Evening star., 1950-04-28
by me Asseeicted Press

Der to the american Newspaper
PxbltsheTs' Association tolIoaDs:
Il Is q great honor to address the
editors and publishers Of the United
States. You are the most powerful
Of all influences in our country.
My subject on this occasion arises
from my suspicion that the world In
It's tumults has abandoned most &C.
ceptance of history as q guide-poSt
There are plenty of voices about
but the voice Of experience seems
to have become stilled.
have had to do with the boiling
economic, social and political forces
during two world wars and their
aftermaths. propose for a few mo-
ments to add some of the voices OF
world experience into the present
clamor. I shall explore four sam
Piles, one each from the economic
social, political and international
field.
Economic Experience.
In the economic field there are
many shrill voices proclaiming that
our American economic system Is
outmoded. They say it was born OF
undesirable parents, such as Ameri-
can individualism and a French
lady, named laisSez-faire. They ac-
cuse the ghost of Adam Smith as
having had something to do with
the matter. They concluded our sys-
tenn is of the jungle or dog-eat-dog
variety.
1t might be observed that the al
tentative offered us is a drink mixed
by three different ghosts. That is,
the shade of Karl Marx with his
socialism. The shade of Mussolini
with his dictated and planned econ
ony. The spook of Lord John May
nard Keynes with his operation
cuttlef1sh" comprising managed cur
rency, peacetime imitation by deficit
spending and perpetual endowment
for bureaucrats. And we have con-
tributed an American theology Of
giye-aWay programs. 1t might be
called the ghost. However, the
handiwork of the ghosts and their
auxiliaries furnish you most of your
page one.
] am not going to repeat the old
and valid defenses of the American
economic system; I may mention
that in recent years we have taken
strong drinks from the three "hants"
I have mentioned, and from the
new generosity, all mixed with vary
ing amounts of pure water from the
American system.
The Economic Revolution.
Be all that as it may, my purpose
here Is to call your attention to a
less obvious world experience.
Sixty years ago our American
system was divorced from the
Laissez-Faire Lady. We started pro-
ceedings in 1887 when we created
the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion, thereby initiating the control
OF natural monopolies. But far more
revolutionary was the antitrust act
of 1890.
Western Europe never has had
effective antitrust laws. To the
contrary. there grew up in those
countries a maze of favored
private trade restraints, combina-
tionS, trusts and cartels. This form
OF economic organization sought
profits by fixing prices and by con-
troll Of production and distribution.
Under our revolutionized Ameri-
can system, competition remained
the restless pillow of progress. 1t
had to seek profits from improved
technology and lowered costs of pro-
ductio1l.
In time. Western Europe, without
the full pressure Of competition, lost
much of the impulse to improve
methods and equipment. Plants be-
came obsolete: standards of living
Stagnated.
Our System Dynamic.
In contrast, our technology with
one hundred times as many in
venting laboratories and a thou
sand times more trained technicians
has steadily improved it's tools. Our
standards of living increased with
cheaper costs and more goods. Our
system was dynamic; theirs was
static.
Finally Western Europe with its
obsolescent plants, its inability to
compete in world trade except at
the expense of labor was desperate.
1t took to hard drinking of the DO
tions from the shades of Marx, Mus
solini and Keynes-plus the new
generosity.
Our American system continues
TO produce despite periodic indul-
gence in these drinks. 1t does it
despite two world wars, innumer-
able interferences with incentives
and a Government take of go or 70
per cent of its savings. 1t still re-
tains the dynamic power to provide
the greatest and widest spread of
comfort to our people that the
world have ever known. That is, If
we would join Alcoholics Anony-
NOUS and quit mixed drinks.
Lest any dangerous thought flash
through your minds. I am recalling
this experience exclusively to you
as publishers and editors.
Experience In Sociology.
Now lest someone think all this
Is economics without humanism, I
offer an experience on the social
side. 1t is punctuated today by the
siren voices calling for security
from the cradle to the grave"
Security from the cradle to about
1S or 20 years of age, and from
about IS to the grave, has always
been sacred to the American people.
The training of our children, the
care of our aged and the unfortu-
nate have been a part of our system
since the founding of the republic.
1t Is part of our civilization. The
governmental part, however, needs
some repairs.
But the voice of experience which
I wish to recall relates to the idea
OF security for the middle group
say, from 20 to IS years of age. We
have less than 10 million providers
in these groups, and they must pro-
vide for 80 million children, aged,
sick, productive Government
employees and their wives. 1t is
solely from the energies of this
middle group, their inventions and
their productivity that can come the
support of the young, the old and
the sick-and the Government en-
ployes.
system Can Re neSfroved