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Show HE AMERICAN WAY The American housewife is noted for her shopping ability she knows her values she examines, ex-amines, she compares no merchant mer-chant can over-charge her or "slip over"an inferior piece of merchandise on her. Now, there are some merchants merch-ants of economic systems who are trying to "slip over" one or other of their panaceas on the American people. Here is where the American housewife can exercise ex-ercise that same fine sense of determining de-termining values which she brings into play at the butcher's, the grocer's and the department store. One of the systems that these merchants are trying to sell us is the "Planned Economy" system. sys-tem. That is the kind that takes away individual freedom, makes the individual the servant of government, gov-ernment, in return for which government is supposed to guarantee security to the individual. individ-ual. Fortunately, we have one of these "Planned Economy" sys- terns on display. We can examine it and compare it with our own American system. Before buying it and swapping in our own on it, let's see if we would be making a bargain, Russia is the country where we can see this "Planned Economy" system in the showcase. show-case. The Russians call it "Communism" "Com-munism" but that's just another name for the same thing. Russia has had this "Planned Economy" system on display since 1917. How have the Russians fared under un-der it as compared with how we Americans have done under our American system? Some of the salesmen of the Russian system admit that to date we have done better in America, but they try to account for it by stating that our greater success is not due to our system but to our greater natural resources. This is deliberate delibe-rate misrepresentation because Russia possesses equal, if not greater, resources than America. In 1937, the last year for which comparative statistics are available, avail-able, the per capita income of Russia was $136 that of the United States $537 or four times as great as Russia's. This in itself would mean nothing, but the great difference between the a- mounts that Russians and Americans Amer-icans had to spend to buy food, clothing, etc., is mighty important. import-ant. Here follow some retail prices prevailing in both countries count-ries in 1937, the last year for which comparative prices are a- vaiiable. The Russian figures are those prevailing in Moscow which were lower than elsewhere else-where in Russia: RUSSIA White Bread, per pound 15c; Coffee, per pound $4.37; Rice, per pound 59c; Rib roast, per pound 87c; Fresh Milk, per quart 30c; Butter, 1st quality, per pound $1.81; Eggs, per dozen $1.32; Women's Rayon Hosiery $3 32; Men's Work Shoes $34.85. UNITED STATES White Bread, per pound 9c; Coffee, per pound 26c- Rice, per pound 8 Vic; Rib Roast, per pound 35c; Fresh Milk, per quart 12c; Butter, 1st quality, per pound 35c; Eggs, per dozen 35c; Wonen's Rayon Hos- fl iery 30c; Mens Work Shoes $2.83 , The Russian system certainly i doesn't look like a bargain, does it? The Russians had one-fourth of the income of the Americans J and paid out of that smaller in- n come a much greater price for p his necessities and for those J privileges(?) he had to give up his . right to be a free individual. ; "Planned Economy," as dem- a onstrated by Russia, has nothing to offer us. Perhaps, after all, we fi should keep our American sys- I tern by means of which we be- i came the greatest nation in the ' world's history. At least, let's hold fast to it until these system i salesmen can show us a real bar- l gain. |