Evening star., 1932-09-04
Crisis Reached in Question of Business
Making Full Use of National Resources

GRAFTON by the Reconstruction Finance
Corporation. He concludes that they
would employ some 100000 workmen
directly and pay many more hundreds
Of thousands indirectly. He says:
THE impetus thus given to the pro-
duction of steel would perhaps in a
few months succeed in doubling our
present steel production. That result,
however, would not be the greatest re-
suit. The greatest result would be the
increased general business confidence
which would emerge and the increased
purely private steel orders which would
thereupon ensue. The loans by the Re
construction Finance Corporation for
public and quasi-public construction
Will be the prologue, I think, to a
greatly enlarged volume of entirely
private construction effort"
Thus an eminent representative of
our basic manufacturing industry.
steel, Is an enthusiastic promoter of
government in business" to the extent
OF the third sstage in which it now
operates: The financing of construc-
tion affected with public use.
The fourth proposed stage of gov
ernmental Intervention for the purpose
OF giving public momentum to the
revival of private business in general
Will be advocated presently in a large
and influential assemblage In New York
City under the auspices of the National
Citizens League for Economic Re-
covery." The principles which will ami
mate that assemblage have already
been in part adopted by the Advertis-
ing Club Of New York and in part
also oy the executives Of the labor
unions of the railroads The idea at
the base OF certain Of those principles
Is that there should be relaxation of
tne sherman ANTITRUST law and that
INDUSTRIES should be permitted to
| organize themselves within a frame
work Of governmental control for the
production Of commodities under agreed
plans at assured minimum prices.
4 x *t
There is strong support for that idea
IN nlgh business quarters and there now
begins to be strong support for 1t In
certain labor circles. A presentiment of
the state Of mind which will be ex-
hibited In the New York City meeting
ana which will be pressed upon the
congress in December is to be found
IN recent utterance of the Railway
Labor Executives Association. This
utterance Is fully capable of being
harmonized with growing sentiment
in the ranks Of organizations of en-
ployers and foreshadows a possible
political legislative movement of the
highest consequence next Winter. It
concludes its demands by saying:
We are opposed to any permanent
socialization of business or property,
but. to meet the dangerous failure Of
the managers Of private industry to
maintain their operations and to ex-
cnange their products through volun-
tary cooperative methods. we believe
that an emergency governmental con-
troll Is now ssential. We therefore
advocate a civil mobilization under civil
authority to organize our resources for
national defense against the destruc-
tiveness OF present uncontrolled eco
nomic forces"
That is undoubtedly the drift Of both
labor thought and business thought In
many quarters while the Reconstruc-
ton Finance Corporation public con-
struction loan stage of government in
business" Is experimentally proceeding
either TO success or failure.
Copyright. 1922