| Show national topics interpreted by william bruckart national press building washington D C washington air pilots use an expression pres slon that I 1 want to appropriate in connection with a low discussion of t the h e visibility clity jl ity count rys economic situation and its relation to the administration policies and plans the pilots refer to low visibility arid and low ceiling when they want to say that they cannot see far in the alie distance it seems to me that the clarity or lack of it with respect to current economic conditions warrants the use of the term low visibility if any credence whatsoever Is to he be placed in the statements and activities tivi tivit ties les of business leaders government agencies by the dozen have been issuing rapid lire fire reports in recent weeks showing how industrial production Is improved in how the price level has shown signs pleasing to industry if not to the consumers and how the volume of bank clearings Is progressing upward bank deposits wore were seven billion dollars higher at the end of 1034 than at the end of 19 1933 33 the reconstruction finance corporation Is having difficulty in keeping its borrowers from paying hack tile the loans and the securities find and exchange commission recently was made very happy by application of a great packing company to list forty live five million dollars in new securities the treasury has been pursuing what Is regarded as orthodox financial policies and a good ninny many other agencies appear to be veering away from the leftists course that so long ion dominated roosevelt roosevel t policies all of these it seems ought to be reassuring to business whether that business be the great corporations or the little tradesmen in the corner groceries but there has been a fly in the ointment and that seems to be the reason why masses of capital and a goodly percentage of the count rys population shares uncertainty about the future economic condition I 1 have sought answers to this puzzle in many quarters and I 1 have had many different explanations ons it Is made to appear however from the weight of opinion that I 1 have gathered that the relief rolls are the cause of this lack of faith it has been recorded previously that approximately awen ty two million persons about one sixth of our population are living on relief this staggering total the highest ever known obviously represents a basic weakness somewhere and the administration la Is seeking to locate that weakness this total has been reached by a steady growth it has not come sudden suddenly ly the circumstance therefore has led many individuals to the conviction that mr fr Roosevel ts reform measures tire are failures perhaps it is a lack of understanding on the part of business that prompts it to keep its pen in its pocket and its checkbook check book closed under these conditions it may be that business leaders have failed to read the possibilities ties represented by increased production and the other signs of an improved economy nevertheless business apparently has found it difficult to see far or clearly into the future it seems to look upon the economic condition as having a low ceiling cel ling and low visibility washinton washington ton correspondents were w e r e startled I 1 in the presidents president press conference the oth other erday day more when he let it be M messages es sages known that he plans four additional messages to congress this session not including ills his recent bitter denunciation of the holding companies when lie he asked that action be had on that bill it aas vi as not the number of messages that surprised the correspondents it was tile the that the president said with alth some frankness that lie he lid did not knew what sll cla would N h tid in them to most of the observers it seemed wholly reasonable that tile he PreM dent should ili be unwilling to outline those messages but it was vas incomprehensible that lie he should his inability t tc say what subjects is would be handled after that information ca came me out of tile the willie white house there was a noticeable sinking g in the optimism of a great many men uhn count for something in the count rys business lai siness structure leture most or of them said rankly frankly that they aliey lid did not know which way to turn among their numbers were more who ho believed sincerely in that tile the Presh president lent was giving up tip some or of ills his numerous new experiments anti and was proceeding on round ground v aich the conser conserva vath the e thought considers to ile be solid the reaction to work or of tills this kind always has been and always will be had bad from tile standpoint of tile the political party in power added to the llie circumstances I 1 have jut mentioned on one should remember how congress normally is unpopular with the business community oni in many years past I 1 have heard the plaint of busl bushness ness representatives in washington asking or urging for adjournment business men normally feel that the less work congress gets done and the sooner it leaves the halls of tile the capitol the bettor better conditi conditions ons ill be tile same Is true now only more so it may as well be admitted that the ur rent session of congress Is here for a considerable number of weeks this ii true for several reasons in the fir farst st instance many of the members fe feel el I 1 i that they want to be legislators and not rubber stamps any longer there thera Is no longer the overwhelming fear eg among congressmen of the presidents denVa power they have shown this several times lately including the forty birne day battle over the public works bill feeling their independence again members of tile the house and senate have begun to press for action on legislation ca carrying out their own ideas mud aluen of this runs counter to administration ideas on legislation further clashes tire are inevitable when there are con diction of plans in congress you can call expect to see a long dr drawn awn out session and since bince this Is not an election year there la Is no need for the members to rush home to mend their political fences it Is not strange therefore that business as a whole Is worried about congress the business leaders themselves insist that it Is not strange that they are worried about the secrecy which surrounds the presidents plans the two circumstances taken together obviously serve as a brake on the wheels of industry because now as ai ways in the past business will not risk the last vestige of its capital re sources unless it can be assured of stability i while the demo democrats cra ts the party in power are floundering the republicans lie ile wholly dor useless mant seldom in my opposition experience in washington b has as party been its as useless as the re ee now seem to be they are making no effort at all to gather funds ass for use by chairman henry P fletch er of the republican national committee in taking advantage of vulnerable spots in the democratic armor in fact they have left mr air fletcher rather high and dry and when he attempts to do anything one faction or another shoots harder at him than at its natural rivals the democrats chave I 1 have heard expressions lately to the effect that sir fr F letcher fletcher has a golden opportunity at hand ile he Is in the enviable position of being able every time he be Is criticized by his own partisans to point out that the help they are giving him Is worse than nil and that criticism under such a circumstance does not become them the thought Is that mr fletcher by taking the bull by the horns becoming militant and mapping out a program with which his fils wide knowledge of 0 politics equips him could become actually the dominant republican force in this country thus far mr rl fletcher etcher has sat back in his easy chair and has hag taken all the darts some observers are asking how bow long iong that can continue and the republican party remain alive early in the roosevelt administration the republican policy was to avoid criticism of the democratic leadership at all times they declared and openly announced their views that if they criticized mr ift roosevelt and his new deal they would be characterized as obstructionists if the new deal failed the democrats surely would p place a C e the blame on the republican opposition put but political writers here tell me that mr ar Roosevel ts political honeymoon has been over quite a while and that there Is in their opinion no need for republicans longer to stick their heads in the sand after the manner of the ostrich and see nothing As AS the administration gets its hands 0 on a fresh supplies or of money a strong d demand has set tip sp concrete for more concrete highways highways there seems to be almost a propaganda in favor of construct constructing InO CO concrete 11 crete highways here there fani and everywhere including two or three of 0 four transcontinental high speed roadways tile the new public works bill carries it a considerable surn sum for h highway avay construction st and it Is quite natural that dealers in road materials and equipment want to got get hold of it MY ily inquiries queries among road building authorities lead tile me to belle believe ve however hoever that the tha use of these funds ought to beani ined closely and any program that Is mapped out should ile be the result ol of careful study around the department of agriculture there Is a chronic complaint that too many through ill highways elways and not enough firm farm to marke t roads hare bare been constructed it if that be correct the authorities tell me then tile concrete road pr program will have to he revamped or else there will be hundreds of miles of concrete roadway constructed at an expense so grent great that it can be called reckless was waste te some years ago the bureau g 0 pub an lie ile roads made a statistical study which indicated that a concrete roadway as distinguished from other bird bard surface highways was vas unjustified oil na less the daily volume of flaton tra tile approximated fifteen hundred cars tt it Is to be remembered that a 11 concrete roadway costs several if aln meg as much as when other materials are used in hard surface construction so the public roads statistician figured out the life of a road roadway ay bull built t of less ir bensle x materials would be of sw V alli C dent I 1 e tit length to warrant use of f ta e f cheaper li caper material nil liero ere tile vo vocile lIle travel N was s i low 0 w 4 D os t 0 ra newspaper r fulua bol |
