The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-11-19

Boston, Nov. 19-The need for increased cooperative activity by business in the future and the necessity for industry to assume the stabilization of employment as major objective were declared here today by President Harry c. Knight of the New England Coun- cil to be the outstanding lessons which business must learn from the depression, speaking at the first general session of the Seventh New England conference.
 Expressing the conviction that out of the present situation Amer ican prosperity will reach a new high level, the chief executive of the council declared that in order for this to come about, "there must be increased recognition of the value of cooperative association and action-as applied between this nation and other nations on the one extreme, and as between the people of a single community on the other.
 There must be cooperative rela- tionships that extend the indivi- duars horizon beyond the confines of his own business and advance the interests of the individual through increased stability of the whole" he said. "In this convic- tion We have in general terms the objective which governs the New England Council"
 The first job facing New Eng land, President Knight said, is the completion of her unemployment relief program.
 Each of our governors has warmly stated to the president of United States that his state will care for its own problems in this relation" he said. That is what every last man of us would have them say. We must remember that they are Justified in saying 1t only by their reliance upon us as citizens to make the statement safe against challenge-as indeed 1t will be challenged in the event of apparent failure of single community to meet the test. h. dividual response in the narrow sense will not suffice; there are too many who must be led.
 "Organization-coo asso- ciation-within the states and com munities must be the answer if the statements of our governors are to be made good. If New Eng land has suffered less than the average for the country in this depression, it is logical that she should be a leader in response to tho current needs. To that end, tho New England Council pledges it's machinery and it's cooperative effort until the job is done.
 Second, the council is firmly convinced-and has so expressed itself by formal vote-that stabil- ity of employment should be ac- cepted as an essential policy of suance of this conviction it will continue to urge studies for the present and adoption of definite plans as business resumes. It holds that through cooperative action there is a golden opportunity for New England to show leadership to the nation.
 Third, 1t has been aptly observ- ed by a member of the Industrial committee that the best and the worst of business management Is wide apart from the average and a definite plan for self-invited sur- veys of business management in individual concerns Is now before that committee. Cooperative &C., ton by industry is all that is need ed to make 1t operative.
 Fourth, mind and tongue are now unusually busy on the the sub ject of taxation. The New Eng land council. representing six states as a whole. may not deal directly with this question. It is dealing with the underlying question of public expenditures and 1t is en- couraging local consideration of taxation through cooperative asso- ciation iri each community.
 Finally, let me emphasize one thing more. The New England Council encourages no advance