Post-War Planning in America
That an official report published by the United States Government Printing Office should also be issued by His Majesty's Stationery Office in this country is a fact of no little significance. Here is official recognition of the undoubted fact that the people of Great Britain are interested in exact studies of what is going on inside America, or being planned for future legislative or executive action there. The report in question is " A Post-War Plan and Program," submitted to the President by the National Resources Planning Board ; it follows an earlier report on " Security, Work, and Relief Policies," and is itself Part I of a "National Resources Development Report." It surveys an immense field of post-war planning, starting from the transition from war to peace, and shows how domestic reconstruction must be considered in relation to world reconstruc- tion. Although the report contains many recommendations in principle, it is in the main an exposition of problems that will require more detailed study but will have to be faced if a satis- factory job is to be made of the peace. It recognises that the most vital problem of all is the maintenance of full employment in America, for on that will depend her power to purchase abroad and promote trade with other countries. It considers the steps that must be taken to facilitate the transference of industry from war to peace work, the controls that may have to be maintained for some time after the war, questions of housing, education, transport, agricultural development, social security and many others which have their counterparts in Great Britain. Some, like migration, involve other countries and other continents. So do such questions as were discussed at Hot Springs.
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