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Show National Topics Interpreted "j sj . by William Bruckart l-J-v kept Informed fully as to what thes business leaders think. That being true, It seems to be a proper prediction pre-diction that the administration la searching quietly for ways of compromise com-promise and Is hoping at least that there can be proposals in the next congress which will have the support sup-port of a considerable segment of business, a segment that is decided-ly decided-ly not puliing with the administration administra-tion now because It doubts the efficacy effi-cacy of the brain trust proposals. The guiding hands of NKA have run into a tough adversary right ,;o, . Iiere Ia the Na- NtiA taces tionai Capital in a Bitter Fight firm by the namo of W. F. Robert company. Incorporated. The Roberts Rob-erts company declined to sign the graphic arts code, the code that applies ap-plies to printing and allied industries. indus-tries. Having refused to sign the code the Roberts company paid no attention to the code provisions governing gov-erning wages and hours of labor, so NRA turned the case over to Its lawyers for prosecution, and that was the beginning of a fight that promises to be as bitter as any yet arising from New Deal legislation. The NRA lawyers, armed with affidavits affi-davits of eight of Roberts' employees to the effect that they were not receiving minimum code wages and were working more than the maximum max-imum hours, sought In an Injunction In-junction In the District of Columbia Colum-bia courts to prevent the corporation corpora-tion from violating the code further. Their contention was that the code applied to the Roberts company despite de-spite Its refusal to sign because It was drafted with the assent of a majority of the printing industry. Cut the court declined to grant the Injunction, deciding that the case should be tried on its merits. The Roberts company felt It had gained something of a victory In the court's ruling, but it did not stop there. It has laid out a much broader campaign cam-paign and it Is that campaign which is proving so embarrassing to the NRA. B. H. Roberts, head of the corporation, corpor-ation, told me In the course of a discussion dis-cussion of the case that he was determined de-termined to awaken the country to the excessive costs of code maintenance, main-tenance, lie objects strenuously to some of the code provisions and maintains that the bulk of his pay roll Is well above the minimum prescribed pre-scribed by the code, but that his uinin coLuplaint is tis!r-t the urbi trary action of the code authorities. The Roberts company further contends con-tends that the code authorities are impractical, that they lack an understanding un-derstanding of the businesses over which they preside and that their whole course of action tends to put legitimate Industries In a strait-jacket strait-jacket which, according to Mr. Roberts, can have only one result, namely, loss of profits and eventual dismissal of some If not many employees. em-ployees. The reports In Washington are to the effect that since the Roberta company case reached the trial court, something like 1,800 print shops throughout the country have declined to pay further assessments to the code authority for their Industry. Washington. President Roosevelt believes that commodity prices r n should go some- rtoAanawfly.hat nlgheri but Price Boost he has advised admlnis t r a 1 1 0 n leaders to be on guard against a runaway movement. In making known his view, the President likewise like-wise for the first time tossed overboard over-board the plans of many theorists for stabilization of prices on the basis of the 1023 price range and adopted lustead something approximating approxi-mating the average of quotations existing ex-isting in the period between 1009 and 1014. Although Mr. Roosevelt never ha3 publicly espoused the 1926 price level lev-el as such, his discussions have given rise to a general belief that the parity existing around that time constituted a relationship between farm products and Industrial products prod-ucts which was satisfactory to him. Therefore, when he said the other day that he preferred the 1900-14 level, he turned his face from the position occupied by numerous groups, such as the committee for the nation and several farm organizations organ-izations that have contended the 192G relationship between farm and Industrial prices should be the goal. Most Washington observers agree that the administration Is alert to the dangers of runaway prices, resulting re-sulting not so much from the unbalanced unbal-anced condition of the budget and paper inflation as from uncontrolled and ungoverned credit expansion. In other words. It Is believed the President Pres-ident recognizes threats of a dangerous dan-gerous boom which, If it occurred, and was followed by the Inevitable collapse, would leave our country In the throes of another depression. In a conference with the President a few days ago, Mr. Roosevelt gave newspaper correspondents every Indication In-dication of a conviction that price questions involve many factors that are at the particular moment quite Impossible of ascertainment. He showed, too, In the opinion of many of the writers, that he Is not following follow-ing advice of the theorists without giving some practical consideration to the doctrines they advance. For example, the President's position clearly shows a desire to find ways and means of preventing wide fluctuations fluct-uations In commodity prices such as those that have characterized quotations quo-tations In periods like 1920 to 1030. How far he will get In working out such a system is, of course, entirely problematical, but his coroprohon-sion coroprohon-sion of the problem has been accepted ac-cepted by the conservative element with more enthusiasm than they have given heretofore to his pronouncements. pro-nouncements. Mr. Roosevelt believes that the nation is solvent. He contends that the column of as-Natwn as-Natwn Is gets has risen, Solvent through Increases in general prices, to the point where It exceeds the column of liabilities or debts by a small margin. Arrival of tills condition, con-dition, therefore, has prompted him to give thought to the question of putting on brakes for rising prices. It Is my understanding that the brakes are not to be applied yet. He Intends, however, to keep them ready for use In case the runaway boom appears. None of the administration spokesmen spokes-men are willing at this time to disclose dis-close statistics which will represent the price level that Is satisfactory to them. It Is said, nevertheless, to be a percentage somewhat higher than now obtains. The commodity price Index of the bureau of labor statistics Bhows farm products now at 72.8, which research discloses Is not far below the period from 1900 to 1914. The low point of this Index figure for 1934 was 57.4, and the low point of the depression In March, 1933, was 42.8. Of course, Index figures do not breathe life, but when two sets of them are arranged alongside each other, they become at least a basis of comparison, and after all, comparison com-parison Is the best basis for judgment. judg-ment. - In some quarters of Washington I hear expressions to the effect that Mr. Roosevelt's latest move regarding regard-ing prices Indicates a conviction that restoration of the country's solvency sol-vency Is more important In the general gen-eral recovery program than a good many of the theoretical and untried remedies brought Into use In the last fifteen months. Ills price proposes pro-poses obviously have not ended conjecture as to possible new moves. The program being In generalities did not cause fears to snb.-lde concerning con-cerning future tampering with the monetary structure nor did it alleviate al-leviate conditions born of the pressure pres-sure on commerce and Industry resulting re-sulting from NRA End Its hundreds if codes. Taken as a whole, the Washington Washing-ton picture at present Is viewed by many astute observers R3 an Indication Indica-tion that Mr. Roosevelt is trying to gt together with those who would rt'ease credit If given reasonable assurances as-surances as to future plans of the administration. It must be Faid that Mr. Roosevelt has not been coaxing business leaders Into the White riousfc It can be snil with equal force, however, that he la belr.g This weekly resume of Washington Washing-ton affairs Is not intended to be of a gossipy charac-N charac-N earing ter, but there Is a Open Break report going the rounds In Washington, Wash-ington, quite unconfirmed as yet that holds much significance. For that reason I shall include It that you may know ull things are not serene. The story concerns a rift In the Department of Agriculture and Its adopted child, the Agricultural Adjustment Ad-justment administration. In no governmental gov-ernmental agency are there as many brain trusters and theorists ns are to be found In the AAA. They have come to be known as the Tugwell-lans, Tugwell-lans, named for Prof. Itexford Guy Tugwell, undersecretary of agriculture. agricul-ture. ProTcssor Tugwell, long regarded re-garded as the outstanding brain truster, has been consistent In promotion pro-motion of bis theories nnd his sub-brain sub-brain trusters have followed his lead through all the storm nnd strife between be-tween the theoretical and the practical prac-tical men within the administration. Now, according to the n-poit, the rift between the brain trusters and the .radical men In the AAA nnd the department as well Is approach-lug approach-lug an open break. It has gone so far, according to well n tit lien! leal el ' reports, that the practical group have prepared their resignations and . have left them in the hnri'is of one Individual to present v. hen and If he believes that course becomes nee- j essary. I am not Informed whether j the Ttigwelllan group is prepared to take the Fame action In event of an explosion, but past performances would Indicate that they wiil stick on the Job and fight. It Is difficult to predict at this time what the outcome may be. but one thing Is certain. There are going go-ing to be changes u the AAA and In the Department of Agriculture, and when these changes come It necessarily will be prelude to revl. sion of po'.ii !cs. |