Show 0 national topics interpreted by william bruckart washington the review boards report to president roosevelt in which it was out report spoken in its ita critt hits cism of many principles has created more of a furore in washington than anything since the administration canceled the airmail contracts without granting the contractors a hearing in fact I 1 gather from all indications that the boards attacks were directly responsible for general johnsons action in releasing small businesses of certain kinds from responsibility under the codes the far reaching consequences of the boards criticisms can only be partially evaluated at this time but the celerity of the johnson action in meeting some of the charges by the board has bus led to more than a sprinkling of suggestions that it may be the beginning of the end for general johnson explained in releasing the minor industries from tile the codes that they constituted too small a part of the recovery program to warrant the expense and time involved in administering those codes of course lie he could not very well admit that was a failure insofar as the little fellows are coD concerned cernel but nevertheless there are plenty of on ob servers in washington who so construed his statement the interesting thing about it was that his announcement was made public after the boards report had been sent to president roosevelt and after the president had submitted the document to for an analysis of the criticisms the board was convinced after hearing appeals for relief by a comparatively small number of individual businesses that some of the codes were having the opposite of the effect intended evidence which it gathered seemed to show that the little fellows in the business world were being stifled by the larger units and that was the very thing which president roosevelt had hoped would prevent it Is to be remembered that the review board never was wanted by general johnson and the NIIA supporters the board was the brainchild brain child of several senators and representatives who had received so many complaints from the little fellows that they felt the urge to demand some means of review of policies and codes its origin might be assumed to have caused the board headed by clarence darrow of chicago to feel its was one of protection tor for the little fellow having watched it operate as a hearing body I 1 think I 1 can say its members tried to maintain an open mind on one occasion I 1 recall the hoard board did not mince words in telling the representative senta tive of a small business that he could expect no help from it until his own linen had been washed of chisel ing and sharp practice thus the board catapulted a handful 1 of red hot coals into the political arena mr roosevelt dodged the first bombshell by sending the report to attorney general cummings to the federal trade commission and to general era johnson for what he called an analysis 11 newspaper correspondents thought they could analyze the thing but they did not get the opportunity their discussion these days gives rise to the thought that they will be sitting around awaiting a chance to analyze it to the full extent of their powers when they do get hold of it political leaders among those opposed po sed to appear to he be delighted with the sudden turn of events any official criticism of they declare will give them license to voice their own views as well as to repeat what the off iclal agency had to say about that phase of the administrations program As a result of the fresh oui outburst of trouble for I 1 made a number of inquiries around business liend headquarters quarters confused which are contina tanu bously crowded with are seeking to find out to do these individuals to a man were thoroughly confounded and confused they were in many instances unable to determine what to do as to many business bract practices ces t they hey could not get complete instructions or interpretations nor were they able to learn the attitude in an advisory way on propositions on which they desired rulings having observed the joh job that general johnson and his staff Is trying to do I 1 can understand why these various questions can not be answered they simply have so much work to dv du that it is almost a physical impossibility to get it done but to me that fact tells the story of the weak weakness less inherent in any attempt to codify tices of businesses national in scope from a washington bureau As an exposition of the problem in another way I 1 learned that one great corporation Is operating under 51 codes there bisone isone Is one department store here in tho the city of washington that Is operating under and responsible to 11 code authorities one co corporation rp oration relatively small email in size find and doing a selling belling business in not more thap than five eastern states has had to sign a total of 14 codes all of this Is because of the diversification of the business As far as I 1 can every type of industry must have a code there is no way out A business that touches more than one line Is going to be a tinder n code for each line touched and it will have to be so if codes are to be a part of our economic structure yet as the review hoards boards report indicates there la Is ii a certain hardship developed by such a system that Is rather difficult to defend my aly inquiries however brought out oat another fact that to my mind Is highly important and about which little has been written that Is the expense which these businesses must bear in connection with the codes and attempts to find out what Is expected of the firms who have been given the blue eagle of membership there Is not a day goes by that offic officials lais do not receive flocks of busl business men who come from far and near for interviews for conferences on proposed codes for interpretation of codes already written for talks with the authorities as to whether exceptions can be made to the universal rules laid down in the codes and fur for the answers to a thousand and one other questions the expense of those trips to washington the hotel bills the time away from their jobs all of these things have to be borne by the individuals businesses or corporations corporate ns interested but those expenses appear small when arrayed alongside the code assessments sess ments that are levied on the individual businesses which must pay the cost of code authorities governing their particular lines when there Is more than one code applicable to a firm that dint firm pays assessments to code authorities for every line that 13 covered in their operation and believe me it runs into money I 1 the resignation of everett sanders of indiana as chairman and the impending meeting in sanders chicago of the republican resignation national committee has served to focus a spotlight on that political agency which it has not drawn since the days of the 1032 1932 campaign As a matter of fact the sanders resignation has stirred up more discussion and has caused more republicans public ans to show their faces than some folks thought were still alive it has demonstrated that there Is life in the G 0 P yet but the job ahead of it Is one of finding how the latest strength can be utilized under a solid leadership and that means the first task Is to find that leader for national chairman thus far it can be said there la Is an entire lack lach ot of unanimity among the republican national committee they appear not to have any idea as to the identity of the man who should be elected to head the party organization undoubtedly the weakness of the republican position at tills this time Is lack of leadership A real leader as far as I 1 hear discussion of the subject simply does not yet appear on go the horizon if it were not for the various crosscurrents cross currents it would be natural to expect that the several factions fal could get together and op operate er a 4 e harmoniously that sad to relate apparently patently ly Is impossible the old guard relish the idea of surrendering 1 power much criticism has been heard of the republican leadership in congress during this session it has been said tile the leadership has been spineless and of the do nothing kind but the can consensus around washington would seem to be that senator mcnary of oregon bregon in the senate and representative snell of new york in the house have been impotent largely because the democratic majority was so huge that they could never really voice the minority position 0 0 I 1 have heard some of the democrats assert that the republican party can never come back prediction that it Is through foolish nowhere does history justify such it a prediction it Is necessary only to go back to the campaign when warren G hording harding was elected to the presidency or to the overwhelming defeat of alfred E smith by derbm hoover aloo v er in each case some of the republic republican c an le leaders were so short sighted as to say that the democrats were through time tins hns proved such prognostications to be utterly foolish it likely wll wil make the present unwise predictions of democrats look the same way in the course of a few years it seems to me to be unwise at any time to consign a political part to a grave unless there Is no more blood left in the carcass from what I 1 can heaz about the republican financial condition the plight of the democrats a few years ago can be regarded as only slightly serious eur lous neither the national committee nor the combined senatorial senator fal and congressional committee can mak any plans for a fight because it takes take money to make the mare go whatever the results are of the coming election however tio wever it Is app apparent hrent now that republican leadership first must be established the democrats have that leadership in mr roosevelt burthey but they have to accept responsibility also so BO that they can expect to be attacked just as happened during the hoover regime resl roe the outs cuts can make the fur the insaf In ins sIf if they develop leadership G Q by western newspaper Newt paper union |