Evening star., 1953-10-26

| increase in working hours. The
committee observed:
Continuation Of present tax
levels would be disagreeable and
painful. but the record of 1851
1853 demonstrates that these
taxes did not prevent a great
productive effort by manage
ment and labor. Such tax levels
would be preferable to imitation
or to the imposition of compre-
hensive direct controls"
The third program-boosting
defense costs to SITS billion
would leave enough resources
only for small increases in in
vestments and in the standard
of living 1t would require an
increase of taxes estimated by
committee members at SIS bill
lion equivalent to an increase of
about $12 billion in the present
economy)
Said the report:
Because of the limits of direct
taxation (it) might require
among various tax measures i'm
position of additional taxes on
consumption"
One committee member, Solo,
mon Barkin. dissented on this
point. 1t would be better, he
said, to raise the needed addi-
tional revenue by tightening the
income tax structure, imposing
more effective estate taxes and
improving enforcement.
I Mr.. Barkir is director for re-
search for the Textile Workers
Union of America.
In addition, the committee
predicted that the $75 billion
program probably would require
measures designed to restrict
public and private investments
not related to the defense pro-
gram"
Despite these requirements, the
committee decided that "a pro-
gram bringing the United States
to an annual rate of security
spending =. up to about $40
billion to $75 billion by 1856
would lie within the nations
financial and economic capacity
without necessitating wartime
controls"
The report concluded:
I'VE believe that the decision
as to the size of the defense pro-
gram, under conditions short of
full mobilization or major war,
should be made on the basis of
clear military and political stra-
tegic needs in the light of the
international situation, and not
on the basis of assumed eco
nomic limits that are not pres
ent."
Committee SignerS.
The statement was signed by
the following committee mem
berS, in addition to Mr.. Barkin:
Ralph j. Watkins, chairman,
Director of Research, Dun &
Bradstreet; Frank AltSch g,
chairman of the board, General
American Investors Co.: Murry
r. Benedict, Professor of Agri-
cultural Economics, University
of California; Harry A. Bulls,
chairman of the board, General
Mills; Gerhard Colin, Chief Eco
nomist, National Planning As
sociation; John Kenneth Gal
braith, Department of Econom-
les, Harvard University; Clinton
S. Golden, Executive Director,
Trade Union Program, Harvard
University; Isador Lubin, New
York; T. G. MacGowan, man
ager, Marketing Research De-
partment, Firestone Tire and
Rubber Company; August Maj
fry, vice president, Irving Trust
Co.; Arthur Moore, McGraw-
Hill Publications: Donald r.
Murphy, editor, Wallaces' Farm
er and Iowa Homestead, Des
Moines. Ia; Stanley Rutten-
burg. Congress of Industrial Or
ganiationse Boris Shishkin,
American Federation of Labor;
Glen K. Slaughter, Labor's
League for Political Education;
H. Christian Some, chairman
of the board, Amsinck, Some &
Co., New York; Howard R. Toll
ley, The Ford Foundation: and
Walter H. Wheeler, jr., president,
Pitney-BOWeS Inc.