Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 June 1944 — Page 14

Give Light and the People Will Find The Own Woy

- THE FIGHTING IS FIERCER (ON this third day of the invasion, the American mood has turned from rejoicing to grim attention. That is as

human and understandable reaction after the long months of waiting and the desire to hasten total victory. News dispatches of the last few hours have made it clearer to many civilians that this is costly business. Of course we had been warned of this officially almost daily over recent weeks. But many were hoping against hope that it would be easy. And the official statements on Tuesday unintentionally fed that unreasonable hope by emphasizing “initial success” and “little opposition” and “light losses.” » » » ” n . THOSE D-DAY STATEMENTS were 100 per cent accurate in military terms, but they left civilians with a distorted picture. “Initial success” in military parlance means nothing more than that, but to many citizens it meant the invasion was a success. “Little opposition” and “light losses” to the military were relative phrases, but to the average citizen they meant virtually no shooting. Actually—as the delayed eyewitness dispatches from the beaches on D-day now reveal—the fighting has been fierce from the moment of landing, with plenty of losses. It could not have been otherwise against any enemy defending protected coastal positions, much less against such skilled soldiers as the Germans. . . - o - #n THE FACT that Gen. Eisenhower went to the beachheads in person, an- unheard of thing on the second day of a major invasion, is evidence not so much of his bravery— which needs no proof-——as of the grim situation. While the landings were a spectacular success on the beaches and by our airborne troops behind the li, more critical days are ahead. Our men are going through hell.

IT CAN BE DONE NOW

“THERE will be general agreement that tax rates should be reduced after the war. However, until it is definitely known that post-war taxes are to be reduced, the launching of new enterprises and the expansion of existing ones will be deferred. We recommend, therefore; that a post-war tax law be drafted now, during the war, and put ~n the shelf to go into effect at the end of the war.”— From the Baruch-Hancock report.

Almost nothing has been done about that recommendation. A group of Republican congressmen is studying postwar tax policies. But Democrats, who have the power to block definite action, sneer at the idea of drafting a tax law now to become effective when the war is over. Yet there is no more important duty that congress could undertake—if it wants sincerely to stimulate indus- , try and business to expand, to maintain high levels of employment, and to produce goods and services on a scale

war federal budgets of 20 billion dollars or more can be balanced without squeezing the taxpayers to death. » s o » 8 s IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE to draft a post-war tax law now. Without underwriting all the details of the program just proposed under auspices of the Committee for Economic Development-—the Harold M. Groves research study of “production, jobs and taxes”—we believe that it could he the framework for an excellent remodeling of the federal tax system, And delay will be terribly costly, For with business taxes at their present levels, small and new enterprises will not take the risks of expanding production and creating more jobs. Only the large established corporations can afford to dare such hazards. The Baruch-Hancock report is as right about the need | for drafting a post-war tax law now as it is about many other problems of reddjustment from war to peace. Those who ignore its recommendations must accept the responsibility if unemployment and depression follow the winning of the war,

————e—————————————

THE WRONG TIME TO CASH IN

IF aircraft production, or shipbuilding, suddenly dipped by 30 per cent, the success of our war plans would be endangered. If farmers were to produce 30 per cent less food this year, millions of persons would have to pull in

taken in the Pacific would mean a military disaster, The job of buying—and holding—war bonds is also important, although less dramatic than those critical phases of the war effort. Bonds provide the means by which each of us can buy a piece of the war and help finance its cost. They keep our money intact, at interest, at a time when that same money could boost prices to the point where money would lose in value, Yet, holders of E bonds last month cashed in a record total of $271,714,318—80 per cent of the $713,807,992 in sales for the month. The reasons aren't hard to find: We've en in war 214 years, taxes are high, cost of living is up, d still people are g money and they want to spend it. : Tre temptation Ye sash in war bonds, however inviting, es e wrong th our armed forc i a wong es busy with ; of the war effort, by: those of us who stay at home, ;

£ood job of buying war bonds—55 mil-

great enough to create a national income from which post- | i

their belts. The loss of 30 per cent of the territory we've |

determine the future course of the war. | “¥®

it should be. The rejoicing in the face of such a blood | ington bath for our loved ones was incongruous—even though a|

the rule instead of the rarity. There are two principal schools of thought on how to go about ending “war business as usual.” . The first is to set up some kind of agency in Washington to plan and boss the job, A somewhat faltering step in this direction was taken towards the end of May when War Production Board Chairman Donald M. Nelson announced the naming of s new committee of army, navy, maritime commission, manpower and WPB executives to make plans for reconversion on X-day—the date of Germany's collapse,

Can Any Agency Be Smart Enough?

CAN WPB do this job? Can any agency of humans be set up that will be big enough or smart enough to deal with all the problems of business reconversion by government control? For example, there is still no place in Washington where anyone can go to determine what effect cancellation of any one prime contract will have. Nobody in Washington knows where all the subcontracts are placed, and who will be thrown out of a job in Connecticut, Kansas or California when a prime contract is cancelled in Portland, Me., or Portland, Ore, Nobody in Washington knows what the inyentories of parts or stockpiles of raw materials are in all these sub-contracting plants, nor does anyone know to what each of these plants could be reconverted,

The 'Free Enterprise’ Theory

THE SECOND theory on bringing an end to “war business as usual” was advanced as long ago as last October by the Senate Truman committee investigating the war ‘production effort. It is that the government should not determine nor even strongly influence determination of what civilian goods are to be put back in production by whom, in what quantity, or when. In other words, remove restrictfons on use of materials as fast as surpluses develop, then cancel contracts as fast as possible to leave the rest to industry. This is nothing more or less than exercise of the free enterprise system that business has been yelling for. Maybe business doesn’t want this freedom of enterprise as much as it lets on. The Brewster case wodld seem. to indicate that labor as well as management wants government controls left on. No reconversion of one automobile company, for instance, until all can get back in the game , , , “war business as usual” until all the selfish pressure groups have made sure that they are going to be taken care of, regardless of cost to the taxpayer,

(Westbrook Pegler did not write a column today.)

We The People By Ruth Millett

THE CONVERSATION turned to women and their place in the world and a Southern newspaperman said: “The trouble with women is that they are ambitious only for themselves. Individually a woman BW rr is ambitious. She wants more : % a. money for herself or her husband RA ki because she believes that money A i is power. Individually she is a hog for power. “But collectively women are something different. They have proved that money in the hands of women is not power. Today they own more than 60 per cent of the country’s real estate, more than 60 per cent of all stocks and commodities —but they let men rule the roost.

Men Rule Because They Act Together

“LET A WOMAN step out to do something new and other women try to tear her apart. Let her get a little power and other women never rest content until they have discredited her. “So men rule the world because they act together. In business and in the profession their motto is ‘Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours’! But the guiding principle of women is ‘Let's scratch her eyes out before she has a chance to scratch ours.” He's right, of course. Women have so little power they are talking wistfully of maybe having a woman at the peace table, when they should, of course, be equally represented with men. . They have managed to get into the professions that once wouldn't have them—but for the most part they take the plodding work men don't want. They now have a chance to wear their country’s uniform— but the women who are wearing uniforms get little credit from other women for the job they are doing. What credit they get comes from generals,

To The Point—

IF YOU must run a good thing into the ground try tomato plants. . *

IT'LL BE A dark day for Hitler and the lights go on again all over the world. *® . . THINGS ARE different these days—the Americans didn’t fiddle around-—and Rome didn’t burn, : * . * GIVING YOUR wrapping paper is another showing you give a rap for the war effort, . » . THE QUICKEST way for a doctor to lose a is to tell her it was only a minor operation. So i » » » isiy 3

EVERY DAY is pay day for the man his job,

Tojo when

: § . . . ea Fa i ‘a » i ¢ RE

invasion success makes cancellations of war contracts |.

way of | patient |

WORRY~ wE'LL LA

SOMEWHERE

“WHAT'S NEW ABOUT THIS NEW DEAL?” By Roy Van Wye. Columbus There has been a heated discussion in the Forum relative to“the merits and demerits of the so-called “New Deal” I have a number of questions that mave been bothering me and perhaps some of our readers can explain them to me in full. Pirst: What is new about this so-called New Deal? Now I know we had a very serious depression during the last years of Mr. Hoover's administration, but did we not have a more serious one during Mr. Cleveland’s last administration? My father tells me that it is true that we had no apple sellers at that time since no one had any money to purchase apples. Now I also know we have had some very troublesome times for labor during the past few years, but again Mr. Cleveland had his troubles with labor, too, and did he or did he not solve his troubles with armed troops, too, just as the New Deal did recently? Now ancient Rome had a New Deal, too. Did they not feed the populace, amuse them with games and do everything possible to divert their attention from the real state of affairs? Were not the Dark Ages, following the decline of the Roman Empire, the most serious depression this world has ever known? Did not England, France and Spain all have periods of great influence and all decline because the people had been lulled into the belief that their rulers were the only persons on earth at that time capable of managing the affairs of the people? Did not all these countries decline because a certain segment of the people were appeased at the expense of the rest of the citizenry? Are the American people to fall for this same old “tried and found wanting” deal in the guise of a New Deal? Second: How is the money to be raised to pay for this New Deal? How will the government raise the money to even pay the interest on the public debt and continue in the administration of the affairs of this great country? At 2% this interest alone will amount to about 8 billion dollars per year or about $62.00 per person. Add to that about 8 billion dollars for the administrative load, or $77.00 per person with another 6 billion for pres. ent and proposed social security and old-age pensions or another

The Hoosier Forum

I wholly disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.—Voltaire.

(Times readers are invited to express ‘their views - in these columns, religious controversies excluded, Because of the volume received, letters should be limited to 250 Letters must be signed. Opinions set forth here are those of the writers,

words.

and publication in no way implies agreement with those opinions by The Times. The Times assumes no responsibility for the return of manuscripts and cannot enter correspondence regarding them.)

tax load of $170.00 per person or for the average family of five persons, and this means men, women and children, a tax of $850.00 in federal taxes alone. This is about $17.00 per week for their family that average family at a 40-hour week, $3.40 per day or 43'% cents an hour. That much of your future income is pledged to the federal government right now; and, unless much more is paid by you at the present, it will be pledged forever against you and your children and your children’s children “even until the seventh generation!” Of course, many will be -unable to earn $17.00 per week for their families and some other family will have to pay their share as well as someone else’s share, Look around

to that must

effort. Has the New Deal ever made any effort’ whatever to reduce the costs of government? When brought to task for expenditures has it not always found a

$31.00 per ‘person and we have a

Side Glances—By Galbraith

convenient “emergency” fo further

‘public,

raise them? Can any government, industry or business be run in-

it at public expense merely vide jobs? If government where will labor end up? Will

ployment when the manufactured merchandise has no sale value merely to keep labor employed? If it does, who will pay the employees except through added taxes? These are just a few of the many questions I would like to have a clear answer on, = “POWER USED ONLY AGAINST EMPLOYER” By James R. Meitsier, Atties. C. I. O. and Walter Prisble say Roosevelt did right in using the

and likewise take over the New Indiana Chair Co. Attorney General Biddle admitted “there was room for argument” as to the legality of such action, but Senator MecCarran's senate committee has no doubts such use of force was unlawful. Mr. Prisbie says “by executive order the war labor board was established . , . the fact that the labor and business were equally represented . . . made it in-

rectives enforced by the army instead of government by law and the courts. As to public representation, what voice did you have on this board or business either?

New Indiana Chair Co. may openly defy the authority of the board . .. we can be thrown into economic chaos.” Strike records for U. S. Steel Corp. the first four months this year show 188 work stoppages in 121 days, man hours lost, 549,336; tonnage lost, 223,622. ‘The fore-

gain by exchanging s private boss! “4 for a federal boss? Has the federal | government ever proved efficient in

army to seize Montgomery Ward - should

lection of special | those picked for eases, was started cial probe committ yers. ve, + “PRIME MINISTER CHURCHILL blew up a cone f] The committee, his stogles the other day. He praised and petted the’ ang the Lawyers 4 Fascist-minded, Fascist-acting Gen. Frapco of Spain > ‘dianapo Russias * charm ¢ haired, © 5 8: districh soft-spoken ‘Mr. Hull. cL : . Appointment of “A lot of people in high and low places in this. Snuounced py Ha) ye II baer a) \0o happy Sila) oyss tis Presiden e rough handling w. DeGaulle the hands , Myers Jr, of some British and American leaders; was that association, |

'We Had Better Review Our Reasons’

“MR. CHURCHILL explains his comments by saying that he is a ‘practical’ man,

and we awoke to find that other, tions, had been doing “This time, in ciding the fate of our enemies, firm, judicious but fair, and we out of Versailles and the ‘treat’ out of treaty.”

Musical Engineers By James Thrasher

practically impossible to hear a pr music in’ public. ’

It seemed that when Mr. Petrillo succeeded in getting an unpaid and unsponsored symphony ore chestra of high school children put off the air, he had removed all dangerous competition. But there still remained oné serious rivalry which now threatens 8. strike in two major networks, '

Trouble Hinges on a Delicate Point

records, the within his union’s fleld. He got the wits im (they long age discoqbred that 16 Sule Tih to). They signed contracts to dues-paying musicians for this delicate work at a mere 12 bucks a day. But the National Association

;

i Eicge feet,

Fig

Some Intriguing Future Possibilities

MOST OF ALL, however, we are intrigued the future possibilities for the musician latest Petrillo contention opens up. give off musica] vibrations should be handled a member of the & ns’ union, postwar employment problems

So They Say—

THE SMALLER states are made to feel the burden of the war no less and often more acutely than the very great powers. It seems reasonable, therefore, that they should have their yoice in attempts to pre. vent war.—Netherlands Foreign’ Minister Eelco N. van

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