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Show mmm Released by Western Newspaper Union. FULL EMPLOYMENT' IFTER THE WAR IN WASHINGTON THE theorists vhose announced purpose has been, ind still is, to "make over" Ameri-:a, Ameri-:a, tell us that, following the close )f the war, private enterprise will )e given an opportunity to demonstrate demon-strate whether or not it will still vork. If, when peace comes, private interprise can provide "full employment," em-ployment," the profit system will be illowed to continue, but if not it nust give way to the planned conomy of the theorists. Just what is meant by "full em-jloyment?" em-jloyment?" With the demands of a (lobal war to meet we have had nore than 50 million employed vorkers and another 10 million in he armed services. We have heard riuch of manpower shortage; industries indus-tries have competed wildly in the abor market; women, some millions mil-lions of them, have been asked to, ind have, filled men's jobs. Must arivate enterprise in peace time provide from 50 to 60 million jobs f it is to be allowed to continue as America's economic system? In 1939, one year before Pearl Harbor, we were producing much in Ihe way of war equipment for Eng-and Eng-and and for our own war prepara-aons. prepara-aons. We were then told the deprs-lion deprs-lion difficulties had been solved. In 1939 34 million workers had jobs. That condition followed an expendi-wre expendi-wre of some 20 billion dollars on the part of the government in an effort id crette a market for American farms and factories. Following the close of the war, and before the armed forces arc disbanded, the back to the home movement on the part of women workers will probably reduce the employables to around 50 million. That would be 16 million mil-lion more than those having jobs in 1939. That is what private pri-vate industry is supposed to care for, or else. In 1943 the government permitted United States Steel to retain, as a rainy day surplus out of which to provide peacetime jobs, enough to meet a one day payroll for all of its " wartime employees. What was true )f Steel was true of other major m-iustries. m-iustries. Our Washington theorists have, ind are continuing to, make it impossible im-possible for private enterprise to do .he job they say it must do if the private enterprise system is to be illowed to live. It would seem we Dave a choice of retaining the theorists theor-ists or the private enterprise system. sys-tem. , FREE ENTERPRISE AND STANDARD OF LIVING IT WAS, I BELIEVE, IN 1906 that Chrysler, then an Iowa railroad su-. su-. perintendent, bought his first automobile, auto-mobile, for which he paid more than $5,000. To start that car he had to get out and turn a crank; its lights tor night driving were kerosene lamps ; to protect the occupants Erom the inclemencies of the weather, weath-er, curtains could be buttoned to frames on the side; if fortunate the driver might attain a speed of as much as 25 miles an hour. Before the war started a far better bet-ter car could be bought for less than one seventh the price Chrysler paid; " a car with all the gadgets that makes for the convenience and luxury lux-ury of driving. The difference to the consumer, the better car at but a fraction of the cost, was produced by the American Amer-ican system of competitive free enterprise. en-terprise. Competitive free enterprise brought quality up and price down to where cars were possible for 30 million mil-lion homes and farms. It put America, Amer-ica, urban and rural, on wheels behind be-hind an internal combustion engine. Over the past 40 years competitive competi-tive free enterprise in the automobile automo-bile field did far more than produce pro-duce better and cheaper cars. It created jobs, better than five million of them. Jobs that meant the maintenance main-tenance of homes. Jobs at ever-increasing ever-increasing wages. Jobs that provided provid-ed a market for the produce of the farm. In no other country, at this or any other time, has there been such a record of progress, such an ever-increasing standard of living, as we have had in the United States. Despite the evidence evi-dence to the contrary Washington Washing-ton theorists attempt to tell us our competitive free enterprise system has failed, and government, govern-ment, with its regimentation and regulations, should take over our production. To them evidence means nothing as compared to their theories. THERE IS A "know how" to the building of ships and airplanes, tc the making of guns and tanks, to the production of chemicals and munitions. Such "know how" is recognized rec-ognized by the Manpower commission commis-sion and the army and indispensable men in such lines are not called tc the colors. Food is a first essentia! of war. Without food all other wai production would be valueless. There is a needed , "know how" ir the production of food, but thii was not recognized and too manj (arm boys were drafted. |