"POWER-SEEKING MAD"

Chronicle (Levin), 7 May 1949, Page 5

"POWER-SEEKING MAD"

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■Reuter,.

U.S. Defence Secretary On BigBuskess

'■ Received Friday, 8.50" p.m. WAS H.IN'G TG N , May -5. « Mr. Louis J'ohnson^ (U.S. Defence Secretary), tonight. aecused i'a ^e-w ■ power-seeking and merger-mad" Ame- 1 rican businessmen of playing i'nto- Gom- ■ munist hand's by trying to ta-ke- more' and more economic power. Mr. Johnson- ' was addressing the United1 Stat,es Chamber of Commerce. - - He said: "It is high time those-few power-seeking and merger-mad corporation officials in our midtet realise that the enemies of our economic system are gambling on. the hope that American big business by coneentrating more and'more economic power in fewer ano r-ewer business enterprises will. fin-ally drive us into some form of corporateState. - "If that happens it will be easy for a small' group of ruthless men- to. seizeeontrol of the Government andspell the death knell of freedom. If war comea and it proves to be atomic war, wemust assume that big industrial centres will be among the first targets, Themain burden of producing w.ar materiat then will fall on the smaller plants.." Mr Johnson said small buginesses- ano independent farmers were the essence of demoeracy, and the Government would support them by giving them d,e--tence orders. He said the Government would not tolerate middlemen or. expediters who sought to obtain contracts t'or clients. ' ' To those who claim to. sell influence at the right spots, I say we will driv.e you from the national military establishments. " Mr. Johnson added that. his job was to make Ameriea so strong on land and sea and in the air that the aggressor would not dare attack it.