Show business and government are to pull together hopkins address sets stimulating administration policy I 1 from business point of view vicia the most cheering utterances to come from a higi high n government official in many a moon are found in harry hopkins II address of february 24 before the talk was made word came along the grape vine that carries leaks from I 1 f facial washington that it was wa to be e definitely encouraging to business and was to point to a ne new w and stimulating administration administrate on policy but no one imagined it would be as encouraging as it was mr hopkins dwelt dwell at length on the u utility t clity problem and strongly urged a real government utility peace that would permit this in justry austry to expand on a big scale he said that government should generally stay out of business lie he said that it was essential to recovery that the railroad problems be settled in a manner that would permit this industry to make and spend money he lectured labor for permitting internecine warfare said in effect that it was cutting its own throat and that this country was big enough for two major organizations to live together in peace and plenty he observed that there could be no such thing as prosperity until the people on relief could get real jobs and that could only be accomplished by invigorating vigo vig rating orating private business he said that industry and government could work together amicably without destroying the necessary and beneficial reforms executed by the present administration and perhaps most important of all he intimated that the period of experimental peri mental legislation was abort about over that to lays job is I 1 consolidate and make workable what has been done in the past most alost constructive talk in brief mr hopkins made the most constructive talk the nation has heard in many years the result was a chorus of plaudits pl audits from all over the country and immediate strengthening of the security markets many a business man who was opposed to mr hopkins appointment to the commerce in the belief that he was radical drastically changed his point of view it is a highly significant fact that a number of very important industrialists are reported to be coming to the vi view w that mr hopkins is today their best friend at court and that they are confident he will do an al A l 1 job in his important new post so far so good but there is one very large fly in the ointment and that is the burning question as to whether mr hopkins notable talk honestly does mark a face in administration policy mr hopkins the commentators think is unquestionably on the level and spoke with complete sin carity but mr hopkins in a manner of speaking is only a hired hand his only authority is that bestowed on him by the president anything he might say or do could be instantly overruled and changed if the president desired and in the past the presidents opinions have been known to v vary ary with bewildering be w il dering rapidity on many occasions government officials have mads made encouraging speeches only to have the good effects annulled by subsequent actions or statements that diacou discouraged rag business tempering opinions i however there are good reasons for arguing that the policy laid down by mr hopkins may be put ua t into effect administration fedders leaders are worried about the swing to the right shown by the voters at the last election democratic ranks in house and senate are split wide open and such potent officials as vice president garner are openly working in the interest of conservatism so thus it may be some of the experts are saying that mr roosevelt is bowing to the inevitable bc because cause of the urgent need for bringing about peace and quiet within his own party even as god tempers the to the shorn lamb so does a good politician temper his opinion to the conditions that confront him defeat of duani proposal the house defeat of the proposal to fortify guam was of considerable sid side erable rabIe importance for the light it casts on the problem of national defense administration leaders for the most part were strongly back of the proposal on the principle that we should take the strong line in our pacific defense against a possible assault by japan the majority whips in the house did their best to line up enough votes to carry the measure but they failed by a considerable sid erable margin reason for failure is found in the apparently growing opinion that if we are to keep out of war we must spend our money principally for the weapons essential to territorial defense many experts think that it is tactically impossible to defend either guam or the philippines and that if we attempted to do so by sending our fleet thousands of miles from the major bases of supplies we would risk a ruinous defeat they argue that no power could successfully attack either the hawaiian islands where our pearl harbor naval base rules the pacific or our mainland this is our logical sphere of power they reason and we should look no farther some development may change this plan before long but the house vote on the guam fortification bill indicates the general trend of sentiment |