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Show HOME TOWN REPORTER ?xzz Enterprise System Enters Into New Period By WALTER A. SHEAD RESULTS of the recent election, as this column las pointed out in previous editions, marks the end of an ra and the beginning of a lew period in economics. Since March, 19?3, when Frank-in Frank-in D. Roosevelt entered the White House, the nation has gone through a period of social and economic reforms, re-forms, long overdue, and consid- ; sred by a majority of the people as essential for the liberty and pursuit pur-suit of happiness of the masses of Americans. These reforms were called the New Deal. A srgment of our society represented rep-resented by the so-called vested interests or big business has refused re-fused to accept, or accepted under un-der tiro test thnsn reforms aa we suggest that those members ol the Old Guard whose presence in tha high councils of Republicanism has been of doubtful value, abdicate in fi.vor of young men with open minds." Privilege or Responsibility? Whether the sound and wise advice ad-vice given in this industrial maga-zine maga-zine will be heeded by big business cannot be foretold. It will be remembered re-membered that Eric A. Johnston, former president of the United States chamber of commerce, gave much the same sound advice in mid-1946 to his fellow industrialists. Mr. Johnston, now heading up the Motion Picture Association of America, warned that "the whole process of thinking 0 capitalism for the Drivileeed essential for a free America. This segment represented largely in business by the National Na-tional Association of Manufac-, Manufac-, turers and in congress by such men as Sen. Robert A. Taft of Ohio, has fought with every instrument in-strument at its command, largely large-ly with money, the completion or extension of these New Deal reforms. The use of money and huge industrial in-dustrial and economic power in the Jy-elections of 1946 almost won back the government in Washing-m- for big business, but not quite. The pollsters, the political experts and most everyone except Harry S. Truman and the plain every-day American people believed they would complete the job last November No-vember 2. But they failed and the plain people won. So it is refreshing to read in the current issue of Steel, Qne of the nation's best industrial magazines, what this reporter believes be-lieves is some sound anj wise advice ad-vice to American industry and that segment of society which historically histori-cally backed the Republican party. Says Steel: " . . . For years industry has ben pouring hundreds of mil-Iious mil-Iious of dollars down a rathole in a belief that, if the man in the street can understand Industry Indus-try properly he will support it staun.hly. The c .Id truth' is that the average citizen has more faith in industry and in the free enterprise system than he has in the ability of some of industry's leaders tc administer the system properly. "We suggest that part of the effort ef-fort made in the past to sell industry indus-try to the public henceforth be demoted de-moted to directing industry's affairs ;o that the average man actually receives his proper share of industry's indus-try's benefits in a form that he can easily recognize. When that has been accomplished there will be no need to sell him anything. Secondly, few must be raised to a plane where responsi Jility tc the pub-lie pub-lie interest is the key word." He warned that capitalism musl change so that "man is more important im-portant than the machine or the products of the machine . . . where the primacy and dignity of man come first." Mr. Johnston was prophetic when he said, "We musl turn from the old monopolistic com- p petition which throttled competition of the little fellow to the new competition com-petition which provides iceas for thinking, for inventive minds, which holds prices reasonable, makes better bet-ter living, stimulates, but nevez stymies opportunity." Buwever, big business, repre senting capitalism, refused to recognize those truisms or those warnings, and the Republican leadership, which the publio feels is so closely related and ident lied to big business, again -4 stands discredited. As a result, the little Republican i' the street is placing a large share of the blame lor the past election result squarely upon those thousands of Republicans in Indus-tr; Indus-tr; who have refused to recognize th evolution into this new era and who. as the magazine Steel says, "should share the responsibility foi the continued and consistent failure of Republicanism over a period ol nearly two decades." The 80th congress went as far at it dared in repealing or curtailing beneficial enactments of New Deal congresses since 1933. It had planned to go farther, the whole way if possible, in the 81st congress. Any unbiased observ here ill Washington could see the pattern, although, of course, there are many who will take issue with the statement. state-ment. The tact remains, however, that those "young met. with oper minds" in the Republican party now are ready to make a fight of il with Senator Taft and his cohorts |