Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 10, Number 48, DeMotte, Jasper County, 17 October 1940 — Washington Digest Government Armament Program Presages Huge Business Boom [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Washington Digest Government Armament Program Presages Huge Business Boom

Federal Spending Is on Scale Unprecedented in History; Senator Johnson May Swing California Vote From Roosevelt to Willkie.

By CARTER FIELD

(Released by Western Newspaper Union.) WASHINGTON. A tremendous boom in all lines of business is expected by many far-sighted manufacturers. One of the best statements of the situation as viewed by some economists, as a result of the tremendous government spending only partially under way, is set forth in the following Fetter Eugene F McDonald Jr., president of Zenith Radio corporation, has sent to all his dealers. “Never in history from Caesar to the present day has any nation prepared a program of armament and spending equal to that which exists right here in the United States today. j “Every dollar goes to labor and profit. Do not pass this statement off lightly. Iron ore, lumber, cotton, etc., is nothing but labor with a minor part to profit. “Please keep this fundamental in mind: of our government armament spending—over 90 per cent will go to labor and less than 10 per cent to profit. Half Billion Dollars To Be Spent Monthly “From July, 1940, to July, 1941, the government will spend 5,000,000,000 defense dollars in the United States. “In August the government spent only $180,000,000 on this program,

which means the program must rise from now on to $500,000,000 per month to meet the year’s total. “Figure out what 500,000,000 ADDITIONAL dollars each month means to business. Business spurted ahead and looked upon the spending of the soldiers’ bonus as a godsend at the time. Yet, this soldiers’ bonus represented only two monthly installments of $500,000,000 each and from now on that amount will be spent each month. “The WPA in its heyday injected barely $140,000,000 a month intobusiness. The AAA put in less than $75,000,000 a month on an average. “The farmers’ income, independent of all the above this year, will be the second largest since 1930. Chain Stores Show Increased Retail Sales “The present defense program anticipates over $36,000,000,000 expenditure up to and including 1946, of which the $5,000,000,000 to be spent this year is only a small part. In August this year, when only SIBO,000,000 of the $5,000,000,000 for this year was spent, the 30 leading store chains of the United States increased their business from 3.1 per cent to 33.3 per £ent over August, 1939. Not one of these store chains showed a decrease. Every one of these 30 leading chains showed an increase in the eight months of 1940 over 1939 up to August, and mind you, the spending had hardly started then. “In other words, all these defense billions that are to be spent this year are plus expenditures which come on top of the already splendid increasing business. “The draft will increase business. The majority of men drafted will be single and certainly these men have not averaged S3O per month, net, to spend in civilian life after they have paid for lodging, board, and clothing. The soldiers and the sailors spend their money.” Johnson May Swing California to Willkie One of the most important personalities in this presidential campaign may turn out to'be Hiram W.

Johnson, U. S. senator from California for these many years. California has 22 electoral votes. When she had only 13, she decided the presidential election of 1916. Most of the figuring on electoral votes this campaign—on the assumption that the election may be fairly close—has given California unquestionably to Roosevelt. Folks began wondering about California when President Roosevelt went out of his why to slap Hiram Johnson, just on the eve of the California primaries. Everybody who knew anything about politics in the state was writing to friends in Washington that Johnson was almost certain to capture both the Republican and the Democratic nominations for re-election as senator. Yet the President was so annoyed with Johnson for various reasons that he permitted himself to be quoted by the newspaper correspondents to the broad general effect that Johnson could no longer be considered a “liberal.” Johnson didn’t like that a bit. He regards himself as having been an outstanding liberal since long before Roosevelt knew his wav around in politics. Most commentors on this slap of Roosevelt at Johnson have, based it on Johnson’s opposition to helping Britain. This is NOT the real reason. Roosevelt’s dislike of Johnson goes back to the time Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme court. Johnson was one of the little group that fought this so bitterly that it was eventually defeated. Just as he was one of the group that fought President Wilson on the League of Nations and other features of the Versailles treaty. It was not the failure of Johnson to change his policy on international questions that brought forth Roosevelt’s ire It was his battle against enlarging the Supreme court. Defeat of Johnson Is Now Impossible Every man who fought the President on that issue has been marked in the White House black book ever since. That of course was admittedly the chief motive in the unsuccessful attempts to “purge” Democratic senators "in 1938. This year the attempt to purge was renewed, qnd with more success. As a part of it, Sen. Edward R. Burke was defeated for renomination in Nebraska. Sen. William H. King of Utah was also defeated for renomination as a part of it. Defeat of Johnson is now impossible. It was impossible when the President slapped him, but the feeling was so strong that the President would not be politic. Several observers believe that if Johnson is mad enough to denounce F. D. R. and support Willkie in a few speeches before election, Willkie will carry the state. But that does not mean that Johnson, though a Republican, is going to support Wendell Willkie. Nobody knows what he is going to do. All we know is that he is very bitter against Roosevelt. Senator Johnson has been one of the outstanding isolationists in the senate. It is the act which bears his name that forbids any country in default to the United States on previous debts to borrow any more money in this country. *4 l *

An interesting sidelight on the demoralizing bombardment of London has developed in Washington. Reports from Britain indicate that-this constant bombing has tended to stiffen the resistance of the English people. British sympathizers here are presenting another plan by which material aid can be extended to the defenders. This group Has organized itself into the American Committee foe Defense of British Homes. This committee was formed by a group of well-known sportsmen and explorers who, hearing of the British people’s need for small arms, ammunition and binoculars, decided to do something about it. The decision has resulted in a nationwide drive for sporting rifles, shotguns, and pistols, ammunition and .binoculars.

New York headquarters of the group report that the public has responded to their plea by sending in a considerable selection of their favorite guns. Although shotguns predominate, old Springfield rifles used by the' U. S. army a decade before the war, 1917 Springfields, and many pistols of varied calibers have been received. •** . A Firms known to operate in violation of federal labor laws are going to be out of luck as far as U. S. defense orders from the army and navy are concerned. That word was forthcoming from the Washington office of Sidney Hillman, the defense commission’s labor member. Hillman’s announcement regarding the award of defense contracts was based on a statement of principles outlined by the defense commission and approved by the President. He believes labor should not suffer because of the present emergency.

HIRAM W. JOHNSON