Address on the subject of the Full Employment Bill, delivered by Hon. John * &E. Fogarty, MC o the Floor of the House of Representatives » under Special Orders” os "6n October 24, 1 eMmsD Sing fae ye meee peyy EP fn od oe oye SEA on eh b DPF BAD et MOTIAGES T . i‘ ccuomGentelemen| + petnide tetinkD oi £ in, a OS eee GE EES Ge Bas doar I'd like to say)jjustyayfewiwords;tollyou in behalf of Private Enterprise. The Capitalist system'wileh!fosters Private Enterprise has ‘ 4 doen great thihgs for our Country - and through contributing to the great- a ness of America, Private Enterprise has done great things for all the world. ane Our system has been called on twice within our emeories to 4 as perform superhuman efforts in producing, overnight as it were, the sinews ea of war. Our system started from behind scratch in both cases - ait te both cases turned out a job that was the amazement of the civilized world. It is @ impossible to overlook that performance record in any discussion of the eco a nomic or industrial life of our country. 3 It is ow firm purpose that the system shall be preserved and Be encouraged. Frequently the friends of Labor, in whose ranks I am proud to Sa stand, are accused of enmity toward the principle of private enterprise. gE This is a deliberate untruth ahd isa scare cry used to hide from public ; view the legitimate aims of labor unions. The unions are among the foremost of the champions of private enterprise. For generations tdemmmxoorganized 3 labor has fought for the rifhgt to bargain nitnatiiondiy through representa— gH tions of their own choosing. They have won that right. They know they can't 2 enjoy fully the alwthieaes of collective bas nite under a state sontrolle 8 system. They know their hopes for a hggher standard of living lie in the success of the private enterprise system, and they champion this system for their own preservation. As a friend therefore, of private enterprise I want to call Vesterly Sun, Westerly, R.I. atention to a danger which I think threatens the continuance of our system. Copy tos 3 Recently in the Senate there was considered a so-called Full Q 5 eg pe ° oe ooh ROT @- ao @84 og Oo. 4 5 AO FD eae a a =? amy ao o oO rod ee De Uwe ¢ joo Sek oe ea YTRADSOYW FS AWHOL ewEmpLloyment Bill. € oon In the an@ateniediod HGR ad ola eeaeMeeDation therewag? ‘positive evidence that alP‘Uinpeseigy to seuogl D GE notgri asks The opponents of this bill seeking for any argument or excuse to GMAJ@! sae Toerred ag kihkhohtiexpitfiam to nullify its effect sought to pose as the only champions of private enterprise. They sought to creat the impression that all who supported the full employment bill were the enemies of private enterprise. In the ammendments which were adopted by the Senate it is evident that what might have been accomplished good wasmpmememmmd by the legislation has been effectively prevented. The legislation was proposed to prevent the recurrence of the de- pression through which we all su ffered in the warly thieties. The propo- nents of the legislation argued that such a catastrophe might occur again. The opponents of the bill did not deny that they held the same belief. It is taken for a fact then that the danger does exist. The bill proposed a program for effectively dealing with such danger. Its effectiveness has been thwarted and it remains for this house to restore the bill to something like its wiginal character. If this is not done this nation will be with- out a weapon to deal with economic disaster. Should the lighteneing strike and we are caught un prepared - the blame will be laid - rightly or wrongly at the feet of private enterprise ~ at the door of the Capitalistic system. I speak therefore in earnest appeal to those who honestly seek to protect capitalism - I urge you to consider the risk being run - we have suffered as a people thorugh a terrible depression - we have been regimented in our daily lives because of the necessity bpought on by an all out war. We face an era of. peace and piebraet tr, We all admit there is danger of boom and bust again - if it happens and we are not ready to meet the test - t of regu ation d restriction moot at ti 0 22 sinnoD t es “> aetroit 99h na, a subatabated in its place a regulated economy whim a sae which many consider horrible. The proposed Full employment is not a proposal for a regulated economy. It is, pure and simple, a proposal to foster full production and full em- ployment. Itsx is a proposal that the National Government shall take ane active part in the finctioning of our economy. It is a proposal that Govern- ment, Labor 2 posiathoomomemim, Agriculture and Industry shall cooperate to produce the greatest good for the greatest number. ' @mignahx The proposal actually contemplates assistance to Private indus-. try. Its first prposals are directed toward helping private industry and local governments to take care of all employables. It proposes that the National Government shall pursue a consistent and carefully planned econ- omic program - which certainly would benefit private enterprise - and to this end the lggislation contemplates that the best brains of the land shall be put to work in the sakexmiouatkommmitchhax sharting of that con- sistent and carefully planned economic program. Only in the event of failure on the part of private enterprise to rpovide full production and full employment shall the Mevahmmaiix Federal Gov ernment step into the breech with a program - carefully prepared - to provib assured purchasing power for the consumers of the putput of Private Industry. No program may be put into operation without the prior scrutiny and approva of the Congress. j Suppose we pass up this opportunity - sappose we do nothing - consider the dangers we face. id anna In a propseroud catenin ang ay R350 eines * deal of en 007 leadership: in our county part cuber ly: hong, cognac lines. Because of the failure of business andyindustry,te,meet the crisis of the early | thirties a wee responsible portion of that leadership was taken away. Business was subjected to new forms of regulation and control. Some of of those controls — notably the Srintthite Exch ge Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - have become permanent fixtures and are welcomed by all segments of our society. | Private industry is now-faced with a new opportunity for leadership. Xxx Responsible leaders of industry and business now there is a social responsibility which they must dis- charge if they are to exercise that leadership. None of us can go our way alone today. We are all inter-—dependent. We shall succeed together or we shall all fail. Private Industry can discharge its responsibility to the men in its factories and to the merchants, business men and professions who depend on that workers income by a genuine attitude of cooperation. It will ere ne nothing to break the unions - scutthe the full employment bill - force wninbe lower - if in so doing it sows the seeds of a new economic crisis. If *tihatmonmmemx a new depression comes who can say what new controls will be imposed on business - who can say business will retain any of its present freedom of operation. Consider the contrasting positionsof labor and industry at the moment, ‘This Congress enacted legislation to guarantee industry should suffer the least possible inconvenience during the transition from war to peace. Contract termination was made equitable - funds were provided for easing the difficulties of ingentory taking - transfer and storage of equipment, etc. YTHAODO 2 Industry gaces a booming market - a pent up demand that promises a genuine boom in all iki 9 asin ab 2a BRA tthe result is “ knows security - it has no’ fear = " ok tala nde Bi to rush headlong into this ~~ 3 mB wae period neither thinking or caring aeout hor Teen it will last - or what it will cost when the bubble bursts. On the reverse side of the pictyre is Labor - bullied and ridiculed be what were termed the cause of rthm tremenoud sums it took home in wages during the war - although it is a fact that alomost 50% of all workers were paid wages below the mini- imum standard provided we legislation of this body. Prices during the war years were determined by the take home wages of men maxx working 54 and 60 hours a week and earning time and half and doubl time to implement their regular wages. You know as well as I lnow that there was no great margin between proces and wages during the war. The statistics nine itis a fact that in some cases wages were far behind prices. Yet these people who must still go on maintaing a family and a home were suddenly cut back to 40 hours a week at straight time. The line a out which so much has been written and spoken was not cut back and the employee faces a constantly growing danger in trying to make 30 per cent less pay meet the pmimemx the current cost of living - with all the indications pointing to rising prices in every line.- with industry and business demanding that all restrictions on prices be lifted immediately. Where is the fairness in this situation? There isn't any/ Labor wants a square deal and the men at the machines in many cases refued to go on with reconversion and the erection of mountains of profits for industry until labor's just wants were provided for. Responsible economists admitted labor's position was not only unfair but unsafe for whm national stability. When Labor takes the only ‘step