Imperial Valley Press

LET'S KEEP THE SKELETON

Main street in El Centro, Second street in Calexico, and Main street in Brawley all serve to make us wonder in what condition business will be when the boys come marching home.

All these thoroughfares are as the thoroughfares of America. They are the Main street of America, the meeting point of America's business world, the employment centers of America's workers, the market place of America's farmers, the true index of the state of health of America's business body.

Looking at the lines of stores on each side of these streets is like examining the teeth of the people . . . and we find many teeth missing. Store front after store front is vacant and dark. They stand as monuments to small enterprises which one by one, have been knocked out of commission by the tragedy of war.

Maybe we can struggle on without these bicuspids and incisors for a while, but sooner or later as any dentist knows, the gaps should be filled in lest the neighbors start leaning out of alignment.

These gaps in our economy should be filled in, even during war. Someday, ten million soldiers, sailors, marines and coast guardsmen and another ten million defense workers will come marching home. But there won't be homes enough for all, that is, not enough business homes.

While Government is fighting this war, feeding the people, planning our future, proposing freedoms and state aids, that government should be farsighted enough to plan on leaving at least skeleton frameworks of all business concerns, so that there will be a structure at least which can be fattened back to normalcy when the right and proper time comes.

Yes, we should be allowed to keep the skeletons of our businesses for the reconstruction days.