The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1931-06-05
MISMANACEMENT
BIG FACTOR in
SLUMP P--WACNER
New York Senator Pleads
for Better Planning By
Government and Industry
to Maintain Economic
Security.


New York City (ILNS)-E -Empha-
sizing the Importance of economic Sc
curity to be obtained by careful plan
ming both by the government and in
dustry in general, Senator Robert F.
Wagner, of New York, in speaking to
the membership of the New York
Building Congress, said in part:
"One of the contributing causes of
the present business depression, in
my judgment, is the mismanagement
of our own domestic activities. We
want to restore economic stability
that will bring to labor security
against unemployment; security
against loss Of income and also secur-
ity against that fear of the future
One of our difficulties is that we
have done no planning; neither pri
vate industry nor government has
planned on a national scale. | intro.
duced three bills three years ago hav.
ing primarily the object of advanced
planning to meet possible depression
-advarced planning is only one seq.
ment of our economic activity; there
has to be fundamental approach
and then we must build, build upor
that until perhaps our private indus
try as wefl as our government will dc
advanced planning. / have discovered
that public construction was carried
on at time when private industry
was prosperous. In other words, gov.
ernment was competing with private
industry in price of labor, price OF
material and thus creating boom anc
false idea of prosperity which in
evitably resulted in one of those cy.
clical depressions which | think car
be avoided.
What should the government do ?
The government ought to aid industry
not to compete with it. The govern
ment ought to use it's funds in public
construction to take up the slack wher
private industry is slowing down
WELL said someone, how do yor
know when it is slackening up?
There has been dispute for two
years and half as to whether a de.
preston was on the way. This dis.
pute was between individuals who in.
sisted upon prosperous conditions anG
others more conservative who saw the
depression coming. But we had nc
economic information upon the sub
ject.
$50 | introduced a bill for the col
lection of accurate information on EN-.
rloyment and unemployment, because
all economists agree that the most
definite measure of whether a coun.
try is prosperous or whether depres-
sion is in sight is when unemployment
begins to get into our economic ac-
tivities. That bill after a struggle OF
two years was finally passed and a
bureau has been created
"The advanced planning bill came
after that and was signed finally by
the president. We have those two
acts now as law. The Advanced
Planning Board consists of certain
members of the cabinet and will see
that planning on public construction
is done six years in advance. In
other words, we are to begin now upon
all projects which have been au-
thorized so that in the critical times
we can save at least the six or eight
months which are required for pre-
liminary steps before single public
construction job could actually be car
ried on. The moment the index of
unemployment shows a possible de-
preston coming, the government will
be ready to enter into the field and
check the depression. 1t may not do
it altogether, but it certainly will be
- IL r.