The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1951-02-01
Wilson And Johnston A Dud
Before Joint Committee

/ Washington (LPA) - A much
heralded appearance of Defens'
Mobilization Chief Charles f. Viii
son and Economic Sterilization dir
ector Eric Johnston before the
lJoint Congressional Committee or
the Economic Report Jan. 26 wai
something of dud.
| Both officials said pretty mucf
what they'd have said at a Cham
Der of Commerce luncheon. 1t took
Sen. Ralph Flanders OR, VT tc
make the hearing success by
ldrawing pictures on blackboard tc
illustrate the economic problem the
nation faces.
| Flanders, whose dry New Eng
land humor is under-rated, depict
ed the American Way of Living as
a typical American small town on
a river bank. He dubbed the river
the Rising Stream of Crisis and
said we must practice flood control
by building dixie against the ris-
ing waters.
But, said the Vermonter, "Some-
body had better see what can be
done about the head waters of that
stream" Otherwise, we may face
20 years of life behind the dixie.
Eric Johnston gave a ringing
statement in which he said that
price and wage controls were need
ed Immediately unless the Ameri
can people wished to suffer SER
ious consequences. Meanwhile, the
Capital was waiting for price
wage freeze order which Johnston
admitted was ready to be issued)
Johnston got himself bit cross
ed up by saying that wage-price
controls would be Temporary"
Sen. Joseph O'Mahoney Cd, Wyo.)|
extricated him by suggesting that
he didn't really mean literally
temporary.
The stabilization director refused
to be driven into a corner when
Sen. Flanders suggested that cost
of-living "escalators" in union con-
tracts should be superseded by|
price controls. "One of the tough
problems that we face" retorted
Johnston. (Flanders also said wage|
escalators and parity price form
ulas for farm products were "quite
parallel.")
Under sharp questioning, John-l
ston said that there would be mol
rationing associated with pricel
controls at first. But he hinted that
rationing might eventually be nee
essary. (Most Capital observers
feel that the need for rationing
some items will show itself before
long.)
In general, Wilson said he was|
trying to manage defense pro-
gram that already is taking nearly
18 percent of the national product
without hurting consumers any
more than is absolutely unavoid-
able. Oast year, defense took about
seven percent of the national prO-I
duct, at the height of World War
II it took about as percent.)
However, there are bound to bel
some "dislocations," Wilson point
ed out, because defense requires
''disproportionate" mounts of
some materials, notably such things
as aluminium and copper. Part of
his job, he added, was to try tC
prevent san economy of scarcity tc
any degree"
Wilson tangled with Sen. William
Benton Cd, Conn., and Rep.
Wright Patman Cd, Tex over thel
role of small businessmen in thel
defense program. Wilson expressed
loubt about the wisdom of givingl
Them "prime contracts. He said
hey lacked capacity for "produc
ion engineering" When PatmanI
setting up a small busi-
ness corporation which might do {
he production engineering, Wilson
;aid such an organizations was un-
necessary.