The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-04-19

tory conditions for pr1vate opera tion could not be obtained.
 Asked a scientific tariff policy of the public utility structure. ln- companies stretch into literally dozens of state. Investors. customers and management con- stitute a national community of interest of enormous importance. I wonder if 1t is not true that even those far in the upper reaches of such structure would not them selves recognize the soundness of national public protection of all the associated factors in this structure.
 A very deep study over many years makes it clearer to me With every passing day that where a public service like the tr1nsmission of electricity passes beyond state lines and becomes interstate in it's actual operation, in such case the control cannot effectively be maintained by states alone, or through agreement between neigh boring states. That problem is na- tional in its scope and can be solved only by the firm establish ment of national control.
 Electricity is great unifying in terest doing more to make us a united nation than any other mate rial factor. To control it for the common good requires national thinking by a national party.
 The same broad national view must direct our dealings with the tariff. The republican admins tration has greatly intensified the depression by it's tariff policy. The Hawley-Smoot tariff law of l93O was a drastic revision of the tariff upward.
 The existing tariff levels were already high enough to protect American industries which needed protection. The increases which the Hawley-Smoot bill made were not based on any scientific analysis of tariffs. The increases were po- litical favors. The consequences of the Hawley-Smoot bill have been tremendous, both directly and in- directly.
 Directly, American foreign trade has been steadily dwindling. In- directly, the high schedules of the Hawley- -Smoot bill caused Euro- pean nations to raise their own tariff walls. and these walls were raised not only against us but against each other. ~
 The result has been that the value of goods exchanged internationally in the last year or so has been less than 50 per cent of what it was three or four years ago. When the Hawley-Smoot bill was passed, :, European states were endeavoring to negotiate reciprocal arrange ments which might have caused the lowering of European tariff walls. Our action prevented such an arrangement, and. since 1880, when congress acted and the pres- ident signed the law, European tar if barriers have gone higher and higher.
 This means a lower standard of living in many quarters because prosperity exists only when goods are exchanged internationally.
 "Hoovert Ignored Warning"
 Just before the Hawley-Smoot bill was presented to President Hoover for his signature, a thou sand American economists told President Hoover that he should not sign the law. I am told that never before in history have so many economists been able to agree upon anything, but the faults of this bill were so open and palp- able that they found easy agree ment.
 With really prophetic insight they warned him in detail of what would happen. and the detail that they gave him is the detail of what has happened; no benefit to the farmers, injury to American export trade. weakening of the security of American investments abroad, in- crease of unemployment and en- couragement of a worldwide tariff war.
 President Hoover ignored this warning. Would he have ignored a warning by a thousand engineers that bridge which the national government was building would be unsafe?
 To my mind a proper tariff policy must be a complete reversal of the methods of the present administra- tion. The scientific determination of economic facts and the scientific determination of probable results of proposed changes are all for good and should. of course, be used. But this action in itself does nothing to bring about the actual reciprocal exchange of goods so necessary to us and to all nations. That is the only real method of making goods move.
 The task of statesmanship Is to determine what these products are, to bring about by by-lateral or groups international agreements to effectuate their exchange. The world is looking for that type of statesmanship for such a plan that goes far beyond mere scale reduce tions, that fills in the gaps in the mere advocating of "expert" tariff boards. and, above all, that pro- vides a real beginning of that in- ternational resumption of business that everyone favors and expects.
 Pledges ito Get New Car"
 There will be many in this nation during the coming months who will implore you not to swap horses crossing a stream; there will be others who will laughingly tell you that the appeal should have been WOTuCu--s uO lOb swap tOOO6SNu while you are sliding downhill." But it seems to me that the. more truthful, the more accurate plea to the people of the nation should be this: 'If the old car in spite of frequent emergency repairs has been pumping along downhill on only two cylinders for three long years. 1t is time to ge. another car that will start uphill on all four"
 Jefferson labored for a wide spread unity of thought. capable of directing united action, based on a fair and just unity of interest. Jef- ferson labored to bring the scat tered farmers. the workers. the business men into a participation of national affairs. This was his purpose and this Is the principle upon which the party he founded was based. Let his party continue to dedicate itself to that great pur- pose. Let it present itself as a party of unity to carry out the pur- pose of social and economic unity throughout the nation.
 say with Lincoln. Having thus chosen our course. without guile