Show Washington Washington Many 1 Many times I have written rUten in th these columns about the confused contused st state of at II Big Shots affairs In the fed fed- Consulted eral government and the Roosevelt administration I wish I were possessed possessed possessed pos pos- of at sufficient wisdom to Undertake undertake undertake un un- an analysis of at them as they exist now for it probably would be helpful to alL But having no such V vast 1st wisdom I shall have to content content content con con- tent myself with the service of reporting reporting reporting re re- re- re porting on several circumstances of at recent development and let it go at that 1 I For several weeks now we have witnessed a steady stream of at callers callers caners call can ers at the White House There have been some labor leaders but mostly I the list of at callers whom the President President Pres ident i- i dent invited were the greatest of at American industrialists the economic cco eco royalists whom Mr Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Roose Roose- velt has so roundly denounced from time to time or whenever it served political purposes to attack them thee publicly The purposes of having these men visit the President as announced at the White House were to consult and try to find ways and means of checking the current de de- de As I said these White House visitors visitors visitors vis vis- vis- vis were the very economic royalists royalists royalists roy roy- whom Mr Roosevelt has attacked attacked attacked at at- tacked with such apparent satisfaction satisfaction satisfaction I tion throughout the last five years Indeed among their number were some of the sixty families upon whom Secretary Ickes of the Interior late Inte- nor department and Robert H. H Jackson trust busting assistant attorney attorney attorney at at- torney general genera have been heaping abuse as the folks who control America Anyone who will take the trouble to review the Presidents President's speeches and the more recent barrage barrage barrage bar bar- rage of attacks by Ickes and Jackson cannot help wondering if il those men are crooks and if they crush the common pee pul as charged why their advice can be beany beany beany any good now it is hard to lo understand why or how anything is to be gained by bj consulting with men of that type in a serious effort to solve the problems problems problems lems of the current depression and andset andset andset set off dynamite under them at the same time That is what happened Mr Roosevelt announced with vehemence vehemence ve ye- at a press interview that all holding companies must go They must be eliminated from American economic life and at once there can be no toleration of corporations that are organized to hold the stock of other corporations etc etc He has taken a position on that before betor s ft regards power drove drove a bill gr Ss to eliminate them This This time he wants to go much further Which is proper if that be his policy But here is the peculiar thin thing Two hours after he made his announcement he had a dozen men in conference who represented the very thing he was denouncing and was seeking their advice It seems paradoxical to say the least On top of these conferences that t have brought scores of prominent industrial captains to Washington at atthe atthe atthe the Presidents President's invitation there is isto isto isto to be noted an entire absence of any administration action looking to release re re- lease lease- of business to do its p port part rt U in taking on unemployed workers I have talked to men in con congress ress of every shade of opinion and they are arc all awaiting some word as to the Presidents President's views Their position is that the President wants to take the lead m in mapping a program and most of them I 1 believe Will help him carry arry it out They feel also that for them to start development of a program of their own makes maltes them to White House Ism if the legisla legislation HOIl fails to meet New Deal IDeal specification specifications So they simply wait In meantime the depression has sunk deeper and deeper I frankly believe that in some localities local locati- ties tics it is right now as bad as anything anything any any- thing we saw in 1932 Business men are frightened to death and will not expand their businesses because of the d danger that they will lose everything everything every every- thing they have and Individuals are frightened and will not spend more money than is absolutely necessary In other words there is a again ain a alack alack alack lack of confidence that is appalling It seems to center on Mr Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Roose Roose- velt as it centered on Mr Hoover in 1930 and 1931 I can judge the whole situation only by attempting to compose the observations observation's that I gather from countless conversations If this consensus consensus consensus con con- be accurate then it would appear that current fears result I from an inability of ot anyone to know J. what Mr Roosevelt will do next That is to say the expressions stressed statements that his policies poll polio cies des lack continuity that he changes overnight that he attacks attacks attacks at tacks business with one hand and kicks it in the pants with one foot foo and asks it to take the load of off o othe of the government at the same time that he takes advice of a lot o of nincompoops on finances who cant can't even evin balance their own household budgets that he ho wont let private private vate vatI initiative do anything without lt having baving a flock of government spies spie I on our trails tralIs and so on I could supply fifty more from my notes but they would be of ot the same tenor ten ten- or And mind you your a large percentage percentage per per- pcr-j pcr of at these came from representatives representatives representatives and senators In congress Democrats and Republicans alike Another phase of the general situation situation situation situ situ- There has been a tremendous drive against monopoly This was lead largely by Drive on Assistant Attorney Monopoly General Jackson but Mr Ickes and lesser esser lights have helped carry the ball The attacks have been gen gen- eral There has been no ion tion between good business and bad business The result has been that every man who has some money tied up in business is wondering whether he is going to have to defend defend de de- de fend himself himsel in some way however however how how- ever careful he has been about complying with the federal laws The fact was called to my attention attention attention atten atten- tion also that many of ot the businesses businesses busi husi nesses charged with monopoly are doing just what the government forced them to do The unI unlamented IRA can be recalled without effort ef- ef fort ort Under the every unit I or every line of at business was told what to do and how to do it it Codes of business practice were laid down downor for or them bearing the approval of the President Since was relegated relegated relegated rele rele- gated to the ashcan we find a dozen suits being prosecuted against businesses businesses busi bus nesses for continuing to do the things they were forced to do when was the law of the land Then I would like to ask what is wrong that real trusts are not being broken up The Department of Justice Justice Jus- Jus tice ice has some able lawyers who have lave been assisting Attorney General General General Gen Gen- eral Cummings since the inception of the New Deal It appears to a layman ayman like lilze me that five years ought to o be ample time in which to make some ome headway against trusts and monopolies I am moved to ask therefore can this new outburst against monopoly be a bit of poll polio tics ics S But the turning of the New Deal wheel has brought one magnificent appointment t to o Praise the Supreme court for Reed of ot the United States I refer to th he the nomination of Stanley Reed to succeed the retiring Justice Suther- Suther land and Mr Reed has been solicitor general of the United States and as ns uch such has directed the nations nation's legal affairs under Attorney General Gener ll Cummings His service there and before that with the reconstruction finance corpora corporation tion has been meri men orious There has been nothing but praise of his ability and of his char char- acter He stands out as a great lawyer awyer and fine personality The appointment is worthy of considering considering con con- from two t standpoints Justice Justice Jus- Jus tice Ice Sutherlands Sutherland's resignation and the he subsequent appointment gives the present President control of the court That is to say the known division of the court between conservative conservative conservative con con- and anI liberal thought has been switched from the conservative conservative conservative conserva conserva- tive side to the liberal side by the appointment of two men Actually Actu ally it accomplishes for tor Mr Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Roose Roose- velt the very purpose he sought to accomplish by demanding of congress congress con con- gress that it pass the so called so-called called court reform bill a year ago a piece of legislation on which the President received the worst licking of his political career The second important consideration tion in the appointment nt is the high type ype of man named by the dent Mr Reed is pr progressive in thought The New Dealers always have counted him as one of their number but I 1 find many people who contend that Stanley Reed believes first in the law of the land and in obeying it r rather Ulan than indulge in wishful thinking on a lot of silly untried tried schemes The country is fortunate fortunate fortunate for for- indeed to have a man like Mr Reed on the court 0 S SAnd And continuing the theme of Unusual unusual unusual un un- usual circumstances I think reference reference refer reier- ence ought to be beTake beTake beTake Take a made to the Ule ter- ter Beating rifle beating that thatis is being handed the southern Democratic members of the sen senate They have been making making mak mak- ing a brave fight against passage of ofa a piece of utterly legislation legisla legisla- tion the tion-the the called so-called lynching anti bill Men like Harrison of Mississippi Byrnes of South Carolina Connally of Texas and others have been I holding the fort against this vicious legislation They ought to win but they probably wont I have seen something of the race problem in the South and I can understand understand understand un un- un- un nhat cihat the basis of southern southern south south- ern era objection is On the other hand there is only one basis for the pressure pressure pressure pres pres- sure which Senator Wagner New NewYork NewYork NewYork York Democrat is put putting pulling ling on the bill and the reason why the senate was tied up in a deadlock of the filibuster type for days That reason reason rea rca son is that Senator Wagner is trying trying trying try try- ing to get control of at the negro votes In New York city's Harlem area Q e Western Newspaper Union |