Show raa ahli rl national topics interpreted by wialiam bruckart washington As I 1 look back on events that transpired when president roosevelt took office new deal a year ago it Is oft digging i anti inti in striking to note the similarity Imi larity ot of action then and la in th the e two weeks subsequent to the opening of his second year in office the new deal opened its second year in the midst of a series ot of events that were comparable in my opinion with those or of the historic inaugural week ot of 1932 and as the new deal was all embracing as regards our economic and social structure just so were the events which I 1 am reporting now definitely linked with the very fundamentals of our individual and national existence we became accustomed during the dark days of 0 the world war to reading about this army or that digging in to hold the ground gained it appears to me that the outstanding fact with relation to the opening of the new deals second year Is the digging in process represented by the latest developments let us examine tha them fir first st there was president roose veits momentous speech in which he calmly told the country that the principles of were here to stay second there was a decision by tho the supreme court of the united states beyond which none can go for legal adjudication by which the new york milk licensing law was held constitutional and a few days later the congress gave approval to the so called big navy bill which can be construed no other way than a reflection of solid nationalistic tiona listic feeling mr Roosevel ts speech of course stood out but had the supreme court ruled that the state of new york had to no right to fix a minimum price for milk there can be no doubt that the basis of much of the new deal would begin to crumble had the congress turned away from the big navy idea that Is ordering construction of our navy to the limits of treaty agreement it would have dented that nationalistic policy seriously although the new deal schemes generally have not touched on the question of defense rejection of the big navy plan necessarily would have had the effect of raising some doubt as to the presidents control and one hears about washington the suggestion that mr roosevelt will have plenty of trouble if congress gets too independent As a part and parcel of the presidents enunciation in the speech general johnson of we are not called upon going back industry alry to reduce hours and raise wages further the mill militant tant crack down johnson was not as suave in his statements as was mr roosevelt and words of protest boiled right out of the meeting where he spoke but whether the industries represented in the conference with general johnson are willing or able to do as he declared was necessary every one in washington la Is convinced that mr roose roosevelt meant exactly what he be said when he solemnly declared one thing Is very certain we are not going back the president was equally unequivocal in his assertion that the principles of recovery embodied in must move forward industry can well take notice of that it if washington opinion may be taken as a criterion the president holds that the principles provide for a balanced recovery and that without a balance there can be no permanent good times so it Is the proposition that mr roosevelt has determined to go on that a majority of the highest court in the land has found one of 0 his basic ideas although embodied in a state statute to be in accordance with the constitution and he has a congress that 13 thus tar far under his control for enactment of the bulk of his new deal legislation the effect As far as I 1 know there Is no person of super intelligence now living and that would be the only kuman human being capable of foretelling what the results wll wil be the changes made under the new deal are brand new different than anything economists have ever seen and time alone will reveal which of them holds the things that fit our count rys normal life ilfe politically it Is quite apparent what the effect will be every mothers son in the democratic party in congress Is going back to his bailiwick to seek reelection election re under the roosevelt banner as distinguished from the old democratic flag espousing roose veits program will be popular in tua the bulk of the districts and the republican opposition will lust just as obviously have to be predicated on issues built up against what the present administration tra alon has done don e la Is doing or proposes to do the big navy bill la is a alv five year proposition it contemplates that the american navy will big navy be expanded by the construction of su BU f program focient ships of the various types to place the totals just jus inside the limitation of the london and washington treaties by which tonnage was wag limited so according to naval authorities our nr government will soon set out on construction of about new destroyers and submarines something like 1000 airplanes and ono one aircraft carrier the airplanes mother ship we have nearly 5 all of th the e heavier gunboat gun boats now that are permitted under the arms limitation of the treaties mentioned but the navy strength respecting dest destroyers r oyer and sand submarines Is tar far below the total that 1 Is allowed before the senate passed the bill it included an amendment that reduces profiteering on construction jobs to some extent I 1 have a hunch that the big shipbuilding corporations will find a way to get around part of the provision but obviously they will not be able to gain the profits out ot of the oe construction work that might otherwise obtain succinctly the provision requires that no contractor can gain more than 10 per cent profit tor for his risk and investment but enforcement of such a rule Is not as simple as it sounds it will be recalled that there were cost plus plue contracts used during the world war construction construct lon and it also Is a matter of general knowledge that the government paid dearly as a result the contractors were willing to pay any kind of wages and hire any number of workers they could get because when the costs were totaled they simply added their 10 per cent and collected from some of the letters I 1 have received from readers I 1 gather that they felt I 1 was a bit jingoistic a few weeks ago when I 1 predicted that there Is war brewing and that it Is likely to engulf some parts of the world before the end of this year I 1 was reporting at that time just what authorities in washington knew of world conditions and signs they could read while our own congress was authorizing thor izing construction of a treaty size gize navy consider the developments that same week abroad they include the french chamber of deputies naval coin committee approved a project for construction of a ton man of war to be a sister ship of the gigantic dunkerque Dunker que that Is now being built it also ordered construction ot of two new submarines and a destroyer the british admiralty presented 1934 estimates for tour four more cruisers and twenty other ships and an increase in naval personnel of 2000 men these additions will cost roughly in addition to these moves by the british and the french the italians took quick cognizance of the action of their rivals the french while it was not officially communicated to washington my understanding Is that the italians are making plans to build a M 25 ton battleship this of course would offset the new dunkerque Dunker que that the paris government will commission soon over in japan war plans go on apace and japan Is making faces at russia for example the japanese war ministry sent a note to russia the other day telling the soviets in effect to stay on their own side of the international border it seems the soviet planes had been doing a little flying over Manchu kuo the new state set up by japan out of territory taken from china and the japanese apparently want the russians playing in their back yard 0 now concerning general johnsons demands on industry it certainly can be said that bis big johnsont johnsons theme song as they warning say of the ortes movies was burdened with a threat he did come down off his high horse long enough to say we cannot succeed without public support that was quite a condescension by the general yet he had previously said to the folks who are the personnel of the code supervision that they were going to compel industry to cut the hours of labor and increase wages at the same time ot of course said general johnson we cant succeed without public support of what we are trying to do and I 1 want to warn non compilers that we are not only going to revive public sentiment for the blue eagle insignia but under specific orders from president roosevelt we are reorganizing to enforce the penal sections of the recovery act the administrator went on to say that he had been too gentle he feels apparently that he be has not cracked down sufficiently hard so he be Is going to see that more employment la is made by compelling industry to take on more workers and the whole import of his attitude appears to this observer as being one that will enforce that employment whether the particular industry needs the added workers or whether hether it can pay them if 11 it hires them or whether it will bankrupt the firm if it obeys from this position it appears to many whom I 1 have talked that general johnson has put pot industry right between the devil and the deep blue bine sea gea and there Is little choice left the general obviously was moved to go the distance he did by the definite character ot of mr roosevelt Roosevel ts assertions which were that we are not cot going back 1 and the recovery principles are here to stay all of 0 which is very strong language it la is different language than the american nation ever has beard from washington a e by br weater unto union |