Evening star., 1931-06-26
lamont TO RADIO
DEPRESSION VIEWS
Forum Address Tomorrow
Next to Last in Cabi-
net Series.

The obligation upon business to
weather periods Of industrial depression
through its own efforts, with the Fed
eral Government cooperating, rather
than through any great superpian inn
posed by governmental supervision, will
be emphasized tomorrow by Robert p.
Lamont, Secretary of Commerce, in the
National Radio Forum, arranged by The
Washington Star and broadcast over a
coaSt-to-coAst network of the Column
bia system.
This is next to the last Of the cabinet
series of radio talks showing what the
principal agencies of the Government
are doing to help the people by the
special advisers of the President. The
final broadcast in the series will be
by Secretary william N. Doak Of the
Department of Labor, July 4.
Business Mans Burden.
Secretary Lamont is preparing to give
a solemn. non-political review, stress
ing the fact that the individual busi-
ness man through his business organ
ization and In the light of facts
gathered by the Federal Government
must meet such crises. He will point
out that each of these periods of de-
preston has taught some Lessons as
to how business can fortify itself against
similar occurrences. For example, that
the depressions up to 1907 taught the
weakness Of the banking system, which
has been strengthened by the Federal
Reserve system; that the 1921 depres-
sion showed the evil of large inven-
tories and that the present depression
has shown business that it should be
prepared, possibly. to carry large re-
serves to meet difnculties of this sort
and to better balance production and
consumption.
The Nationwide broadcast of Sec
retary Lamont will give a general re-
view of the functions and activities Of
the different bureaus of the Department
OF Commerce, with special emphasis on
the problems that have arisen, and
accomplishments during the past two
years Of business depression and un-
employment. He will call attention
briefly to the work that Is always being
done by the Department of Commerce,
important regulatory work, such as pro-
lection and safeguards for navigation.
The bulk Of his speech will be devoted
to development of the basic idea of
the Experimentation research, an
agency that provides facts for business
as guide and aid In its enterprises
such as the distribution census, studies
in retailing. the facts disclosed by the
division of current statistics, simplif1ca-
ton of Standardization.
Discussion Of Problems.
He will discuss in a general way the
problems brought up during the de-
preston and the efforts of the De-
partment of Commerce to aid business
in making readjustmentS-such as
stimulation of public works through the
division of public instruction, and the
aid the department has extended to
the Presidents Emergency Employment
Committee.
Secretary Lamont, who has been
heading UP the Governments activities
for relief Of business during the greatest
period of industrial depression this
country has ever experienced, knows
business and industry from the groune
I'D. He Is o graduate engineer and
for more than 20 years was an ofiicer
of the American Steel FoundrieS and
president Of that corporation from 1912
to 1929. He has been an executive
officer or director in many other flnan-
cial or industrial organizations. He was
chief of the procurement division,
ordnance Office, War Department. in
1918 and 1919. He has for years been
interested In scientific research and is
q member of nearly score of the most
important Government commissions.