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Show Du Pont Offers Departure rIS AN AMERICAN tradition that the people peo-ple invited to great banquets already believe the things the "speaker of the evening" intends to tell them. A good meal, a clever toastmaster, a floor show, a microphone and a speaker are always al-ways followed by cheers and applause, and someone is almost certain to start up, 'Tor He's a Jolly Good Fellow." It was in such an atmosphere that Lammot du Pont found himself speaking to 600 industrial executives at the annual meeting of the National a.i-iinn of Manufacturers. New York when, he proposed that the nation's private enterprises invest $23,000,000,000 and create 3,000,000 jobs to give the recession the coup de grace. This, he said, was "staggering in its size and complexity," but "neither hopeless nor impossible." As to how it could be done, he said, "Give industry a reasonable rea-sonable degree of certainty upon which it can count in planning current and future operations." New jobs, new wealth and agricultural prosperity pros-perity produced through planned research, planned development and planned expansion of plant, sales and administrative facilities were stated as effect and cause bound up in his plan but wasn't it heresy to stand up for planning before such an audience? "Development and popularization of new products" was pointed out as one sure winner in bringing about "a new era, with eventual elimination of poverty and unemployment." Making new products, of course, is a chief effort In the many Du Pont enterprises but he must not lose sight of the fact that the majority of American industrialists making old products shoes, skillets, clothes, cleansers, hats, ham and hatchets and such know there is a market for millions of the items they make snd that millions only lack the wherewithal for them. These potential po-tential buyers do not merely desire them they want and need these common necessities before they can go in for pretties made from new plastics. "Vastly broadening the market for existing products through lowering their cost," and "maintaining "main-taining a rule of fair return for all effort, not excepting capital effort," were the other two points in his three-fold progrsm. Surely. But how? It is only air to believe that all individuals, indi-viduals, parties and groups which for long have been trying to solve these very problems have been doing so with equal honesty and sincerity from their own viewpoints according to the light ) that is within them. . What is "fair"? Buyer and ' seller and taxpayer and taxgatherer never agree except by compromise and if there's no compromise com-promise there's no deal. Mr. Du Pont is one of a family of industrial giants. Not he, nor any of his kin, is among the "idle rich." Their prodigious enterprises have been built with brains and daring. In Wall Street he is respected for a keen fiscal sense. It is impossible, impos-sible, though, that he can share a common viewpoint view-point with the cross section of American industry. It has not resources remotely comparable with those the Du Ponta can command. So, despite cheers and applause greeting him as he finished presentation of his "recovery plan," it must be seen as ephemeral and impracticable. Facts and circumstance being what they are. Lammot du Pont is the last man in the United States who could offer a social and economic program and win widespread acceptance. That may be unfair, unjust and intolerant, but facts are facts and it is his misfortune to be their victim. He earns credit for tact In calmly and dispassionately dis-passionately offering his program. An uncompromising uncom-promising opponent of new deal philosophy, he offered no word of criticism. Critics without alternatives al-ternatives have lost a large part of their audience. Possibly before long we may come to realize that there is no magic and painless formula for quick and permanent recovery. It is a job a job with a lot of hard work tied to it, a job that will take a long time to do and many men striving together, enduring hardships and playing fair and square with each other. |