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H- t r 1» . V' MS*-K/ m m '*'!'air* * ^ OgSan, Utaii Oct. 17, 1950 'Dear Marriner: ’* r y ? ' ! •' • . - -•\..i * • :'i 1 ' J ' i- ' . T >.J*S V ’:v ,/ ' C’ •1 . . . '; f ' . '' , f i f ,;'K [•_ *. •* * j \ . * , J H jj f f The copy of the speech you made to the Cooper ative Lee :ue 'V ' i ' ■ ' •?' r . Ap •••• t-■*■ arrived today and I was interested to see how closely I followed the Eccles thesis in an editorial I wrote on Saturday for publication yesterday. Clippir^ inclosed. You are now engaged i n that crusade which I wrote to you some months ago should ,be launched with the blowing of a bugl6 so your friends could rally and follow, • The people at long last have become aroused over the deoline in the d o l l a r ^ value. I found this out on a 4,000 mile trip my wife and I tools: through intermountain country to break in the new car I bought from Bob Hinckley. The average people I talked to were outraged over the continuous rise in prices and agreed that something must be done to end the conditions under v\hich the t ’% ' < v <a. v-jilafl .URt \ average family gets less and less for its money. ? ‘ v . j a C J f ia i: ' But they thihk the best method to stop inflation is far the administration to rare bade and issue a decree rolling back prices and preventing their rising. You and I kn o w that the best method is to reduce the pressure at the source rather than at the nozzle, but hew can this be explained in y x t m a n m : a short and sweet manner, so simply put the average man and woman can understand it? The Institute of Life Insurance advertisements approach the problem but don*t solve it. > <s ■• V; ;. I think that if I were heading up a public information •» , bureau to sell an anti-inflation program such as you have long advocated I would divide the nation into groups far my missionary work. I would enlist the enthusiastic support first of the millions on public assistance or on the rolls of old age and survivors insurance, and then of the millions who soon will be dependent upon the government p e n si o n p l a n . Then I b e l i e v e I would d i r e c t my e f f o r t s n e x t a t the school te a c h e r s . The i n s u r a n c e p o l i c y owners would be a nother group v u l n e r a b l e t o a sharp p u b l i c e d u c a t i o n p ro g ra m . The l a b o r unions w i l l be hard to s e l l on what I c a l l the E c c l e s p la n and a l s o the r e t a i l m e r c h a n t s . Of c o u r s e t h e r e are m i l l i o n s f o r whom no publi c e d u c a t i o n i s r e q u i r e d , but some perso ns we n a t u r a l l y assumje know the s c o r e a c t u a l l y do n o t . For example: I t a l k e d to a k n i t t i n g rp ods manufa cturer a t the Weber cl u b the other ere t o o h i g h now. day . They said the and a C .P .A . Those two men t o l d me bj p i c w budget could be fciax balanced by m erel y r e d u c in g the government e x p e n d i t u r e s for non-m ilitary servic e s . N e a r l y a l l of the union men I t a l k t o want p r i c e s r o l l e d bac k. They oppose a program c a l li n g , upon them to save more. r e s e n t r e g u l a t i o n s t h a t make i t more d i f f i c u l t for t h e i r t o a c q u i re the t h i n g s the f a m i l y fam ilies wants. The t cug h job i s to co nv ince t h e s e people t h a t a n t i - i n f l a t i o n p l a n s won’ t work, and t h a t E c c l e s type w i l l work, They their a program of the that alth o ug h the E c c l e s pl an w i l l mean some h a r d s h i p and d i s c i p l i n e the end r e s u l t s w i l l be worth the sacrifices. I t vd.ll not be an easy t a s k to convince the man who wants a house t h a t i t i s to his b e s t i n t e r e s t him to a c q u i r e the ho u se. an a u t o m o b i l e , r e f r i g e r a t o r The same w it h the f a m i l y eager for or other, a p p l i a n c e . c h a l l e n g e f or p u b l i c i s t s i f th e r e to make i t d i f f i c u l t f or ever was one. Here i s a ML-.. ......... I a._ _ ....... ., It*s going to ber tough to indue q the people to buy government bonds. Around this office the boys are talking about MlvV how much better off they would be if they had started ten years ago to buy common stocks sstJuj • v :V m . I was asked yesterday by a thoughtful person how the adoption and acceptance by the average people of a program calling upon them to work harder and save more would prevent the war contractors (from bidding up prices the government has to pay for military supplies. The question was inspired by the news that a big sulphur outfit had raised its prioes. , V-v ii I% #»■ .. . ■ ■ ' ■' • . ■- i;t $ I haven’t the complete answer to that one. Can you help me out? I suggested that profiteering among war contractors frolickiiB the refreshing torrent of government expenditures , would be controlled through re-negotiation of contract prices, ! ••'■'•ki’'?' * rf ■ ! • ‘” •-‘s% 5 . ■ I have v ' *. also been asked whether prices of food and clothing w o n ’t go out of siglif after,the average family is * * slowed down on its purchases of larger items and thus has more • '• • . •\ . money with which/,to outbid the other fellow in the food and clothirg markets. What’s the answer on-that? v . —> do something about farm price supports? Have we gpt to t: < What I have been trying to say i n ‘this long letter is that we have at last, aroused the people to, their plight in*the the dollar’s purchasing power. matter of They want something to be done about it* The job is to convince them there is not an easy way ' i ( ' '•;<*‘' 1 to do this. I have enough confidence in the people to believe they Kr ' will submit to the required disciplines when convinced they ere necessary. Convincing them will be a hard but interesting job \ \ *-•- ’ ■ T kv/,i; gl.i .' * nv*n ai*tv*find ad vertisin g men and Deonle like vou. who must g i v e d i r e c t i o n to the p r o g r a m . more i n t e r e s t i n g , and e x c i t i n g I c a n ' t t h i n k of a n y t h i n g th a n t o be engaged i n t h i s cru sa d e t o b r i n g abo ut a change i n c o n d i t i o n s and t h i n k i n g t h a t w i l l b u i l d up the pur cha s i n g power of the For your i n f o r i r a t i o n about d o llar. the p o l i c a i I had a t a l k w i t h P l a t t F u l l e r , the scene in Utah. t r u c k i n g m ag n ate . He r e c e n t l y came over t o the D e m o cr a t ic p a r t y and i s a c a n d i d a t e to t h e l e g i s l a t u r e from h is is d i s t r i tj convinced Thomas, Granger sa i d (and t h i s matter is that P l a t t to ld me he and i) 0 3 0 r:e w i l l be r e - e l e c t e d . i n t e r e s t i n g and i n l i n e o f the l e t t e r ) men he knows t h a t i n Ogden. with the s u b j e c t t h e r e i s a f e e l i n g among b u s i n e s s i f R e p u b l i c a n s were e l e c t e d t h e y perhaps would become to o d r a s t i c on t h e a n t i - i n f l a t i o n f r o n t and t h i s be good f o r b u s i n e s s * He w o u ld n 't October 2U, 1950,. Mr. Darrell J. Greenwell, Ogden Standard-Examiner, dgden, Utah. Dear Mr. Greenwell: Your letter of October 17, addressed to Mr. M. S. Eccles, arrived just before Mr. Eccles was catching a plane, going to Utah. He asked that I drop you a note acknowledging receipt of your letter and the editorial you enclosed. He asked me to say that he expects to be in Utah for a few weeks and hopas he may have an opportunity to see and visit with you while there. Very truly yours, Va Lois Egbert, Secretary to Mr. M. S. Eccles. VE:dls
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