Show 10 national topics interpreted by william bruckart washington the Depart department departie me n it of agriculture ha has s laid down another anoche r burrage of accusations picking on against a 0 group of the packer 8 large 8 meat packing s concerns hut but the fight thus started promises to transcend the charge of crookedness on the part of ten corporations cited prom from the undercurrent of information around washington ono one can readily bk that questions of policy may become the focal point of the current controversy while the packers may fold up their tents admit some of the charges and not light back any further the situation Is fraught frau glit with possibilities ties of politics that lead directly to an attack on roosevelt administration admIll istra new deal policies fundamental ly these questions involve determination of how far the people want their national government to manage bustness business affairs it Is unfair or of course to hold that the tennig ten big packers are guilty of combined effort at manipulation of prices or machinations to drive out competition in certain sections of the countr country 71 solely because some come officials of the dopart department part ment of agriculture made the charges it Is likewise unfair to hi leold old the packers have clean records because the charges were made by sonic of tho the officials of the department that was described by members of congress as being full of communists it Is a fact that the packers have been dragged luto into court before on sli similar nilar charges it Is also admitted thai there are some soine officials in the depart in ment ent of agriculture who tire are so radical A al to tb be desirous of seeing private business destroyed with these facts in mind it Is well to recall also that in the list last several months there tins lins been smoldering sentiment that the federal government la Is going too far in directing the affairs of private individuals A good many observers here believe that tile the abai charges ages now renewed against the meat packers ers after fifteen years of comparative quietude in this direction will precipitate a political fight over the main question or of how far the govern government merit ought to go that Is to say some think tile the packer controversy will bring the larg larger ger question to a head there was a plain disposition anthe on the pirt of most persons to withhold criticism of the department of agriculture all through the early months of president Roosevel ts administration whether one agreed with the new peal deal program or was definitely opposed to it the disposition was to avoid attacks on the department of agriculture t e been becq lise of tho the rad ad plight industry it was supposed fi to wp help but differences have arisen among the farm leaders and among the members of congress from agricultural districts as to the way things havi have at the department of agriculture and these differences are not concealed any longer consequently it appears just possible that secretary wallace and the professors on whom ft horn he has leaned so heavily may soon find a swirling storm around their heads which chonce lonce started Bt arted surely will go beyond just that phase of the presidents new deal program for instance there Is a bill pending that proposes to make the federal government supervisor far reaching ot of the security ex proposal changes acs tho the stock markets it Is far reaching of that there can be no doubt hut but differences of opinion are aie sharp and generally speaking tile they v may be traced back to ones basic belief as to the extent tile the federal government should go in managing your business and value mine it Is held by all observers to be a perfectly normal and natural line of cleavage tills this legislation would attempt to control the sales of all shares of stock and bonds whether on the floors floor of the trading exchanges or across across the court conn of 0 brokers tile the opp operations rations would be directed from washington through the federal trade commission its scope and the fact that tion of tills this phase of business like so BO many others would be cen centered in washington causes concern among that school of thought which clings to the idea of a policy perault permitting ting individuals to conduct their own business without having to bow and scrape befort a in washington the activities of some of the te NIIA leaders in dictating business pol policies ic and practices Is well known but those opposed to them are none the less opposed P because they made less noise in the last few months they will loin join in any movement that promises prowl seg to over turn the program of business dictatorship that hns has been set up the same Is true re respecting the attitude of business men and bomeli women on numerous other phases of the new deul jt it Is 18 an opposition blut thus far had not been allowed to blow olt off steam thus in many quarters of washing and f from rc im maby bust business n lenders t bop anve tilro ta cottie these aada lays even ev e n S alf ad emalls with atly fi f i 7 corkin commissions V ati eiji s lid yu cles I 1 hear ear the ii tie iq with the ment packers may occult result t of who flud bud the new dinno V t b fi arow ti H hand with a ten spot as the high card in reporting that circumstance however it seems seeing to we me one should call attention to the possibility that the department of AgrIcal agriculture ture may have the goods on an the meat packers pac hiers it that be the case it Is obvious that opponents of the new deal will have tu to ook look elsewhere for a peg on oc which to hang haing their hats further it la Is apparent parent ar here that t it the president succeeds in ills his plan to ti get congress out of town before it reaches the at stage ge where it has idle hands the chances of a frontal attack on hla his program seem materially less lesa 4 wa nabe legislation f ora control 0 or the security exchanges passes as ot of c course 0 U se it will pasa pam supervise since it Is an adain admin Security y Sates ration proposal tho the federal trade commission will be placed la in the position of virtual supervisor of all transactions in the issue and sale of seh sa curtt les whether they bo be stocks or bonds notes or any other form of 0 corporate indebtedness the circumstance has directed considerable attention lately to the relationship between that federal agency and business interests as well as the treatment business may expect from the commission as now made up accordingly I 1 have done some digging around to find out what the feeling Is through tile the in uhichi have watched washington the commission distinctly has had its ups and down I 1 believe that in most instances buiu birx bui U ness has looked upon tile the commission with more or less favor respectively as it lias has pursued nn an economic policy of reasonableness or radicalism in other oilier words as the commission has hai tried to work out satisfactory policies by negotiation falth business it has retained the confidence of business conversely when radicals have been predominant in the commission and it has sought to crack down as general johnson says in NRAL NIIA affairs bustness business has not failed to throw bomb shells ut tit the commiss commission lori wherever the 4 1 tf opportunity presented passage of the i law aw that required registration of 0 all s security issues with the commission were ot of fared tor for sale thim balled truth in n securities act was by many to place in n the commissions hands is a thi weapon which it would use in carrying out many radical ideas there was doubt and still Is doubt as to the efficacy of such legislation there acra claims anil and belll ara claims that passage of the law ltv lown the avail tail ability af fund finan financing clar and consequently 1 development X ry li the information available to me seems to indicate there ther els Is some truth in those claims but there Is hiso also iome some truth in the assertion that restrictions were necessary in order to protect investors from unscrupulous individual who issue and sell fake stocks and bonds thus far howl however the commission beems to hove alven a rather satisfactory administration of the securities curi curit ties les law each group probably will be found to be partially wrong after the commission starts on its no job for new job I 1 hear corn com theorists iet LInt howe hoover ver to the effect that the tha knust watch its step in selection of personnel in connection with stock exchange supervision that job will tie be highly technical and the danger that has been pointed out Is that untrained theorists may be appointed to do much of the work nork it Is hardly necessary to say that most theorists enjoy trying out their ideas at other peoples expense and surely ad administration mints of the count rys trading marts Is no place to try it on the dog the stake Is too high through some eight or ten years past the alie commission commiss lint has followed a course of citing a business for alleged v violation lo lation of rule fair practice rules and offering no state statement alent except tile the charges the result was a stigma on the particular bu business oftentimes coat complaints philaus were maile made by competitors just to g gain tin the advantage of that helgina last month however that policy was changed and hereafter tile tha commission will lue their citations and will toll tell why the action wits was taken thus affording full publicity for anyone to examine tile the case it Is nn an action that probably will reduce the number of mischievous complaints bemuse because competitors wont attempt so freely to gain an Advant advantage by smearing tile the le of another business when han their own purl part anit in if Is disclosed my convIct conviction lomis Is that adopt adoption lon of a rule rula of that kind may have the effect of fending orf Off some of the fire that the comillis commission naturally must expect from the opposed to the prin cip I 1 P which the agency wi ana foun leI Is well from the for it to out state of re period when its p e cut to tho the bone anllo d J may not go on p it leans ians too far to tile radical au interests are a not ot rud radical leal iiii 14 aey are arc not going to co cooperate oll crate W with tit any agency govern montal or private priva tp that Is radical union 1 |