Washington' 44-Prelude To the MOnopoly State?
BELL, DANIEL
Washington' 44-Prelude To the MOnopoly State? By Daniel Bell WASHINGTON, D. C—The clearest "after-imaf e" of official Washington that remains after a short visit, is the deadening apathy and...
...As Wilson aad Batt, and Walter Lippmann repeatedly, point out, the United States failed to assume this role in 1919...
...Perhaps we should even abandon the ti lae phrenology of a 'war economy' and a 'peace economy...
...In OPA, for example, the pressure of the food sad canning lobby has rendered that organisation impotent in many ways and the man there feel s certain futility and helplessness about their jobs...
...First of all, such a program must he the responsibility .of the federal government It must be initiated and administered by the executive branch—by the Prsidaat as Commander-in-Chief, aad by the War and Navy Depart meats...
...The many ants who in the beginning thought they were pushing the log, now burrow only in their particular nests, oblivious to activities eisewhere...
...This strategic hoard would be "froxen" and used only in "emergencies...
...There are other parts of the picture which could be played up—but are not The Office of War Information has announced recently that deaths and injuries in war plants caused, during 1943, tee leas of 270,000,000 man days, or the equivalent af the removal of nearly a million workers...
...So, they go through the Bastions of taair joes listlessly snd mechanically These impressions of an "oatsisVi" da not result from any not] or frees aay systematic observations snd note-taking...
...Mr...
...Newspaper* and aolHirlaaa who spend space aad time trying to smear labor sad reus* the soldiers and sailors against wethers an aa traitoros* as aay man wha anight, let aa say, incite the Army against the Navy...
...The best efforts of all are essential to victory...
...After remarking that now is the time to press for a post-war "permanent war" program, Mr...
...Because in so many ways this is one of the most important statements of the year, I am quoting large chunks of the speech...
...But cutting through this, what unfolds is not the lag of leadership, bat underneath an emerging policy whoso dimensions are still dim...
...Nor are they the pieeutt of any particular event or tie residue of aay one or even a doaen conversations...
...Wilson proceeds with some suggestions...
...This far-ieaching changes in the trends of the economy...
...Let as make this three-way partnership [industry, government snd army—D.B.] permanent and workable, not just an arrangement of momentary convenience...
...The setting itself is quite appropriate...
...they mske the decisions, snd this factor dominates all others...
...v An Editorial THE SOLDIERS AND THE WORKERS COLDIERS snd w* r- workers are on the same side, working and fighting for the same end...
...A rare*work Policy IT'S easier to sense this feeling than to get the "why...
...The sense of importance, the feeling of manipulating social movements and fashioning events has been dulled...
...If new* sheets kept printing stories about every soldier who gees A.W.O.L, and gets drunk, tbey could give the impression that our Army is no good...
...Wilson, "has largely been a somewhat elaborated document of one word—cooperation—between government and industry...
...Government policy today is a patchwork, with die business interests occupying the center of the pattern...
...Batt thus points out that other nations would be able to pay us in goods for our manufactured articles, thus solving the problem of repayment of debts...
...Wilson: "Instead of looking to disarmament and unprepared-.ices as a safeguard against war—a thoroughly discredited doctrine—let us try the opposite—full preparedness according to a continuing plan...
...By Daniel Bell WASHINGTON, D. C—The clearest "after-imaf e" of official Washington that remains after a short visit, is the deadening apathy and bored routine that mark the third-string and fourth-string functionaries, the men who form the spinal cord of the Intricate ganglia of the governmental nervous system...
...A recent-report to the Brookings Institute called "World Minerals and World Peace" suggests a licensing system to control the supply of these vital materials to post-war Germany, providing a bare minimum for the operation of industry...
...The permanently disabled add up to 210,000, and' those temporarily injured number 4,500,000...
...They don't want that "mistake'' repeated...
...Among the top industrialist* in government, smong the leading Army official* there has keen talk of "controlling*' the raw materials sap ply af the world and building elaborate stockpiles af materials la order to keep ar ana red...
...By that I mean that it ran act only on request or authorisation of government...
...certain agencies spend time developing certain projects and find themselves tripped up by Congress or by some new executive order...
...and importing companies while the government "sponsors and protects" the foreign trade rights of the private firms, which is the British plan today...
...In the immediate view there is an indecision, confusion and uncertainly...
...The WPB head proposes that this man be given a "colonel's commission in the Army reserve...
...All of this," concludes Mr...
...These plans are Industry's bid for the monopoly state sithia the structure of democratic capitalist society...
...What it adds up to is that taw "managerial revelation''—the hopes and dreaats of the Now Deal Administrators is tabled—for the duration, aad possibly forever...
...The great majority of soldiers come from working-class homes...
...The cords have been jerked out of their hands and left dangling...
...Other Washington officials have proposed an extension of the present Combined Raw Materials Board, a joint wartime project of the United States, British and Canadian governments to form a world cartel policing the earth's supply of raw materials...
...It is the kind of cooperation we are getting now, but continued, with the expensive peaks levelled off snd much of the headache eliminated...
...They derive trees a sort of social oairuoja, from moving among several score government persons, soaking at their asseda aad iwattouas...
...This laxy fever, usually associated with the numerous sob-layers of Washington clerk-dom, contrasts sharply with the bustle of a year ago or even several months back...
...Labor today has lens and less to say...
...Bat a speech asade mat weak to the Army Oramaari Aassriatien by Charles ?. Wil sea, executive bead af the War Prodactioa Board, outlined the long-range thinking af the mea who want to coordinate oar economy and pat American industrialism in control of the world's markets...
...Actually the business groups have moved securely into the controls of the economy...
...Those who advocate a world board conceive of private enterprise owning: and operating the producing...
...Towards a Permanent War Icanoe* p THB moot alarming factor is the proposals being • made aad the stops being taken to place the war economy on a permanent footing in this country...
...These figures combined amount to 99 times the number of American wounded and missing on all ' the battle fronts...
...This is particularly true among the labor people in the pwrnatat, far they are fighting a losing battle, and they know it Thaw have little to say about what goes on, the key decisions are) made way over their heads snd tar eat of their roach...
...When the war is ever fighters and workers will have the same interest in getting hack to a peace basis, securing employment, making America a land for safe and prosperous living...
...There had hern nevera* inkling* af this la stories in the "Wall Street Jonraal...
...The thought may be unpleasant, but through the centuries war has been inevitable in our human affairs as an evolutionary force...
...The pointless repetition of talk about strikes gives a completely false picture of our industrial workers snd of their efforts...
...Perhaps its because the country has moved far ahead of the 'government" and various groups are doing the pulling rather than being pushed...
...Bat this is only a short-ran consideration...
...Yet many respectable newspapers snd men high in our national councils have done their worst in this direction...
...Wilson of General Electric proposes a "continuous" program of war preparations involving the unity of government, industry and army...
...In part this is due to the feeling of the administration that the labor vote hi in FDR's pocket and that other groups mast be held in tine or captured...
...Of equal importance is the fact that this must he, once and for all, a eontinuin§ program, and not the creature of an emergency...
...Already in South America, Britain has organised its export trade on such a cartel basis...
...At a somewhat secondary level, it is obvious that the Commerce aad Labor Departments would also be iaterested...
...The program must be imurtd snd supported by the Congress in the beginning through resolution, or perhaps even, through legislation, fatter by regularly scheduled snd continuing appropriations...
...But the huge French, Russian, aad British a rats programs did net prevent Germany aad Japan from starting war...
...Out of this group of 'colonels' there might be chosen an industrial coordinating committee to serve in conjunction with the principal procurement officers of the service branches...
...Anyone who tries to drive a wedge between these two great bodies of citizens mast have the moat sinister of motives...
...Work, consequently, is more drudgery than anything elae...
...The deliberate playing up of slight and sporadic difficulties has been a part of this propaganda effort As Hitler long ago said, you can talk enough about anything to make people think it important...
...The development has this farther implication: a proposed integration of industry with government, leading ia the direction of s corporative economy, dominated by the hage mama panes, operating - through large administrative mania tan bvreaaera-clea...
...various parsons and bureaus work at cross-purposes aad cancel each other oat...
...The detailed plan af Mr...
...The Monopoly Store AN equally important address was made the week previously by William L. Ball, the U. S. member of the Allied Combined Raw Materials Board, and also a leading industrialist...
...What we have here is the industrial facade of the corporative state, without the hratal political connotations of a fascist party—which might get out of hand and dominate industry...
...Says Mr...
...Wilson envisages a research program involving leading govern meat aad private agencies, and a production program, where each "large supplier of war goods would maintain a liaison man" to keep touch with government on orders...
...Since Pearl Harbor there have been in our mines and factories 37,600 deaths— 7^00 more than our military dead...
...Emphasis in original ) "Industry's role in this progrsm is to respond and cooperate...
...Industry must be allowed to play its role...
...Many millions of thorn are the sons and brothers of trade unionists...
...it spurred new tactics and procedures...
...Batt underscored two points: the need for foreign trade and the necessary role of government in organizing this trade, and second, the necessity of building enormous stockpiles of raw materials for the future...
...Batt's proposal is that we shut down our natural resources at home—some of which are in danger of depletion in a few decades, he claims, and import huge stocks of manganese, chrome, petroleum, industrial diamonds, iron ore, lumber and several other products...
...In the execution of the part allotted to it, industry must not be hampered by political witch-hunts, or thrown to the fanatical isolationist fringe tagged with the 'merchants-of-death' label...
...But this is not always an improvement...
...The function of this Board would be to apportion production of raw materials, stabilize prices, and allocate markets, which is what the Board does today...
...These plans presage the maturity of American industry and its new willingness to seek wo;Id industrial domination...
...The Army Ordnance Association is not an official body of Army officers but a private group in which are merged the leading steel and armament executives of the country as well as key Army officers who deal with ordnance and munitions production...
...Wilson justifies such a program by claiming that a huge armaments program, like preventive asodseiae, will scare future Tojoa and Hitlers from starting war...
...In his speech to this group Mr...
...The lack of coherent leadership is readily apparent...
Vol. 27 • January 1944 • No. 5
