The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-06-30
The Dixie Against Chaos

In his appreciative defense of Herbert Hoover en-
titled "The Truth About Hoover" Herbert Corey refers
to our chief executive a Dixie Against Chaos" He
assumed this role during the World war and notably
has lived up this Characterization ever since Using
the warlike symbolism, Corey thus describes the adj
mnistrations efforts to restore prosperity since 1929:
LAS it, his strategy-for I am returning to the
familiar phrases of the war, is found in three parts
He fell back before the invader giving ground only
as he was forced just as Father Jofre did on the
Marine. BY cushoning the shock, he was enabled to
preserve social order.
He organized the forces of relief to minimize the
suferings of those who out of work The health
commissioners of most states reported to him. late in
1881 and early in 1892 that the countrys health never
has been better
Hoover began to prepare the organization which
shall in the end repe the invader and restore pros
perity."
1t is interesting to compare this estimate of Mr.
Hoovers rehabilitation program with that offered by
the most distinguished of American economists
Professor Rexford G. Tugwel of Columbia university
Speaking before the combined faculty and student
body of teachers college at Columbia university Dr.
Tugwel charges that Hoover has been interested in
protecting privilege rather than in securing relief
that he has preferred to gamble on good luck rather
than TO plan profoundly to produce recovery; that
sucn policies invite crash or even revolution;
and that, almost without exception all the Hoover
policies have been condemned by the overwhelming
majority of expert American economic opinion:
1T is not too much to say, with the current ex-
hibits of executive recommendation and congressional
action before us that whole program this emer-
gency has been framed with reference to the protec-
ton of privilege rather than with reference to any
calculated and fearless analysis of cause and cure
That is why so much of it is futile.
THE administration preferred to stake everything
on gamble that the depression would end as suddenly
it appeared to have begun. Prosperity officially
declared to be just around the corner and adj
ministratve satellites seemed to spend most of their
time invoking magic of one sort or another The
administrative optimism of this period was so dog
matte and absurd to have become one of the
great comic interudes Of our, history .
The relief of the suffering among the unemployed
has been voluntary insufficient and delayed; it has
been administered kind of degrading charity; and
the federal government carefully has avoided the adj
mission of any responsibility for it.
But the support of threatened property values
the administrations bland denials had been
swept aside by the determined cohorts of business has
been nationally organized energetic and carried out
with typical American elan
THE real criticism of the measures Ito protect
property and privilege is that they have stolen the
public attention and usurped the Official ingenuity
which should have been devoted to remedial action.
Nothing Of all that far has been done is more than
temporarily and dangerously conservative.
""It is justihable to say dangerously because
failure of the cycle to turn upward in the near flu
ture and to be characterized by rising prices at once
viii disclose the articality of the values we are at
tempting to support with considerable part of
federal resources And the resulting crash will
be disastrous than slow subsistence would have
been.
such ruthless exploitation, such ungenerous
eraspng finally may engender revolutionary attitudes
If not during this depression then during sue
ceeding one.
And why should it not, since so little is con-
ceded to sympathy to justice to stable fu-
ture? Only emergencies when fright is in the air
are some few concessions wrung from a reluctant
government group.
"Our public policy during this depression has been
outrageousy partial and consistently short-sghted 1t
has been shaped also. in direct contraventon of
economists advice. In no single instance of which