Evening star., 1932-09-18

ing Muscle Shoals is almost mysterious.
The truth is that when and where cir
cumstances have seemed to indicate a
fiat choice between Government in
business" and fatal inaction in the pres
ence of a great social evil Mr.. Hoover
has frequently chosen Government in
business" He has striven-even then
to keep it at a minimum; but he has
preferred it to what seemed to be
\ worse alternative.
| IENCE the continued operation OF our
Federally conducted barge lines on
our Western waterways.
Hence the Federal building OF the
power plant on the Colorado River at
Hoover Dam, and the large local gov
ernmental participation in the opera
ton of that plant and in the transmits
sion and utilization of the power from 1t.
Hence the financing of agricultural
cooperative marketing societies out OF
Federal public funds by the Federal
Farm Board That financing Is the
normal function of the board. 1t was
undertaken without regard to the de-
preston. It will continue when the de-
preston has passed. 1t gives to the
agricultural cooperative societies Fed
eral financing privilege not extended TO
the private individual dealers in farm
commodities. without it, however, the
members of the agricultural co-opera-
tive societies-the farmers-seemed to
be unable to treat on equal terms with
the buyers OF their product.
The choice apparently was between
Government in business" to the dis
advantage Of the private individual
dealers in farm commodities, and gov
ernmental inaction, to the fatal disad-
vantage of the millions Of workers IN
the basic industry of agriculture One
of the most momentOus corners OF deci-
sion in the history Of the Government
at washington was reached and turned
when Mr. Hoover in these circumstances
chose Government in business" and in
itiated the largest governmental hnane-
ing of agriculture ever attempted In
any country in any age.
Another species of Government IN
business" is discernible in Mr.. Hoovers
treatment Of the oil industry. With Mr..
Hoover in the White House the Federal
Oil Conservation Board, through VOL
untary Committee" began promulgatlng
estimates of future consumption OF Oil
and estimates of the amounts OF Oil
thereupon needed from the several oil
regions and the several oil States Such
estimates have been essential to the
new philosophy and practice whereby
the authorities of the principal oil
States have exercised governmental
control over oil production within their
borders. The Federal Government under
Mr.. Hoover has not only approved that
local governmental restriction of the for
mer individual rights Of individual own
ers of oil wells, but has supplemented it
with the beginnings Of Federal statistical
supervisory assistance.
I feel perfectly safe in prophesying
similar developments in the not re-
mote future in our two other great nat
ural resource industries, lumber and
coal. Mr.. Hoover has repeatedly re-
uueSted the Congress to study the posi-
bility of relaxation of the antitrust
laws in those industries in order, while
retaining competition, to prevent its
ruinous extremes. Inevitably, if the pro-
ducers in those industries are permitted
to combine for the control OF produc-
ton, they will be brought within Federal
scrutiny for the licensing of that con-
troll and for the Judging of its results in
prices charged to consumers. 1t is to-
ward that outcome that Mr.. Hoover's
recommendations regarding the lumber
and coal industries ultimately and un-.
avoidably tend.
co much for Mr. Hoover's record in
- matters not directly dependent upon