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Show I GOVERNMENT IS TO BE PATERNAL. It would be most surprising If our present administration of national affairs af-fairs were to turn to the paternalistic Idea of dlrectinc and aiding business. We are informed that at the cabinet meeting last week, President Harding indicated a desire to bring about greater cooperation between the gov-j eminent and the business activities' of the country particularly in relation to our foreign trade and it is stated that Herbert Hoover presented his plan for advisory committees of the principal industries of the country which will co-operate with the government govern-ment In developing the production and marketing of the sort of goods required re-quired for foreign customer?. In other words, Mr. Hoover advocates goinx back to many of the co-operative regu lations of the war period Under Mr. Hoover's food administration and the war Industries board, the leaders in hundreds of trades were called to Washington to be organized for united action and co-operation on the inltla tlvo and under the supervision of the gOTernment, each advisory committee being definitely responsible for all the I Individual business men in tho trade, j The co-operation consisted in agreements agree-ments to reduce greatly the number of styles and patterns In each trade, to agree to cut out wastes Involved in competitive selling and in many cases to agTeo upon an allocation to the Individual In-dividual business unit of the percent age of tho total quantity of goods to be produced in that trade. In following follow-ing the practice during the war thousands thou-sands of business men became faruil-j iar with the advantages to be gained from this kind of cooperation, and it is obviously Mr. Hoover's plan to re store these advantages at least for the purposes of foreign trade. Individual manufacturers will undoubtedly be asked to agree to restrict their output each to a particular model or group of models, and will probably be asked also to enter into voluntary agreements agree-ments under the supervision of the department de-partment of commerce for each to make his one model for a particular foreign trade and not to attempt to sell elsew here. This is paternAlljja. hat tt la a form of paternalism which should equip America to make a most successful fight for the trade of the world. If this country does not keep up its lnrge export business, there will be extreme distress when overproduction Is fully felt at homo. i |