Evening star., 1933-08-17
ROOSEVELT TAKES
over n. R. A. LEAD
Steel Dispute Seen as Caus-
ing President to Assume
Responsibility.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

President Roosevelt has assumed per-
sonal responsibility at last Tor the
N. R. A.
Up to now Gen. Hugh S. johnson has
had free hand and it was not quite
clear how far he reflected the wishes
and desires of the President beyond
the bare administrative side OF MS ]oo.
Now that the general has reached an
impasse on the steel code and Mr..
Roosevelt has undertaken himself to
deal with the steel manufacturers, the
prospects are that other groups will
wish to have their cases decided by the
President, too.
There is some reason to believe the
presidential influence has been exerted
quietly in other industries. too, and
that Gen johnson has been in con-
slant touch with Hyde Park when the
President has been there. But the
open activity of the President in N. r.
A. matters now is being construed as
precedent that may guide the whole
course of the drive hereafter.
Intervention Significant.
From political viewpoint, the Roose-
welt Intervention is most significant. Up
to now such resentment as has been
visited on the N. R. A. plan has been
directed against the JohnSonian inSti-
tuition and there has been doubt as to
the extent of Mr. Roosevelts concur
renee If the President, however, is
active in settling disputes over codes,
the whole question of political pressure
may come up, especially as members
of Congress are besought to go to the
President.
Most OF the members of Congress
who have been asked by constituents
to aid IN getting code matters settled
have felt that the N. R. A. was not
the place for them to try to use their
influence. The whole atmosphere at
the N. r. A. Offices has been non-po-
1tical, very much as was the Draft
Board activity of Gen. johnson during
the war.
Mr.. Roosevelt undoubtedly realizes
that, irrespective of how he interferes
IN the N. R. A. machinery, he will be
held responsible by public opinion for
the whole operation anyway. Hence If
his influence as a mediator can be
effective, such credit as comes after
peaceful settlement of a tangled con-
troversy on so conspicuous an industry
as steel will be feather in Mr.. Roose-
velt's cap, politically speaking.
It will reveal him as still the leader
OF the war against the depression and
as the conciliator of conflicting
interests.
Situation Held Tense.
The situation as between the steel
men and the labor leaders has been
tense 1t is somewhat of a shock to
the steel manufacturers to find official
Washington apparently so much given
over to the labor side. The refusal to
sit down with William Green, president
of the American Federation of Labor,
did create an unfavorable impression
here and it is considered possible that
there was a misunderstanding as to the
official character of the conference and
the capacity in which Mr.. Green was
serving.
Efforts are being made to iron out
the difficulty. So far as conversation
Is concerned it is doubtful whether the
steel representatives object to talking
with Mr.. Green, but they wish also to
have the opportunity to present their
case to Government officials separately
There will be no trouble about ar
ranging all the necessary conferences.
What Mr.. Roosevelt wants is approval
of a code and the effort now is to get
the steel agreement, so as to give i'm
petus to the whole code movement.
(Copyright, 1880