Show 0 national topics interpreted by willeata Will iata bruckart press building BuIl dInk asahi ng t 0 K D washington the month of january 1938 has come and it is now gone with t the h e getting wind dozens of nowhere big business men have been called to the white house for conferences with the president on means of solving the depression problem and dozens have gone away from the white house after those conf conferences erencen without any announcement from the fread lead of the government as to what Is to be done much conversation nd much noise totaling much Scon conversation and much noise that iwas vas january at the white house A new session of congress started with the e ope opening 9 of january the house a and the senate appear actually to have no definite program certainly erta no program for a con truc tive course that will lead the country out of the terrific business decline instead the senate has icon een debating and debating a bill 0 punish apy any community where a Ti ching takes place and the house as been indulging in its annual sport of passing appropriation bills voting money without knowing too much about the items for which it votes southern senators filibustered against the anti lanchin i g bill because of the problems the burdens such euch legislation would load on them and the northern democratic senators seemed willing to let business die unemployment increase etc in order to gain a few negro votes that was january in congress an analysis of the situation therefore would seem to be in order to do that we have to go back to 1933 when president roosevelt took office the nation was in chaos there is no need to review those conditions the new president came in with an overwhelming majority to support him his majority was so large that he needed only to express his view and it was translated into action the country liked the aggressiveness gressi veness thus shown members of the house and senate however developed a habit not all of them but a majority of them that habit was one of waiting for the word from the white house while this habit was growing browin g business interests were pushed a and na licked kicked around and generally given to understand that they did not know what the shooting was all about like a country school boy the business man was sent to his seat and told to stay there otherwise the hickory stick would be brought into use indeed the hickory stick in the form of several pieces of legislation was laid onto the business of the country not as a pat on the back but much further down toward the end of its spine so business too got the habit of standing in the background it was afraid to denture forth things began to look up there was something approximating good business and it looked as it if mr Roosevel ts policies were correct in every sense but something happened the boat struck a ana snag 9 for several months last year the administration refused to admit that conditions were alarming it was lust just temporary officials said the country would pull out of it and it will some time if there is anything left but the problem is imme immediate diale and january has gone into history as did december and november it was in this circumstance that the results of the habit formed in 1933 began to show their worst phases business interests have gone to the chite ite house to teu tell their side of the ory at the presidents request sand d nothing has come of those conferences feren bences ces h 0 in the crit criticism icim of congress I 1 did not ot intend to indict all of the membership ber ship there are some those who see exceptions their mistakes and ars are willing to do db something about them unfortunate jay jy they are I 1 in minority blind followers biow ers of the president generally speaking peaking constitute the majority so bo that those who want to take constructive tive action had an op port unity lately I 1 heard worth dark clark a democratic Semo emo cratic member of the house from rom idaho make a radio speech on this his fact or rather he touched on chis is fact mr dark clark is a pretty lard ard boiled democrat but he be be bc beyes ev she he was elected to represent is lis eople and not to throw them 0 own simply because his party leaders ushii wanted to do something else in th the radio speech that I 1 mentioned mr dark clark referred to mis takes lakes ithac had been made in the last five years and asked what is the remedy I 1 F first he continued in his an awer ler to that 4 question ue stion we must mus birely q face the problem we must r realize e aliz that we have done some thinks wrong we must retrace our oui steps i where necessary and start star hanew ahei 1 one of the difficulties involved here is the lack of independence of 0 thought and courage among us in ii congress the worst injustice that tha daw cani lie be done a great leader is to t ly follow his every suggestion hat frequently causes him to make mak spindly more lore mistakes than he oth otherwise other berwise satte ss tte ja would A mans best friends are not those who crouch at his feet with blandishment flattery and subservience ser vience his real friends are arc those who disagree with him when they think him wrong and who give him their utmost in support when they think him right there are many others in congress who feel as does mr dark clark about the present situation they recognize I 1 think that mr roosevelt must assume his fair share of responsibility as president for the current depression it is apparent too that he must assume responsibility for the failure of some of his policies in that he turned to yes men for advice instead 0 of recognizing that there could be honest disagreement with him on the part of many who desired to be helpful it is in other words another result of the type of leadership that he has assumed a leadership that worked i without halt when everything ng was hunky dory but a type that obviously ly will fail when the tide runs against you perhaps I 1 was a bit unfair when isaid I 1 said mr Roosevel ts conferences alt with business men well 11 that r s had yielded noth something ing it is true that he has persuaded the automobile manufacturers and finance companies to tighten up the strings somewhat on installment buying it is likely that hereafter an au automobile to mobile finance company will grant credit only for U 18 months instead of 24 months on th the sale ofa car where deferred payments are I 1 used I 1 do not know how that will solve the current depression but that was the reason given for the change in business practice As a matter of fact experts brithe in the D department part ment of commerce said in published reports report s in may 1937 that a majority of the finance companies were holding to the 18 month limit even then there can be e no doubt that installment buying is at a dangerous ous thing because ot of wv abuses abuse that accompany it My objection to it is the sime same as I 1 have stated in these columns respecting other types of debt any time debt is made bitsy easy there has been created a fresh danger at the very cagne time installment buying has been 1 generally used and the general result is as it was bound to be that hundreds of thousands of put themselves int into debt when their income from wages or others other wise was reduced their installment obligations became a burden that had first call on whatever money was available in the case of the automobile finance companies Companie 4 it seers seems clear that there have beed bee n abuses high pr pressure sales rAen en anxious to get commissions drove hard to sell cars and you can pay in two years the companies found out long ago however that the dangers existed and they wre were trim ming their commitments according ly since these sales are are campara com para dively small in ratio to 1 count rys business I 1 think th tl iWhite white 1 house announcement will not result in immediate restoration offra of prosperity v and then its importance is further minimized by the presidents course in quither aeed housing namely housing problem ye we all recall the housing ho sing legislation that was proposed asa as a panacea for what was called a recession last fall that legislation is approaching conclusion now and will soon go to the president for his signature so let us take a look at its principal features and find what they mean the heart of the legislation was a provision provis lori to permittie permit the construction dionor or the purchase of small homes without much money dnny as a down payment in fact oni only 10 per cent of the total cost of the proper tyis required as a down payment private money lenders will finance the other SO 90 per cent and the federal housing administration will insure that amount with government bonds to back the insurance so it is soon to be provided that I 1 can buy a house with a value up to if I 1 have COO to pay down anybody can get himself into deep deba dea with as much ease as the man on orthe the flying trapeze and instead of obligating himself for 18 months aas as in the case of the automobile the buyer is hooked for about 15 years it is definitely unsound abd a ny will make not the slightest bit of improvement in general business stewart macdonald the federal federal housing administrator ought to be a good witness on the sounders soun dess of the plan when hearings were being held in the house a appropriations p ra p r I 1 actions committee mr M macdonald Mac uan bonald 1 d wai wa asked about the idea of government insurance of bf as much as 90 per cent of a debt do you think that that is good business to have a man build 6 a home without any more equity than 10 per cent asked representative houston kansas democrat 1 I dont think it is good business no replied mr macdonald 0 western newspaper union 1 as fifley |