Evening star., 1932-08-13

Comments on President Hoover's
rine-point program are in the main
favorable, as Judgment is suspended
awaiting proof of its effectiveness.
There is some question as to whether
the program can be called the Presi-
dents according to some analyses OF
the provisions in the schemes set in
motion.
Enumerating the various points, the
Hartford Daily Times lists them as
plans for replacement Of slum districts,
expansion of credit facilities, stimula-
tion of railroad maintenance and repair
work, broadening of live stock and
feeder loans, faster movement OF agrl-
cultural commodities, shorter work
hours, swift organization of the home
loan bank system, construction OF self
liuuidating projects and other avenues
of cooperation of the Government in
aid to public and private agencies. y
This paper declares: THE Nation
needs action. The Nation wants the
work to go forward. whether on 9
tracks or 80, and will judge best OF the
value Of the plans in process when
their concrete results begin to ma
terialize tangibly." AS the Philadelphia
Evening Bulletin sees it: Leadership
in economic recovery has been pro-
vided with tools; now it must CO.
ordinate the performance OF the JOB
This is the task the President has
taken in hand. Provision for taxing
care Of distress is merely supple
mentary to the major plan OF pre-
venting distress by providing JOBS
Exactly contradictory ideas as where
the credit for the plans as outlined
should be placed are expressed by the
Minneapolis Journal and the Abilene
Daily Reporter. as typical OF two classes
of opinion. The former gives the credit
to Mr.. Hoover, saying: 1T was MI
Hoover who first realized and urged that
the Government should undertake
broad and sweeping anti-depression
program. Beginning with his mora
torium plan to fend off disaster in Eu-
rope, he proposed every one OF the Sc.
ries of broad economic measures that
have been adopted He worked out the
whole program. He induced Congress
to enact it. He set the machinery In
motion. And now he sums up the
many -phased work that is going on In
his nine point program" The Reporter
contrariwise. contends that the program
contains nothing that Is new. 1t is
more OF a restatement than pro-
nouncement. Every plank in 1t has
either been initiated before or discussed
in detail. Even advocacy of a cam
paign to spread employment through,
reduction of work hours is not new, ex-
cept that this is, perhaps, the first time
the policy has been officially stated
Practically the whole of the Hoover pro-
gram is based on legislation passed at
the last session OF Congress. A con-
iderable portion of 1t Is pure, unadulter-
ated Democratic doctrine, advocated by
Democrats and written into law by
Democratic congressional votes. In
other words, the Presidents program
is not a program at all, but merely q
, resume Of established principles already
in force"
However, the San Jose Mercury.Her
aid and other papers are glad to see any
planning at all, AND the Mercury-Her-
aid notes that 'the breadth of the pro.
gram shows that the President has beer
making an intensive survey of the in.
dustries and business of the country, In
order to use the vast credit of the Gov.
ernment to aid enterprises that are
practical and will pay but are haltine
because of lack OF credit. It Is not &C
spectacular as the five-year plan of the
Soviet. but 1t is planning just the same
and the sort that gets results" in the
opinion OF this paper
Qualification that there "is not to bS
q series of isolated efforts, but broad
wisely considered and uniform move
| ment, animated by national VISION" Il
expressed by the Oakland Tribune, a,
| Il stresses the fact that 1t is the way
the plans are carried out that is tht
| important factor, saying: while Con.
gress set up machinery for restoring
credit, the Nations purchasing power
and bus:ness conditions in general. ths