Evening star., 1932-09-11

| NSOklJlllUCh TlOIll L AASS oeS1
pared to cast their ballots in the State
election Monday.
Real Forgotten Man"
| Opening his address with the state
ment that he was directing his re-
marks to the forgotten men" described
| by William Graham Sumner in lee
ture in 1885, Mills said the striking
phrase" had recently been put into
circulation in counterfeit form"
Summers forgotten man." pictured
as home builder, an honest, taX-pay-
ing citizen and family head who bears
the burdens of the Nation. was
described by Mills as clearly mot Gov
Roosevelt's forgotten man"
He certainly is not industrial can
non fodder" Mills said. quoting a
Columbus, Ohio, speech. He would
resent any such description. He
is thoughtful, intelligent alive to his
own interests, fully capable of reach
ing his own decisions and of working
out his own destiny. He Is the back
bone of the Nation"
Mills said that with the world
shaken and suffering" and in a period
of unequaled and universal economic
depression, in the face of unparalleled
compleXity, and at the very moment
when there is perhaps ground for hope
that the peak of the crisis has been
passed, we are called upon to make
the fateful decision as to whether we
will change our leaders"
Loss of Time in Change.
Asserting that in times Of crisis"
there must be very compelling rea-
sons for changing the high command"
the New York Republican said that if
new administration were elected. the
Hoover regime would continue for four
months and that after induction into
Office theirs would be further period
before those who took over the Gov
ernment could get a firm grasp, not
only of the machinery, but Of the
problems"
Mills said # would be next Summer
before the Government, which has been
a pillar of strength and the one great
directing force throughout this crisis,
would once more function at the maxi
mum Of efficiency"
He continued:
1T is not simply question of chang
ing the commander in chief, but at
the height of the conflict of supplanting
the major and brigadier generals, the
colonies, and the entire general staff.
do not say that it cannot be done,
but I do say that there must be very
compelling reasons for making the at
tempt. Much better men and mucA
sounder policies must be offers8
Otherwise there is no justification TOR
risking a change.
Asks What Is Wanted.
THE real question Is, do any rea-
sons exist, much less compelling ones,
for making a change? What Prof.
Summers forgotten man is virtually in
terested In knowing is, how soon the
hum of machinery will be calling him
to work. and, if he be farmer. how
soon he will receive some reward for
his labor and some return on his prop
erty. He is too smart to believe the
claims of campaign orators that Gov
ernment can do this for him.
HE has got to decide whether he is
more likely to escape from the cruel
circumstances in which he finds him.
self emeshed, and find once more the
comfort, security and happiness which
we associate with American life, by con-
tinuing the leadership Of President
Hoover or substituting therefor that
Of Gov. Roosevelt"
Referring to Gov. Roosevelt's sug-
geStion for regulating the Stock Ex-
change and placing stricter supervision
on the banks, Mills said the New Yorker
could have done this in his own State
If accomplished, he added, such meas
ures could prIng no stimulation to
business or industrial activity; would
have no effect on agricultural prices:
would offer no relief to those struggling
under a burden of deDt, and would not
furnish job to single man or
woman throughout the United States"
Defends Tariff Act.
Charging that revision of the tariff
along the lines suggested by Roosevelt
would add to the 'unsettlement and
uncertainties" the Treasury Secretary
defended the Smoot- -Hawley tariff act
He said 'one cannot help but wonder
whether our reduced purchasing power
should at this time be made available
to foreign manufacturers rather than
preserved in the interest Of our own
farmers and unemployed"
He continued:
1.-THE argument against throwing the
American market wide open to foreign
competition applies with even greater
force to Gov. RooSevelt's solution of the
foreign debt problem. He would refuse
to cancel the debts, but would permit
foreign nations indebted to us to sell
enough goods in our market to furnish
them with profits to equal their debt
payments.
"The obvious answer is that whereas
the Governor is opposed to cancellation,
he, in effect, proposes that we ourselves
shall pay the debts owed us by others,
and that the process he vaguely out
lines carries with it the most serious
threat to our commercial and industrial
structure, not only today but over
long period of adjustment.
Cites Smith Proposal
"This is exactly the converse Of the
program suggested by another leading
Democrat, Alfred E. Smith, who pro-
poses compensation for any debt con-
cessions in the form of increased ex-
port markets"
The Governor has not as yet indi-
Gated any definite program for the re-
lief of unemployment and the care OF
destitution," Mills said. In none OF his
suggestions is there any indication OF
a real realization of the character OF
the present emergency. To date he
has offered us no program to effect
cure. am beginning to wonder
whether he has one"
Mills said in Roosevelt's Columbus
speech there were significant omissions.
He not only ignores, but he actually
denies that the events which had their
origin In Europe beginning in the latter
part of May, 1881, gave it (the business
slump new acceleration in a different
form and created a situation which
well nigh overwhelmed u.s." the cabinet
member said. Adding:
Effect Of Europe's Acts.
ANY man who can brush aside the
collapse of the entire credit structure
of Germany, the abandonment OF the
gold standard by Great Britain. and the