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Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS Congress Gets Control Proposals Which Would Curb Wages, Prices; Doctors Offer Public Health Plan (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinion! art exprened In theit columns, they arc IhoM el Wetter Newspaper Union's newa analysts and not Mctisarily of this newipaper.) Absolved lawiiianwimiiaaamiiliininafcim TRENDS: Dictatorial The gentleman who was talking knew whereof he spoke. When h began to express himself on dicta-torships, dicta-torships, the public might listen respectfully re-spectfully for he bsd but lately concluded con-cluded an assignment to put down one of the most vicious dictatorships the world had ever seen. But he wasn't talking of foreign dictatorships. Instead, he was warning warn-ing the Columbia college forum on democracy that dictatorship was an actual possibility right here in the United States. THE SPEAKER was Gen. Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, who was supreme su-preme commander of allied forces in the war against the dictatorships World War II. Discussing the supposition that this nation was in danger of falling into the hands of a dictatorship without with-out a shot being fired, Elsenhower said he was not talking about the usual type of seizure of power by force. He was talking, he said, about a gradual dictatorship of bureaucracy which could result from the "constant "con-stant drift toward centralized government." gov-ernment." "There is a kind of dictatorship." he said, "that can come about through a creeping paralysis of thought and readiness to accept paternalistic pa-ternalistic measures from the government, gov-ernment, along with a surrender of our own responsibilities and, therefore, there-fore, of our control over our own lives and our right to exercise our vote. "IF WE ALLOW this drift toward centralized bureaucratic government govern-ment to continue, finally it will be expressed ... in the actual field of operation. "There'll be a swarming of bureaucrats bur-eaucrats over the land, ownership of property will gradually drift into that central government, and finally final-ly you have to have dictatorship as the only means of operating such a huge organization." When a man of General Ike's stature stat-ure Is publicly concerned over the probability of a dictatorship in the U. S., benign or otherwise, it seems it were time the public, too, should begin to look into the situation. MYSTERY: Biggest Run As one southern reporter described de-scribed it, it was the "biggest run in the South's history." One moment everything was all right. The next, disaster had struck. It happened in Jacksonville. Fla., and there was no warning of its coming. Women and girls arose in the morning, donned attractive, sheer nylon stockings and started about their business. William W. Remington, who waa an official of the commerce department, was absolved of disloyalty dis-loyalty charges following an al-ledged al-ledged link to Soviet Interests. He was given a new job with the department, de-partment, but with salary remaining re-maining at $10,000 annually. CONTROLS: Needed or Not? The administration at Washington has made its move for price and wage controls. It has asked congress to place ceilings on prices which threaten to go above last December's level. It also has proposed creation of a six-man board to regulate wage increases. in-creases. Already, however, it was becoming becom-ing Increasingly clear to the people that constantly shifting factors are changing so swiftly that some of the major points in the administration's administra-tion's legislative program may become be-come obselete before they are called for consideration. FOR INSTANCE, the downward trend In prices would indicate that a proposal for price control, except in some few Isolated cases, might even appear ridiculous. Consequently, Consequent-ly, continuing decline in prices would naturally knock out any validity vali-dity of wage hike demands. The sincerity of the administration administra-tion is this respect might be open to question, but not seriously so. Practical politicians and people who realize the need for application of politics in government procedures proce-dures will understand that whether the government actually wants what it asks is somewhat beside the point. The real point Is that these measures meas-ures were pledged by President Truman in his campaign, and it was as early as inauguration day that administration leaders stated publicly they meant to implement campaign pledges in every way. Now the administration is going through the motions of seeking to have adopted all the legislation the President promised the voters when he was a candidate for the office. A QUICK RUN-DOWN of the administration's ad-ministration's legislative-potential will show that civil rights, tax increases, in-creases, outright repeal of the Taft-Hartley Taft-Hartley law and socialized medicine, medi-cine, all admittedly needing some treatment, are in for a rough time in congress. That being the case, it is difficult diffi-cult to understand how Mr. Truman and his advisers could make price and wage controls stick should there be no apparent need for either. DEFENSE PACT: Gilded Lily There were puzzling things going on in Washington as the proposed north Atlantic security pact came up for discussion. As any schoolboy knows, only congress con-gress can declare war. Yet Senator Vandenburg of the foreign affairs committee was quoted as saying that if any pact were drawn he expected ex-pected such a pact to "reserve to congress the complete right of decision" de-cision" on what to do about an armed attack. THAT STATEMENT of Vanden-berg's Vanden-berg's amounted to nothing more than a thick coat of gilt on the lily. The pact could do no less than "reserve" "re-serve" such decision, because the constitution of the United States is quite clear as to what governmental governmen-tal body in the United States has the authority to declare war. The constitution does not relegate that power to a senate committee or to the state department. The point is made only to high- Then, the nylons simply started coming apart. Working girls went bare-legged to lunch, carrying their stockings or what was left of them in their purses. A horrible possibility failed to materialize the girls were spared disintegration of their nylon underwear; under-wear; but there were many anxious moments as they watched the nylon stockings disintegrate on their legs. The health department advanced a theory that incompletely-burned particles of soot carried a gas which caused the stockings to come apart. At Wilmington, Del., a technical engineer for a nylon manufacturer said it's happened before In Washington, Wash-ington, Chicago, Nashville and Minneapolis. Min-neapolis. He explained that the trouble was acid-bearing soot. These tiny particles, par-ticles, he said, even from ordinary coal fires, contain sulphur dioxide, sulphur trioxide and other acids. When they land on a coat or hat, the concentrate may destroy a thread, but you don't notice it. But when they land on a stocking thread zip! And there's a story to make the nation's headlines. light the trend of official thinking in federal circles. Despite the constitutional con-stitutional provision, Senator Van-denberg Van-denberg and apparently those who draft the pact, are "willing" to let congress make any decision on going go-ing to war. There were other puzzling factors connected with the pact Both Senator Sen-ator Vandenburg and Senator Con-nally Con-nally declared that signing the pact would not commit this nation to war in the event another pact signatory were attacked. IF THAT were the situation, the critical queried, what would be the use of the pact? The senators had an answer for that One an answer reminiscent of American thinking before Pearl Harbor. They pointed out that, as Vandenburg put it, "in my opinion the mere formal recognition of this community of interest in the event of an armed attack on the Atlantic community without another word in the treaty would be an infinite assurance against World War III." What the senator was intimating in effect was that with the United States a signatory to the pact, any nation would be afraid to Jump either on the U. S. or another member. mem-ber. THE SENATOR'S MEMORY seemed to be waning. Japan wasn't "afraid" to attack Pearl Harbor. That was World War II. Germany wasn't "afraid" to sink the Lusi-tania. Lusi-tania. That was World War I. The "fear" bulwark hadn't done so well on two occasions. Did Senator Vandenburg have some special Information, or intuition, in-tuition, that it would work better to prevent World War III? LnNGFVITY- PUBLIC HEALTH: Physicians' Plan There would be discussion of motive, mo-tive, of course, but whether actuated ac-tuated by the belief that socialized medicine was an undesirable alternative, alter-native, or by a sincere desire to widen their field of service, America's Amer-ica's physicians had come up with a plan. OBVIOUSLY, the plan was a counter move in the developing battle over socialized medicine, and in it one could see some concession to the bureaucratle ambitions which, it is claimed, motivates the socialized medicine effort. First, the doctors through their American Medical association's board of trustees, urge creation of a federal department of health, with cabinet status, which would be authorized to promote the general welfare by aiding and fostering programs pro-grams in the field of health. This department also would contribute to individual, family and community commun-ity well-being. Briefly, the program would include: in-clude: PROMPT DEVELOPMENT of diagnostic facilities; health centers and local public health units; health centers and hospital services; comprehensive com-prehensive health education programs; pro-grams; integration of veterans' medical care and hospitalization with other medical care and hospital hos-pital programs; greater emphasis on the program of Industrial medicine, medi-cine, and adequate support, with funds free from political control, of the medical, dental and nursing schools and other institutions necessary nec-essary for the training of specialized special-ized personnel required in the pro- Accused vision and distribution of medical care. In its scope the doctors' program read like Mr. Truman's "bold new program" for betterment of world living. But its very generalities and extent might be the factors to doom it. With immediate medical care the greatest need of too many Americans Ameri-cans unable to pay for it, the panacea pana-cea would have to be immediate and visual. Examined, even close up, the doctor's plan appeared to offer little toward the solution of the issue of socialized medicine. MERCI TRAIN: And Kisses Although no finished hand at the game, Kentucky's Gov. Earle Clem ents was not to be outdone in the amenities incident to arrival of the French Merci train in Frankfort. BUSSED heartily on the cheek by French representative Andre Picard, Governor Clements bussed right back, displayed no chagrin. And, in addition to the buss, Picard received a commission as a Kentucky colonel The Hard Way So you'd like to live to be 102? There's a way but it will appeal only to the rugged. A Westerfield. N. J. woman has passed the century mark with vitality vi-tality still good, interest in things about her still unimpaired. OF HER 102nd birthday party she said: "It was a most wonderful party I felt just like I was walking on air. The house looked like a greenery. All those flowers and even an orchid. orch-id. It was wonderful." About reaching 102 .. . well, the lady who did it. Mrs. Katherine G. Lyon, said she was in favor of exercise and fresh air. "It's all a matter of chewing your food properly, and getting plenty of fresh air Anyone who is 102 years old and can't walk at least two miles ought to go to a doctor and find out what's the matter mat-ter with them . . I'm always ready to go." Mrs. Lyon did not stipulate that walking two miles a day was the entire answer. Agnes Smedley, 54-year-old Oklahoma-born author, has been named by Gen. Douglas Mac-Arthur Mac-Arthur as a Soviet agent Id his recent report on a Russian spy ring. She denied the accusation. METALS: Stronger For those who use metals, thert was good news. Dr. J. H. Holloman, General Electric research laboratory labora-tory scientist, reported that metal, eventually can be made from five to 10 times stronger. Metals are made up of tiny grains. A break always begins a a high temperature with microscopic micro-scopic cracks along the boundaries It is prevention of these crack" that will strengthen the metal. |