Show Babson's Authentic j Statement 1 By Roger W. W Babson O President Kennedy is up up against two stone walls U The I first is that dividing ding East Berlin Bertin Ber Ber- tin lin from West Berlin and the second is how he can reduce unemployment ment Conservative But Worried Employment is increasing in practically all lines manufacturing manufacturing manu manu- building wilding merchandising merchandising merchandising dising and other important segments segments segments seg seg- ments but unemployment continues continues continues con con- to plague us and no solution solution so so- lution is yet in sight Before going into further details let me say that at is getting fed red o up with his intellectual advisers ado ad ad- vi ers He lie is willing to listen L to them but he has decided to tomake make his own decisions and not leave them to anybody else not noti i a. a even to Vice President Johnson Some administration officials are picking up big labors labor's theme that the government should do something soon to decrease heavy unemployment I in the US U.S. There is increasing talk of oC considering the problem m man for an emergency calling drastic steps by Uncle Sam These would include advancing public works projects creating work make programs possibly a modern So far has balked at grandiose proposals proposals proposals pro pro- mainly because they would be too costly and would throw federal budgets even farther out of oC whack to say nothing of the adverse impact on our sick already balance of foreign payments However pressure from within and without without without with with- out the administration is increasing increasing increasing in in- creasing and 1962 year election politics may f force the president president president dent to se send d some some stringent new proposals for reducing unemployment unemployment unemployment un un- employment to Congress before too many more months have passed Selling More Goods The Answer is emphasizing to both management and labor that the great need is for the United States to sell more US U.S. manufactured manufactured manu manu- goods at home and abroad and to keep prices down He believes this demands an entirely new brand of oC tariff powers an ability to trade This is especially important in I view of oC the European Common Com Com- Common Common mon Market believes that only as he lie is given dictatorial dictatorial dictatorial dicta dicta- powers will vill he be able to meet dictators in Russia and other countries I believe he is correct In addition the United States is faced with a rising imbalance imbalance imbalance ance of oC international payments and a resumption of or the gold outflow The nation really sits astride the horns of or a dilemma ma If U the unemployment problem problem lem is met by inflationary spending our gold outflow may become a flood if iC we tr try to prevent gold loss through higher high er interest rates and lowered spending business may slump and unemployment soar The President in trying to boost foreign trade is on the right track but he will need to be a to sell Congress on turning over oyer to him dictatorial dictatorial dictatorial dicta dicta- powers Tile The Coming Steel Contract The President is anxious to establish the principle that thai wages per hour will increase only as production per hour increases in in- creases Management wants the he new machinery also to get some wages This ma may be okay for the steel corporations but the trouble will come when all aU of oC the other unions want the same deal that the steel steelworkers steelworkers workers receive Many corporations corporations corporations corpor corpor- claim that for various reasons they cannot reduce costs further than Uj iKey y ar are arc now All of this means If that labor is tending ending more and more r to approach ap- ap roach a socialistic system as asar asfar aslar far lar ar as production prices wages wag wag- es depreciation etc are con con- This Hof of or course is the big ig danger Meanwhile Presidents President's Labor Management Committee has las been conC conferring on automation automation automa automa- tion dilemmas but but but- no wo workable kable program for dealing with auto auto- created mation-created n t tand tand tand and retraining has has- been pro pro- posed Nor ha had a a pl ti Q sr m- m ming numbing economy strikes yet et been aired Internal union dissensions further complicate the situation The Reu Mcany-Reu- I ther triangle may not be eternal but it will swill make for rough and tumble dislocations dislo c a- a lions on the labor front during 1962 with man many a headache for employers |