THlE MICHITGAN DAILY TUESDAY, JANUTARYV29. 1941 . ..t --.i .~i 1 I .---/ 1 ll i11-. 1- Iu~ s ... a ii tr . 4'd1lY 1. .V C1. 1:f' l Deficit Spending And Inflation Are Analyzed By Prof. Smithies The Road Back Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control of Student Publications. Published every morning except Monday during the University year and Summer Session. Member of the Associated Press The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this newpaper. All rights of republication of all other matters herein also reserved. Entered at the Post Office at Ann Arbor, Michigan, as second claps mail matter. Subscriptions during the regular school year by carrier $4.00; by mail, $4.50. REPRESENTED FOR NATIONAL ADVERTISING BY Nation~il Advertising Service, Inc. College Publishers Representative 420 MADISON AVE. NEW YORK. N. Y. CICAGO - BosTon LOS ANGELES * SAN FRANCISCO Member, Associated Collegiate Press, 1940-41 Editorial Staff Hervie Haufler Alvin Sarasohn Paul M. Chandler Karl Kessler Millon Orshefsky Howard A. Goldman. Laurence Mascott Donald Wirtchafter Esther Osser Helen Corman Managing Editor Editorial Director City Editor . . . Associate Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor . . . . Sports Editor . . . .Women's Editor Exchange Editor Business Staff Business Manager . Assistant Business Manager Women's Business Manager Women's Advertising Manager Irving Guttman Robert Gilmour Helen Bohnsack Jane Krause NIGHT EDITOR: CHESTER BRADLEY The editorials published in The Michi- gan Daily are written by members of The Daily staff and represent the views of the writers only. Lend-Lease Bill Needs Amendments . BILL 1776 is more than a coincidence with the birth-year of the Declaration of Indepen- dence, for under the nick-name "lease-lend" bill it confers broader powers on the President than any ever vested in the Chief Executive of the United States. Immediate shouts of "dictatorship", "end of democracy", "abolition of Congress", and "stream-lined war declaration" assailed the figr posal-and drew equally vehement replies of "ab- solutely necessary", "war crisis", and "British is 'our Maginot Line" from administration sup- porters. Controversy centered around the main pro- visions of the terse 800-word measure which, declared: As used in this act, the term "defense article" includes any weapon, munition, air- craft or boat-or any machinery, tool or material necessary for the production or maintenance of such articles. "Defense in- formation" means any plan or design per- taining to a defense article. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the resident may authorize the Secretary of War or Navy or other depart- ment heads to manufacture or procure any defense article for any country whose de- fense.- the President thinks vital to United States defense. The President may authorize department heads to sell, transfer, exchange, lease, lend or otherwise dispose of any defense article to any such foreign nation. The President may authorize department hea'ds to test, repair or otherwise to place in good ,working order any defense article for any such government. The President may authorize department heads to communicate to any such country any defense information pertaining to any defense article furnished to such govern- ment. The President may release for export any defense article to any such nation. r The terms and conditions shall be those which the President deems satisfactory, and the benefit to the United States may be payment or repayment in kind or property, or any-other. direct or indirect benefit. All contracts or agreements for the dis- position of defense articles or information shall containa clause by which the foreign government undertakes that it will not, without consent of the President, transfer such article or information, or permit its use by:anyone not an agent of such govern- ment. There is hereby authorized to be appro- priated from time to time, out of the Trea- sury, such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the provisions and accomplish the purposes of this act. CERTAINLY Administration leaders do not expect such a measure to pass Congress without extensive revision. Secretaries Hull, Stimson and Morgenthau, former Ambassador to France William C. Bullitt, and even Wendell Willkie gave their own reasons why the. bill should be passed. But Willkie added "with mod- m o d - , , ia nan n- - a l n A . A m i n i i r .+ n - Editor's Note: Because of the seriousness of the pcssibility of an inflation as the country moves into a war-time economy, The Daily has asked Prof. Arthur Smithies of the economics department to discuss the problem. THE BUDGET MESSAGE envisages a deficit of nine billion dollars during the financial year 1941-42. The question that is giving food for thought is whether this amount of deficit spending will actually occur and if so whether it will produce an inflationary rise of prices. From this point of view, such a deficit would give no reason for concern if the economy were in a state of general underproduction and under- employment. In 1941-42, however, this will not be the case; the American economy will be working very near the limits of its present ca- pacity. It is the policy of Government spending of borrowed funds that will have brought it up to capacity, but once full production is reached, the deficit can be sufficiently large to carry the economy into a general price inflation. If inflation is to be avoided, the deficit, to- gether with private expenditure on equipment, has to be offset by willingness of corporations and individuals to save an equal amount, with prices at about their present level. If this does not occur prices will rise until incomes are re- distributed (in the direction of increased profits) sufficiently to yield the required amount of sav- ing. In non-technical language that means that an inflationary rise of prices will occur. AS TO WHETHER price inflation is likely to occur in 1941-42, one can only guess-and I use that word advisedly. On the basis of gen- eral information, and no inside knowledge, my guess is as follows. There will be an inflation- ary movement if the deficit actually does amount to nine billion -dollars and if saving and private investment continues at the rates that would have been expected on the basis of pre-war ex- perience and, lastly, if the Government takes no further measures to avoid it. Our chances of avoiding inflation depend on the extent to which these conditions are not fulfilled. Let me consider them in order. On the revenue side, the estimates of the yield of taxation may be conservative. The only hope I can hold out in this direction is that the pres.- ent estimates are much more conservative than previous estimates in respect of the conditions envisaged in 1941-42. On the expenditure side, it may be impossible, with the best will in the world, actually to spend the projected eleven billion dollars on armaments. This amount can only be spent if adequate supplies of materials and skilled labor are available. All I can say on this point is that I believe that to spend this sum-almost one billion dollars a month-the Government will have to exercise its priority rights much more drastically than hitherto. I have taken no account of aid to Britain, which is not included in the Budget, on the grounds that I think such aid will consist pre- dominantly of supplying Britain with equipment which already exists or would have been pro- duced in any case, and so is irrelevant to the question of inflation. Turning next to private investment, I do be- lieve we can expect a substantial reduction as compared with peace-time conditions. This will be due chiefly to increased taxation, aware- ness of the uncertainties of wartime prosperity and scarcity of durable materials arising from the Government's demands. As to saving, high rates of taxation will tend to reduce the rate of saving, while appeals to the public to reduce consumption in order to lend money to the Government may increase it. On balance, I feel it would be unduly optimistic to expect any substantial increase of saving. THESE CONSIDERATIONS lead me to fear that we are sailing close to the inflationary wind, and it may be necessary for the Govern- ment to take further action if inflation is to be may continue to exercise the law's authority. No provision is made for change of policy or conditions within the Presidency. A time limit to the operation of the lease-lend powers should be one of the first amendments; and if necessity extends beyond this time, Congress can renew the period. Limitation of expenditures is another vital question. War cost figures rise to such astro- nomical heights that many people, including the President, seem to think they can extend to infinity. Some day when somebody gets around to paying the bills they will appreciate a limit somewhere below the sky. A definite ceiling for amounts to be spent for lease-lend purposes must be set. THE BILL is rather ambiguous about countries whose defense is vital to the United States. Any nation, including Russia and Spain, can fall into this vague category. There should be a definite naming of Britain, China, Peru, or whatever countries are intended to profit by the lease-lend measure. "The President may release for export any defense article to any such .nation"-even if Washington has only a trench mortar left for its own defense! Of course the President would not go to absurd lengths, but how far would he go? There must be a provision stating how far he can go. Certain amounts of equipment are absolutely necessary for basic defense of the Western Hemisphere, and other amounts would increase security. The strong tendency to export more defense materials than the United States can spare must be curbed by definite provisions in the lease-lend bill. Admitting that the present situation is an avoided. Such action would probably consist of a further widespread increase of tax rates, and, if necessary, the imposition of extensive direct controls over commodity prices. How- ever, I think the latter type of control would be imposed on a large scale only as a last resort. Finally, I feel confident that no uncontrolled inflationary movement will occur, for the Gov- ernment has both the power and the will to avoid it. My doubts are confined to the methods of control that it may be forced to adopt. - Arthur Smithies LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Ideas Offered To the Editor: THE LETTER entitled "Benevolent Britain?" by Harley Moore in your issue of January 24th, expresses a point of view held seriously (though in this case presented flippantly) by many bewildered idealists. Without arguing the case I would like to present a few proposi- tions for thoughful consideration. I do this anonymously that they may be pondered on their merits. 1. No one with a realistic view of world events holds that the policies of Britain or any other country-our own included-are beyond reproach. National policies are, of course, de- tertnined on the basis of what the groups or parties in power gnsider in their best interest. To discover injustices in group policy is not so much a comment on the group as it is a sign that one is growing up intellectually. 2. One doesn't know the truth about a coun- try because one has talked with a person who came from there, or because he has visited it. He can only interpret-or misinterpret-what those people say to whom he has happened to talk. 3. India doesn't want her freedom "just as we once desired ours." Historical parallels exist but not identities. There are important internal and external variants. 4. It is not "funny we never mentioned" the part of the British navy in protecting us. In- stead, it is natural, when there was no crisis, that the writer (and many others) did not know about it. 5. A slogan omits details. In the case of re- ligion, the contrast is between great freedom and practically complete domination by the state. In the case of democracy, it is between considerable freedom for individuals and groups as against a professed philosophy of control from above. 6. An institution at any one time is in a period of change. One looks at present condi- tions to discern, if possible, the direction in which the changes are pointing. There is Ire- land and India, but there is also Canada, Aus- tralia and New Zealand. The British parlia- mentary system and Commonwealth policy have the possibility of developing in the direction in which Americans believe. 7. Freedom can exist and a culture may de- velop only within protected borders. People re siding in this country have not realized this and so have become complacent since, with .the exception of a period during the last World War, this country has not been seriously threatened for four generations. 8. It is easy to be deceived by different mean- ings for the same words. "Cooperation" may mean compulsion, "negotiation" may mean de- feat, and a "new order" may mean an old tyranny. Let me say again that these statements are not offered as "arguments", but that their im- plications may be considered and discussed. - Spectator - h- ew Pe~e ,MPV Rdbert$S.Allen WASHINGTON - If Roosevelt decides to ap- point a Republican to Justice McReynolds' Su- preme Court seat (he has appointed five Demo- crats in a row) foremost on his list will be John J. Parker of North Carolina, senior judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Apiaeals. Judge Parker has the unique distinction of being the only living man appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court who failed of Senate ratifica- tion, and- many of those who worked against' him in 1930 now would like to right what they consider an injustice. . Judge Parker was appointed by Herbert Hoo- ver to replace the late Justice Sanford. Imme- diately there arose a hue and cry from Negro organizations and the A. F. of L. on the ground that Parker had been guilty of race prejudice and was unfair to organized labor. Rallying Senate liberals, these groups caused Parker's defeat by one vote. DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 1941 VOL. LI. No. 89 to students who have a legitimate reason for absence. Publication in the. Daily 'Official Bulletin is constructive notice to all members of the University.1 Notices First Mortgage Loans: The Univer-9 sity has a limited amount of funds to loan on modern, well-located, Ann Arbor residential property. Inter- est at current rates. F.H.A. terms available. Apply Investment Office, Room 100, South Wing, University Hall. Automobile Regulation: Permission to drive for social and personal pur- poses during registration period and the weekend of the J-Hop from Wednesday noon, Feb. 12, until Mon- day morning, Feb. 17, at 8:00 a.m., may be obtained at Room 2, Univer- sity Hall, through the following pro- cedure: 1. Parent signature cards should be secured at thisuoffice and sent home for the written approval of the parents. 2. Upon presentation of the signed card together with accurate infor- rnation with regard to the make, type and license number of the car to be used, a temporary permit will be granted. It is especially important to designate the year of the license plates which will be on the car dur- ing this period. 3. Out-of-town cars used for this period must not be brought into Ann Arbor before 12 o'clock noon kon Wednesday, Feb. 12, and must be taken out before 8:00 a.m. on Mon- day, Feb. 17. The foregoing will not apply to those students who possess regular driving permits. The above permis- sion will automatically be granted to this group. Office of the Dean of Students Faculty, College of Literature, Sci- ence, and the Arts; It is requested by the Administrative Board that all instructors who make reports of In- complete or Absent from Examina- tion on grade-report-sheets give al- so information showing the charac- ter of the part of the work which has been completed. This may be done by the use of the symbols, I(A), X(D), etc.I Students and Faculty, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts: The attention of students and fac- ulty is called to the following regu- lations of the College: Students are. not examined at any other time than that set for the examination of the class in which the work has been done. When an en- tire class is affected by a conflict in tht- Pxminatir schedle. a stnecial The Detroit Armenian Women's Club Scholarship: Young men or wo- men undergraduate students who are1 enrolled this year, who are of Armen- ian parentage, and whose residence is in Detroit may apply for the schol- arship of $100 which the Detroit Armenian Women's Club intends to provide for the year 1941-42. Candi- dates must be recommended by the institutions in which they are en- rolled. Selection, which is made by the donors, is on the basis of high scholastic ability in the field of con- centration, together with character. Recommendations must be made be- fore May 1, 1941. Students who be- lieve themselves qualified and seek recommendation by this University should apply to Dr. Frank E. Robbins, Assistant to the President, 1021 An- gel] Hall. Choral Union Members: Members of the University Choral Union in good standing will be issued court- esy tickets for the Minneapolis Or- chestra convert tonight between the hours of 9 and 12, and 1 and 4. After 4 o'clock no tickets will be given out. Those who have not yet returned their "Messiah" books are required to do ,o, and to lift their copies of "Eui r, Onegin" before receiving courtesy tickets. Graduate Students' registration material for second semester will be available in the Rackham building beginning Monday, Feb. 10. Grad- uate students are requested to ob- serve alphabetical registration in the Gymnasium. Every student must ob- tain the signature of his advisor on- his election card.j C. S. Yoakum, Dean Mr. C. E. DuBois from the Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., will be at the Bureau of Ap- pointments and Occupational Infor- mation orn Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 9:00 o'clock to interview metallurgists and mechanical engineers. All men interested please phone Ext. 571 or come in to make an appointment. Room 201 Mason Hall. Office hours: 9-12 and 2-4. Academic Notices Bacteriology Seminar, Wednesday, January 29, at 8;00 p.m., Room 1564 E~ast Medical Building. Subject: "Lysozyme and Other Bacteriocidal Substances." All interested are in- vited. Math. 370, Seminar will meet to- day at 3:00 p.m. in 3201 AM Dr. W. Kaiplan will speak on "Analytic Functions in Linear Algebras." Combined Curriculum in Lit-Law: Students concentrating in history on this combined program may have their programs signed by Professor Vandervelde today, 11-12 a.m., and, 4-5 p.m.; on Wednesday, 9-10 a.m.; on Thursday, 11-12 a.m. and 3-4 p.m., in 118 Haven Hall. Room Assignments, German 1, 2, 31, 32: Saturday, February 8, 9-12 German 1. West Lecture, Physics: Philippson. Diamond, Gaiss, Graf. 1035 A.H.: St iedieck, Van Duren. 231 A.H.: Sinnema, Willey, Ed- wards, Broa'dbent. 35 A.H.: Pott, Ebelke, Winkelman. German 2. 101 Ec: A4 sections. German 31. B H.H. Pott, Edwards, Diamond. (Continued on Page 6) RA DIOS POT LIGlHT WJR WWJ CKLW WXYZ 751) KC - CBS 9120 KC - NBC Red 10 0 KC - Mutual 1240 KfC-NBC Blue Tuesday Evening 6:00 News 6:15 Musical 6:30 Inside of Sports 6:45 The world Today 7:00 Amos 'n Andy 7:15 Lanny Ross 7:30 Haenschen Orch. 7:45 Haenschen Orch. 8:00 Court of 8:15 Missing Heirs 8:30 First Nighter 8:45 News at 8:55 9:00 We, the People 9:15 We, the People 9:30 Prnfessor Quiz Music; Oddities Newscast; Tunes Frazier Hunt Lowell Thomas Fred Waring Dinner Music Sherlock Holmes Johnny Presents Horace Heidt's Treasure Chest' Battle of the Sexes Fibher Mc.ee Rollin' Home Conga Time Recital Series Val Clare To be Announced Vignettes of Melody Doc Sunshine Gratiot Avenue Baptist Church FHA Speaker Interlude; News Farm Radio Forum Morton -Gould - Bud Shaver Rhumba Band Day In Review To be Announced Easy Aces Mr. Keen--Tracer Ned Jordan, - Secret Agent Ben Bernie Orchestra Uncle Jim's Question'Bee Grand Central Station John B. Kendv I I I