Evening star., 1933-11-12
BY OWEN L. SCOTT.

President Roosevelt is showing no
| encouragement and no deep concern
over the opposition to some of his poll
cies that suddenly has broken into the
open.
II the President is in any way upset
by the strike of farmers in the Middle
West, the revolt against the N r. A. in
some sections of the country, the fore
bodings Of money troubles, or any of
the signs of recession in business, he
does not show it to those who come
in contact with him.
Neither has he lost any Of his an
nounced determination to mix reform
OF the country's economic system-in
agriculture, in industry and in finance
with his recovery program. That has
definitely been made known at the
White House. The information was
vouchsafed when some business groups
suggested that it was time for the Gov
ernment to loosen its control and give
industry freer hand.
X X
There have been a number of occa-
sions Of late when Mr.. Roosevelt might
have been ruffled by the course of
events.
One was when the five Middle West
ern Governors visited the White House
with their meal ticket" system of farm
relief. They are reported to have ad-
mitted, in the privacy of the conference
rooms at the Department of Agriculture.
that the scheme Of price-fixing they ad-
vanced would be impossible to apply and
to enforce.
But this did not prevent them from
deposltlng their price-f1xing baby on
the White House doorstep. When Mr.
Roosevelt refused to take 1t in, as the
Governors were assured he must, they
were able to go home and tell their farm
constituents that the railroads, the
banks and the insurance companies had
visited Washington first and that when
they got through with the Treasury
there was nothing left for the farmers.
Inc PRESIDENT, had he been inclined,
might have called the Governors on
that one
Figures prepared by the Farm Credit
Administration, the Reconstruction
tural Adjustment Administration show
what actually has been done and is to
be done for the farmer in the way of
credits and bounties.
various farm agencies have borrowed
from the reconstruction Finance Cor
poration a total of about s45O, 900 600.
Bank M borrowings have totalled 81 ,3oo,-
OOo,o00, insurance company borrowings
S06,OOO,OOO and railroad borrowings
1886, 900, 900. Thus agriculture has had
more than either the railroads or insllr-
ance companies from this one agency.
III aooltlon there are outstanding
about $2,000,000,000 in Government
ioans OF various kinds to farmers Then
another $500 600, 900 has been provided
Tor refnancing farm mortgages A total
OF about $500,000,000 may be loaned
against the present cotton and corn
crops. City consumers have started con-
tribLting processing taxes that will
reach about S500,000,0O0 in the next
year ana Will be direct gift to the
farmers. On top of that as much as
100000 may be used to buy sur
Plus farm products for distribution to
the unemployed.
4
When all of the things that are beins
done for the farmer are totaled up, they
reach nearly $6,000,0 1000
Moreover, the whole recovery program
Is designed to raise prices-aided by
money policy designed by a professor of |
agricultural economics.
Mr.. Roosevelt gave a simple mo" to |
the demands of the farm Governors, |
and let them go home with the story |
that the Federal Government would do |
nothing new for agriculture. So bridges |
were burned, milk was dumped live |
stock turned loose, and cheese factories |
were blown up in the Midwest farmers |
to improve his condition.
The President has given somewhat |
the same kind of mo" to those who have
been seeking to push him into a more
detailed announcement of his money
plans. 1t was observed at the White
House that England does not make pub
lc her "stabiliZation fund" operations:
that France did not reveal her moves
when the franc was being revalued in
1926, and that this country is not likely
to tell OF its operations in the money
market.
Some prominent persons have been
rked because Mr.. Roosevelt has refused
10 display worry and concern over the
turn of events in the country They
mink that the money uncertainty, the
growing restiveness of business men over
he restrictions nf the National Recovery
the widespread strikes
and the farm trouble should cause deep
In the brow OF any national
leader.
But Mr.. Roosevelts friends say that
i Is not his nature to worry and not
MS way of working to show concern
They assert that the President meets
by trying to devise some means
If solving it. rather than fretting over
It's presence.
They point to the way that he met
With coal mine operators and induced
hem to make concessions to labor; how
ne met with the steel company execu-
lives and bargained them into a lower
price for steel rails than they had ad-
nitted would be possible, after the in
creased costs of operation under the
codes; how he bargained the captive
nine" owners to grant virtual recogni-
ion to the United Mine Workers after
hey had sworn they would not deal
with outside organizations of labor.
These friends of the President think
hat once the full farm program has had
/ chance to take effect in the corn belt
md wheat belt, as it has done in the