning to the foreign situation,
Mr. Lawdon said:
1T is childish to blame Russia
for the state of the world when
our own policies have repeatedly
given her openings. If you make
a bad deal, you are only kidding
yourself when you blame the other
fellow.
For the immediate present. I
think the best thing that could
happen for prosperity in America
would be for Congress to adjourn,
and second, for both the Congress
and the local governments to go
back to the good old American
custom of deciding which must
have priority in public appropria-
ton instead of piling each new
request on top of the previous ones
until we have a perfectly fantastic
load of taxation on the American
taxpayer.
I'VE have gone too far to back
out of the Atlantic pact. That
would be suicidal. The Russians
don't fool easily. They aren't
kidded merely by piece of paper.
The Atlantic pact. of course. is
more than that-but without an
arms program, it isn't much.
Therefore. we must provide arms
some way-not only for ourselves
but our allies"