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Show La 1 - Economic Highlights Industrial News Review Happenings that Affect the Dinner Tails, Dividend Checks and Tax Bills of Every Individual. National Nation-al and International Problems Inseparable In-separable from Local Welfare. oOo Every president, according to tradition, tra-dition, is entitled to one honeymoon with congress a session in which his pet legislative proposals will be okeyed by the representatives of the people without strenuous opposition. Mr. Roosevelt's honeymoon made those of his immediate predecessors look like a meeting between the parrot par-rot and the monkey. The first congress con-gress to sit under his administration gave him every extraordinary power he asked for. It surrenderd rights and prerogatives it had prized for generations. There was no organized opposition. When occasional individual indivi-dual voices appeared in criticism, they were snowed under. Most presidents presi-dents encounter trouble with their second congress. And in Mr. Roosevelt's Roose-velt's case, it is true that the sailing wasn't as easy as it had been. But the honeymoon continued. A certain amount of opposition appeared, largely large-ly within the president's own party, but the high-geared Democratic congressional con-gressional machine made short shift of it. The powers of the chief executive, execu-tive, broadened to an amazing degree through acts of the preceding congress, con-gress, were broadened still more during dur-ing the one that has just come to a judden and dramatic end. Most remarkable re-markable bill passed during the session ses-sion was the reciprocal tariff act. Under Un-der it, the president is empowered to bargain with foreign powers and raise knd lower our tariffs on almost all products to the extent of 50 per cent. Mr. Hoover asked for a similar bill and it is noteworthy that some of the Democratic leaders who put it through for Mr. Roosevelt were instrumental in-strumental in decisively defeating it :-.t that time. The silver purchase act gives the president further unprecedented unprece-dented powers "over our money. He is permitted, at his discretion, to purchase pur-chase 100,000,000 ounces of fine silver sil-ver in the world market and issue currency against it. The stock ex- change act is another administration bill of the first importance. It stringently strin-gently regulates all exchange activities activi-ties and makes illegal a number of common practices such as wash-sell-, ing, low margins and dissemination of tips. Mr. Roosevelt is thus made virtual dictator of the nation's security secur-ity markets. In brief, every bill the administration deemed essential was passed. Mr. Roosevelt goes into the middle of his second year as chief executive with every weapon for fighting depression he wanted. The "ongress has been subjugated; it has lost vast amounts of both prestige and importance. There was never a period in our history when a president was so powerful, and when the legislative legis-lative branch of the nation was so weak. Talk is now centering on the next congress. Mr. Roosevelt will again ask for much but unless the signs fail, he will have a harder time in getting it. There will be considerable consider-able opposition to his proposal for social insurance, which will be one of the principal planks in his program for next year. He will also ask for more regulatory legislation concerning concern-ing natural resources, principally water wa-ter power, and that will likewise be a live subject for hot congressional debate. The November elections will probably be the determining factor. If his party sweeps the country once more, his influence on senators and representatives will be as potent as ever no congressman likes to throw away votes. If the Republicans make substantial gains, such as taking 70 or 80 house seats now held by Democrats, Demo-crats, the picture will undergo a de-j cisive change. Most political cominen-l tators, writing for papers representing represent-ing both major parties, are of the opinion that the Republicans are likely like-ly to regain much of the ground they lost in 1932. It is usual for the party in power to experience more difficulty diffi-culty in the off-year elections than' in the years ir. which a president is running. oOo Most important factor in the gen-ral gen-ral business situation at prcsant is the drouth. Thou anrls of farmers who would normally offer a sizeable market mar-ket for clothes, farm implements, automobiles au-tomobiles and similar manufactured products, are wondering bow they are going to live through a barrel: year and they are naturally keeping a tight hold on what money they .have. The automobile industry is bring br-ing hit unusually hard in leceri months the agricultural ftatesftjle provided, the largest market:; foj new-cars. new-cars. Aside from that, recent n s show small, but encouraging, mturr-i in business activity. Commodity prices recently touched a nrvjhj .),, It is an interesting fact that Mn her of business writers, inelurinjr he editor of the Annalist; are af raid Oast I the prospect of increased expenditures expendi-tures for relief by the federal government gov-ernment is a threat to continued business busi-ness improvement. They are of the opinion that governmental retrenchment, retrench-ment, so far as spending is concerned, concern-ed, would tend to encourage capital, lead to industrial expansion. |