Evening star., 1933-10-11

amended. and no one who has given
attention to these astonishing disclo-
sures can doubt this. The organization
Of industry-the creation Of tribunal
Of fair practice within each industry
the enforcement of rules against eco
nomic anarchy-all these things are
vitality and Immediately necessary. They
are necessary to industry. but they are
more necessary for workers. for-mark
me, and mark me well-there is not q
destructive war Of price cutting below
cost, no retrograde movement in indus
trial production, no vicious downward
spiral that does not result in the degra-
| dation Of workers.
There is only one place from which
the sacrifice of a prolonged price war
or price tendency can come. and that
Is from the hours and wages Of labor.
| That Is fundamental It Is something
that you must learn and cherish. The
business of industry Is your business.
The success or failure Of industry is
your success or failure, Whether or
not you are so called. you are q partner
with your employer. There is never a
proper question Of what Is the most you
can get out Of him. The real question
IS what is fairly necessary to the sue
cess Of your joint adventure. That also
Is Of the very essence Of N. I. r. A.
Must Organize or Perish.
Great pools of capital are now neces-
sary to any important commercial or
industrial enterprise. The right OF eco
nomic self-defense Is narrowed to rib
bon. In such an environment both
industry and labor must organize or
perish. That Is one Of the chief reasons
for N. !. r. A. That Is why 1t provides
for the organization Of both and that
is why its primary purposes must be
carried to completion.
THE great economic machine, the
growth of which requires this law. was
no planned and designed mechanism.
Some of its parts are highly efficient.
But there are no timing gears to regu-
late their movement to that of other
parts The vast engine has no governor.
At times it races furiously and at other
times it comes to stop on dead
center and all the power of government
and finance is not enough to turn the
engine over. 1t is then that human
tragedy stalks through the land. For
the cogs and ratchets Of the huge ma
chine are not dead metal. They are
human beings with all the high hopes
and naughty aspirations Of their pioneer
forbears. Junked in the scrap pile OF
unemployment they cannot lie still
awaiting 4 IcW Iltll. 1 Cl tilCle ID AttiC
hope for them in seasons such as these.
Forty years ago the human failure in
one undertaking could 60 West and take
up another Now he cannot. There Is
nothing for him and his family but bare
pavements and bread lines. Our people
will stand this only for time within
reason. Whether we speak Of system
as political or economic-when 1t reaches
a point where willing men under 1t
cannot get living by their own honest
efforts, it has outlived its usefulness and
for four years our systems have failed
in this regard.
Must Apply Intelligence.
what are we to do about it? If a
dictator came tomorrow what more
could he do than has been done? II
some ruthless seeker after power aspired
to grasp this sorry scheme OF things
what could he do to feed the hungry
mouths grown bitter and resentful after
four years of patient suffering? The
answer is that he could do nothing. We
will find our way out Of this mess not
by smashing down all that has been
built up. but by applying intelligence
and timing and control to this complex
machine of which We all are a par
and that is exactly what N. r. A. Is
intended to do.
| How? Again I say. by organization.
You cannot apply controls to millions
of separate units Of any great in
dustry treating. each alone. You can
not apply control to the many more
millions of employe or to the few
separate labor organizations set up on
different plans and acting independently.
You must decentralize action and leave
to each unit the right to do the utmost
| for itself and on its own initiative tnat
it can do without harming others. but
for the broad general purposes OF the
public good you must reduce the
master levers of the great control room
to the fewest number consistent with
our fundamental purpose.
! Purpose Is to Control Frankenstein.
THAT fundamental purpose is to put
governors on this great FrankenStem.
The purpose is to check it when 1t races
wildly and to sustain it when 1t creaAs
and slows to a stubborn stop. Inc
purpose is to prevent this constant
junking of human gear ana racnel
The purpose Is to regulate the quantity
of what goes in the hopper to the
power of the country to consume what
comes out at the snout. The purpose
! is to balance consumption with our
enormous potential productivity-not by
reducing production, but by increasing
the power to consume by more even
distribution Of the fruits OF every mans
endeavor.
"It is an act of economic lunacy In
| country such as this to let anytnng
interfere with the power OF our people
to own and have and enjoy the maxi
mum of their productive power. Inere
is here every element OF the greatest
prosperity and human welfare the world
| has ever seen and the keys to 1t are
| two-confidence and balance. 1t Is not
a difficult problem-it is rather an easy
one and again I say the secret OF 1t
lies In the basic principles OF N. r. A
organization and control of both indus
try and labor-organization to the Ut
termost with such public controls as
will create complete confidence in Or
ganization of both.
Speaks to Labor Leaders.
"That is the key to this economic
| riddle and this is the critical hour the
events of the near future will demon
strate whether there Is IN this people
the power to pull themselves out OF the
most desperate hole into which this
country ever got. The spotlight Is on
the Presidents recovery program. II Is
on industry which Is being organized
now with lightning speed. 1t Is on
labor which Is also being organized at a
headlong rate You have the ball. VIII
YOU hold it firm and carry it across the
last white line or will you tumble 1t
like an unframed team and ruin the
greatest chance that human workers
were ever given? I am speaking to
leaders of organized labor. have no
words strong enough to tmplore you to
oco,,it Yourselves ike men and American
| leaders in this great crisis. You are
the boy at the Holland dyke with his
finger in the crevice. You are In such
a position in the life Of your country
as fate sometimes places men when the
! welfare of millions rests on the shoul-
ders of a few If you act as Americans
have usually acted In the few cases