Show 0 national topics interpreted by william bruckart washington every so often in the national capital there cames a lull a period in which pro things seem beem to sag duces results sometimes it lasts only a few cw days and again it has baa gone a week or longer it has happened even under the new deal time Is allowed as it has been consistently heretofore by these lulls during daring which a lot ot of thoughts crystal ize and ninny many persons gain a different perspective it if not a true one at least a changed one senator pat harrlson harrison of mississippi one of the democratic horses felt the situation the other day when he be announced boldly and as though no one else had noted the phenomenon that we must do something more than we have been doing senator her weather eye was on the congressional elections of next fall but in the meantime throughout the government where somewhat less attention was and Is paid to pure politics there were expressions in the last few days of similar import among that cynical lot of observers variously described newspaper correspondents the press journalists etc the result of the sag of the last ten days was a conviction that some of the high powered recovery machinery had been seized with sleeping sickness or pernicious anemia the point I 1 am seeking to develop Is ie that both the national recovery administration and the agricultural adjustment administration appear to have leave passed into that stage from which we ran can look back and see the crest of the wave the public works administration Is just getting up steam and the federal relief relict administration has its machinery whirring away in anticipation of the hardest winter iron from the me standpoint or of relief the me depression has brought I 1 have not seen the signs or portents yet that will tell whether the public works job Is going to be worthwhile but as to general johnsons and secretary wallaces AAA I 1 have gathered much opinion from keen students to the effect that if they add much more to the re reF covery movement it will have to come from the adoption of new tactics during the sag it seemed all at once that NIIA could no longer muster the enthusiasm within its own corps to shout about its progress it apparently had struck a snag the reaction tion from the lull was immediate when the ballyhoo ceased the momentum of the effect through the country was checked As to the AAA the period of comparative para tive quiet in government affairs permitted an examination of how many directions secretary wallaces corps had gone all at the same time this evident lack of continuity in policy la Is looked upon among the observers at a having begun almost with the creation of the adjustment administration tra tion but there was plenty of spirit and hope and brains to keep all of the lines moving some months now the consensus Is that some of the lines will have to be abandoned because they have been pulling in opposite directions in attempting to depict the situation as it exists at this time I 1 intend no criticism on the contrary I 1 believe I 1 should reverse the words of the noble roman and say that 1 I came to praise caesar and not t to 0 bury him for there is 13 no doubt and can be no doubt that has done a deal of good in awakening the country it Is equally alpar apparent ent that the agricultural administration has done some good it has heartened thousands of farmers by providing some assistance though I 1 believe it la Is a sound statement to say fay that it has not done anything like as its as was expected a a whether one views in principle as the right course it remains as a fact that some authorities thing had bad to be lone done arree agree and add apparently it 6 had to be something of the sort of the I 1 have heard beard much discussion of the principle of NILI in the recent weeks since it has appeared to be on the decline and it was noteworthy that none of the authorities were in disagreement as to the necessity for rom something ethIng some action that would take the peoples winds minds off of themselves if NIIA has caused business men to make even a small start towards increasing their operations if it II has caused employers to add the million or million and a halt half workers to the pay rolls that Is claimed for it or if ifft it has done any of the various things about which so BO much propaganda was spread then it ought to be admitted that has made a contribution trib ution towards recovery but it does appear to most obber observers vers here that its value la Is waning one of the reasons why eliy has reached the stage to ID which we now find it Is because of congressional shortsightedness short sightedness perhaps congress ought not be blamed for all of it elther either because it is just possible that advisers of 0 the president did not use their heads at any rate the national recovery act was so drawn that the administration could club business alth the c code ode provisions and force the partnership with the government but omitted supplying the hie ad ministration with a club to hold over labor the result 1 Is that labor has hag not been such a good partner my inquiries have brought about the same response generally namely that this thing had to be a three horse team labor has balked business has been made the goat it has hag been un justi flabby stubborn in a lot of cases cages but I 1 submit it ought not be made to carry all of the load labor leaders cannot be blamed for wanting to unionize every shop for that Is their bread and butter but from what I 1 hear the undercurrent der current of feeling among business leaders labor may suffer a setback because it Is attempting to exact too great a tribute under such trying times 0 a the presence in washington of sir frederick belth ross as the representative of the british debts debit government to talk up again about revision of the governments debt to the united states has brought the debt question to front once again sir frederick has come with a commission to see how much can be topped lopped oft off and how a refunding can be arranged so that his government will find payments easier during these times of stress actually what the british want to do Is gain an eventual cancellation of the debt and in this move they are receiving no small amount of encouragement from the other debtor nations whose combined obligations to the united states are approximately it Is obvious of course that if the united unite d states grants concessions to the british it will have to do something for the others hence they are all rooting tor for the british team to win the negotiations for the united states are in the hands of dean acheson youthful undersecretary of the treasury but he has been in constant touch with president roosevelt ST sor that after all the chief executive Is guiding the foreign debt policy conversations with representatives ot of foreign governments in the nature of things have to be carried on more or less confidentially and the current meetings are no exception besides the subject in detail Is one of a highly technical character the public as a whole however should be vitally interested te in the net result tor for it simmers down to a question of taxation on the american people if the foreign nations pay back the money the united states loaned them to help out in the world war just that amount of money will not have to be raised by taxation of american citizens if they do not pay the american people will have to make it up there Is no alternative ter native then there Is the trade angle of the debt question our nation must export goods there the trade oust must be cotton and wheat and corn and angle anele flour and hundreds upon hundreds of different kinds of manufactured goods shipped out of the country unless these exports are maintained our own producing capacity must be curtailed and when it Is curtailed we have unemployment it has been argued by the limited number of outright cancel those who would wipe the debts oft off of the books and forget about them that so BO long as those debtor nations have to tax their own people to pay back their wartime borrowings those people are in no position to buy our surplus it Is simply that they do not have enough money to do both they argue further that it if we can export in normal quantities our industries will be prosperous r and it if they are prosperous they do not object to paying the necessary amount of taxes to pay off the bonds our government sold in borrowing money to loan to europe from these two views of the debt problem it seems to me it Is plain how painfully Close to all of us it Is though apparently a thing of remote consequence to the rank and file to show how really close it Is however it Is necessary only to mention that president roosevelt Is going to accept no proposal for revision of the british or any other debt that will cause a knockdown knock down and drag out light fight in congress ile he will not risk such a course politically ue ile knows that congress Is unalterably opposed to cancellation and that there Is a large and powerful group who will resist any reduction the fact that such sentiment exists in congress Is proof enough that it Is being talked about in a great many places and around many fi resides it happens that I 1 was the only washington correspondent who reported all of the original sessions in which the foreign debts were funded into obligations most of which cover a period of 62 years I 1 thought I 1 saw at that time signs indicating those debts would neter be paid I 1 am convinced now that they will not be paid in full there will be amounts chipped off from time to time just us as the brit leh ish are trying to do now until there will be what amounts to cancellation it will not happen overnight but the normal spun span of life of those now in middle age will carry them through to witness the fiscal success for the debtors and acceptance of it by the tha united states 0 hll 1931 western Wt trl newspaper union |