The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-06-06

economic situation as the inevitable re-
suit of reconstruction and readJustment
following the war. The cabinet at It's
Friday meeting discussed what the govern
ment could do, but unfortunately the gov
eminent cannot do much more than guide
certain currents that may have an IN
fluence on the situation. After all. 1t lS
the feeling of the President that the big
Industries will themselves find the way
out America, he thinks, will recover
from the shock of the European war just
as she did from the Civil warm nat
ural and orderly way.
1t is the agricultural situation, how
ever. which causes concern Tor While the
big industries can in sense help them
selves, the farmer needs to be financed
and needs to have an export trade and
at the same time must be protected III
his markets. All the different desires are
the basis for the so-caHed agricultural
rbloc in congress, composed of members of
both parties. mostly from the West and
South who are able to put through con
gress practically any measure of relief
that the farmers may want And l'resi-
dent Harding is unquestionably sympa
thetic with the agricultural group. Mean
while. the President himself recognizes
that the chief trouble of the present mo-
ment in the economic situation is the fact
that the profits of yesterday out of which
it might be possible for the American
business man to recoup losses of today are
. inaccessible. Large portions of these
profits have been paid into the treasury
of the United States as income tax, and
have in turn been expended by the govern
ment. Were it possible for the business
people of America to have paid taxes
over a period of years rather than over n
single year as a unit, they would have
been better able to finance themselves in
the trying era of reconstruction when
pnpns of or fsio ho gn1f Il
below cost to clean shelves and empty
the warehouses for new supplies.
But this is impossible. The government
| faces a condition and not hypothetical
case And Mr.. Harding realizes that the
fun strength of the electorate is being
| exerted to make the administration move
| in this or that direction so as to hasten a
return to normally. 1t is a fact that
| the Harding administration has given
| more time and thought to domestic prob
| lens and particularly business readjust-
ment than anything else, but even the
| folks in the administration that admit
that the tide of circumstan ceS over which
no one in the government has control is
almost irresistible. During the week
President Harding broke a precedent in
order TO speed up one form of relief for
American producers. BY implication he
suggested reductions in freight rates to
| the Interstate commerce commission. and
Iounu upon inquiry there that already the
commission was trying TO work out a
| program of voluntary reduction by the
carriers of burdenSome rates Inciden-
| tally Mr.. Harding seems to think that the
| days of horizontal increases or decreases
| IN freight rates are about over and that
/ the iniquities of that system ought not to
/ be repeated in any revision of freight
+, rates. The farmers have been clamoring
| for an adjustment of freight rates. The
| carriers have been reluctant. but The
| power of the agricultural elements of the
| nation in the Harding administration
| doomed up as too great to resist and the
carriers are trying to work out a program
| that viii be least harmful TO them
| of course if there were a definite tax
| program available. the air would be
! cleared. but congress is having trouble
with the tariIf. let alone a revenue bill,
and the prospects are not as bright as they
| We're for an early cleaning up of legiSla-
| ton affecting business. The chances are
! that next fall congress will still be
/ haranguing about taxes or revenues
Every thug moves slowly in the Gonzales.
| cent period-even the wheels Of congress-
The administration is proceeding steady
but ii would breathe much easier if the
people didn't expect 50 much Of the gov.
| erHment