Milford chronicle., 1952-10-24

But why 90 On? After all, the rest of the
issues, taxes, controls prices, wages, inter-
national policy, foreign aid and defense, are
but subheads under the Big Four. And the
Big -Four are subdivisions of the one funda-
mental issue Of 1852:
DO WE WANT TO RETAIN THE
PRESENT ADMINISTRATION?
Don't ever forget that for all his good
manners and engaging personality, Adlai
Stevenson is Harry Truman's personal choice
as a successor.
THIS WOMAN HAD THE ANSWER
AS we were riding on train between
Wilmington and Philadelphia last week we
overheard a conversation between two ladies
which, to say the least, was enlightening. The
first lady opened the conversation which
overheard with the statement that "the peO-
pie of America should return the New Deal
to office. During Truman's administration
we have had more than ever before" Her
travelling companion looked at her and said:
Cali that we have to cause this sO-called pros
perity is War" The first lady had an answer
for this one. 1t was, ''Well, we have had a
little war going on all the time to keep the
defense factories going and keep the wheels
turning"
To this her companion answered, "War
to keep the wheels turning. War to kill our
young men and separate our families in all
parts of the nation. Madam, that little war
about which you speak took the life of my
son IN Korea. 1t may cost my nephew now
in that GOd-fOrSaken land his life. That,
lady, is no small war to my husband, to me
nor to our daughter. 1t is a killing war. We
have suffered an irreparabe loss Our son
is gone forever" The conversation ended
abruptly. But the silence which followed was
complete and unbrOken.
AS we listened to this conversation, we
felt sick at our stomach. We thought of the
Negro boy from the Chronicle plant who
was wounded in Korea. Even though struck
by bullets, he recovered and has been rotated
back to this country. But shot he was, and
his mother suffered the pangs of anxiety lust
as would you or | had one of our sons been
wounded. The conversation made us won
der whether the people fully realize the price
they pay so that President Truman can say:
I'VE never had it so good" We wonder.
G>GO&%G
CONTROLS FOREVER
1t has long been obvious that some men
In key government positions want price and
wage controls of a permanent nature, instead
OF the theoretically temporary type we are
buTdened with now A bill to bring about
that end is on paper, and it will probably be
offered to Congress if and when the time
seems ripe.
That time may never cOme-the last Con-
greSs showed less stomach for even material
ly relaxed price controls than did any of its
recent predecessors. However, the fact that
responsible government officials seek perman-
ent controls is evidence Of one of the most
dangerous and contagious of the bureaucratic
diseases The official who would willingly
give up power is so rare as to be museum
NV ire o1Vr
wants more and more power, more and more
authority to order people abOut-and, of
course, more and more Of our money to pay
the bills. Controls are sold to Congress and
the public on the grounds that they are nee
essary to deal with q temporary emergency.
Then, regardless of what happens to the al
legged emergency, every conceivable effort is
given to continuing them forever on a econ
troll for controls sake" basis.
No one need suffer any illusions as to what
permanent tough" controls would do to the
cOuntry-there is plenty of historical pre-
cedent here and elsewhere. You can tell a
manufacturer that he can charge only SO
much for an article at wholesale You can
tell the retailer that he must sell it to his
customers at such and such a price. But you
can't force the manufacturer to make it OF
the retailer to stock it if the legal price is
too low to allow some kind of a profit That
simple example shows why, in the long run,
controls always create scarcity. And when
that happens everyone suffers except the
black market operators.
Most important of all, controls always
lead to a political dictatorship of the economy
and when we reach that point we can quit
talking about individual freedom and repre-
sentative gOvernment-fOr they will no
longer exist.
HALLOWEEN LETS NOT BE
DESTRUCTIVE
The Halloween season approaches. The
time for mischief is near. But the time for