Show grassroots big business must instill confidence by frank T talk alk A A YEAR and more ago business rl big business started an effort to sell the american people on american business institutions that was a move in the right direction but to do a really effective job the copy used in an advertising campaign must consist of something more than e V I 1 generalities a and n d e platitudes to make 0 Z such a campaign really effective business big business must lay the cards on the table face up where both labor and all consumers may see the hand that management and capital I 1 is holding with rare exceptions all business big business is honest but it must so prove its honesty that henry wallace and those of his kind cannot produce phony figures out of a hat and have the american people both workers and consumers willing to accept such phony figures the workers and consumers must have direct definite and positive evidence that will dispute and discredit such figures regardless of who produces them business big business must it if it is to sell the american people take the public into its confidence by a presentation of the definite costs in the production of its commodity the costs of material labor taxes and all the other items that go to make up the total there can be no holes left for covering up even such infinitesimal costs as bonuses paid to management for a job well done there should be nothing in left for the public to guess at and magnify business business big business must balance sales against production costs and show to whom and for what those sales dollars were paid business big business may not always feel it desirable to take the public into its confidence with such intimate details of its operations to do so is more tolerable than to leave the public including workers and all consumers in the dark and a prey to the false and misleading statements made by those who seek personal gain from having the people p le misled A few big business concerns which have taken the people into their confidence have presented in a factual and easily understood way the details ot of their operations such concerns are the exceptions they do not prove the rule for many published statements consist of generalities and platitudes to the public including labor such euch statements but add fuel to the f tiro ire of suspicion they are but evidence of something to cover up evidence that henry wallace might have been right that out of the supposed exorbitant profits the workers could have been paid the excessive wage increases they demanded without an increase in price to the consumer business big business can have the confidence the sentiment and the influence of the people of the nation including a majority of the workers when the people are given all of the vital facts of product production 0 n costs and the distribution of t the he sales dollar the support of the people cannot be purchased with generalities and platitudes or half facts with such public confidence as a backing big business can refuse the ever increasing demands for more wages than the price ot of the commodity can carry political conventions any national political convention is in at least one way much like a session of congress there are many individuals occupying official delegate seats who ire are simply ar among nong those present they do as they are directed and exert no real influence their vote co counts u ants one but it is cast more by those thos e of the delegation who are doing the directing than by the unimportant individual delegate the party leaders who sit in the he delegations from each state constitute the directing force of each convention it is exceptional for a convention of either party to get beyond that party leadership control much the same wing thing is true of a session of congress A comparatively ively small minority of each party controls party action A majority of each party represents but window dressing sure the city government would spend less if we had toa to levy the tax under which the money is collected said his honor the mayor so long as the state or county will do the taxing and turn the money over to the city government to spend it is the state or county officials who must answer to the taxpayers 0 most of us appreciate recognition from our fellows and the bit of limelight such recognition brings we shoulder the burdens that go with offices in the lodges the service clubs church societies and other nonpaying non paying community jobs because of the accord such jobs can bring to us |