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Show mm Released by Western Newspaper Union. PRACTICAL PLAN FOR POSTWAR WORLD IN AN ADDRESS delivered In London, before an audience of British Brit-ish business people, Eric A. Johnston, John-ston, president of the United States Chamber of Commerce, offered a definite, practical postwar program, superior to anything emanating from world political leaders. Briefly expressed, and without the details ol operation, it amounts to this: American and British capital and productive ingenuity, operating as private enterprise, finance the development de-velopment of the natural resources' of the less advanced nations. They do this in connection with local capital capi-tal and management of these nations. na-tions. They do this not as a philanthropy philan-thropy but for the purpose of making mak-ing a profit, of increasing the living standards of the people of these less advanced nations, of creating new markets in which all the world will share. There to be no selfish exploitation of the people or their resources and no cut-throat competition compe-tition of which these less advanced people would be the victims. It is a practical, workable idea. It does not make of the business and financial interests of either America or England a Santa Claus, such as welfare workers have visualized. It would preserve and extend that system sys-tem of free enterprise that has worked so advantageously in America. Ameri-ca. Over the years it would build a better and more prosperous world. The one fly in the ointment is: Will the American government leave business with a sufficient surplus that will make the undertaking of such an idea possible? There must be something accumulated and set aside if such a far-reaching plan is to be attempted as private enterprise. enter-prise. ENFORCED PAYMENTS TO UNION OFFICIALS IF YOU WANT a job making airplanes air-planes for the nation's armed forces; if you wish to do your bit toward to-ward winning the war, you must pay $25 for the privilege of working at that job, for the privilege of doing your bit. That $25 is collected from you by the airplane manufacturer, your employer. em-ployer. He does that on order of the government. He turns that amount withheld from your pay over to officers of the union of which you must be a member if you are to be allowed to work. That money is not accounted for; how it is spent, by whom or for what, no one other than a coterie of union officials ' knows. And this is free (?) America. Your contributions, as a worker, do not stop with the forced payment of that $25. There are dues and assessments as-sessments and possible union fines to be paid. These, also, are collected from you, on orders of the government, govern-ment, by your employer, the airplane air-plane manufacturer. He simply deducts de-ducts from your pay the amount union officials say you owe. And the nation is clamoring for manpower with which to produce the planes, guns, tanks and ships needed to win the war. If that enforced membership in a labor union, or any other organiza- -tion; that forced collection of membership mem-bership fees, dues, assessments and fines, represents one of the social gains that must be maintained, many of our soldiers and sailors feel the freedom they are fighting for is hardly worth saving. ... PLATFORM FOR 1944 CAMPAIGN IN JANUARY, 1936, the Republican Republi-can National committee established an office in Chicago with Harrison Spangler, vice chairman of the committee, com-mittee, in charge. Between January Janu-ary and the time of the party convention con-vention at Cleveland in June, Spangler Span-gler gave much thought to the partj platform. He discussed the subjecl with Republican leaders as they called and considered many proposed pro-posed planks. As a friend, not as 3 partisan, it was my privilege to drop into that Chicago office at frequent intervals and listen to the discussion of platform planks. I proposed, not a plank, but a complete platform. It was brief, explicit, all inclusiv and emphatic. It was expressed in four words: "Preserve the American system." That would have been an adequate platform for any party al that time. As a home front platform plat-form it is as adequate today as il was in 1936. It is a platform on which any party adopting it can win the next national election. It would not be attacked by any opposition It is the most vital problem that confronts con-fronts the American people and tht one in which they are most interest, ed. It is the paramount issue. ... IF THE SOLDIER is not fed, al) the guns, tanks and planes with which he may be supplied will b of but little value. Food is a first essential of war, but to the farm producer is not accorded prioritiei on the essentials of production, manpower man-power and farm machinery. ... IT IS HARD TO ENFORCE a law or an edict when the violation il committed by an aggregation of individuals in-dividuals who collectively are nol responsible and have no legal status. |
