Salt Lake Telegram | 1942-02-18 | Page 8 | Stable Economy is Essential

Stable Economy Is Ess Essential ONE NE of the biggest jobs of the national war labor board is to maintain firm control over wages in the he best interests of the nation as a I wh whole whole whole-to to le-to to insure labor fair earnings industry reasonable costs of operation and the nati nation n stability of prices which will avert dangerous inflation It is good to see the war labor board rec- rec f. t its great responsibility in this respect t. t in a recent statement as as follows Labor especially especially especially espe espe- workers in the high paid brackets have no right to expect that they should receive wage increases during this war period which will enable them to keep for day-for-day pace with upward changes in the cost of living In other words the board is telling labor that just as prices and profits must be kept under control so must wages be kept under control Frequent adjustments cannot be made in wage rates to compensate for every slight increase in the cost of living without running the risk o of setting off a dangerous spiral of higher wages higher costs of manufacture higher prices and cost of living and then back to higher wages again On the other hand if we keep firm control over wages profits and the prices of raw materials it should be possible possible possible pos pos- sible to keep the cost of living from rising excessively Price Administrator Leon Henderson emphasized emphasized emphasized em em- the point when he expressed the opinion opinion opinion ion that workers would in the long run be better off if they would help to prevent increases in increases increases in- in creases in the cost of living rather than to tose se seek k increases in wage rates He urged organized organized organized organ organ- labor labor to to use its ts power to lower prices and increase taxes to prevent excessive profits rather than to gain wage increases Marriner S. S Eccles chairman of the board of governors of the federal reserve system followed much the same line in discussing the problem of financing the war He declared that our program for financing the war can be defeated through demands for increased wages prices and profits Mr Eccles' Eccles point is that any program to finance the war based on a present price structure could be shot full of holes by soaring prices and costs For instance instance instance in in- stance our federal expenditures in the 1943 fiscal year are now estimated at 62 billions and we will base a financing program on that figure but if by that time soaring prices increase increase increase in in- crease the cost of war production so much that we need billions rather than 62 to pay the bill our financing program would be entirely inadequate Thus on every count a stable economy is essential to the war effort and effort and the maintenance maintenance maintenance nance of relative stability of wages along with prices and profits is necessary It is just as much a part of the job of winning the war as production of war weapons buying of defense bonds or fighting in the battle lines