Evening star., 1933-12-17
Continued From Third Page.)

after their names the letters "F. L."
meaning Farmer-Labor. This little
Farmer-Labor group, mainly from Min
nesota, has no notion Of carrying
America toward any basic change. The
Farmer-Labor members OF Congress
think of America in the same terms as
Republicans and Democrats. Their OBJ
j1ctives are within the world Of the
familiar American form OF govern
ment. In short, there Is in Congress
not one man formally and publicly
designated as favoring change in the
American system. Yet many of the
actions OF Congress, and more Of the
actions Of the administration which
is supposed to represent Congress. are
moves in the struggle for change in
social system.
Imitation Not Basic.
The questions with which Congress
will most conspicuously deal have no
Congress will debate much about in
f1ation. But imitation is not involved
In the basic change being attempted.
Change in currency has no necessary
relation to change in organized society.
We might reduce the gold value of the
dollar 80 per cent, as France did, with
,, out going through revolution, silent or
otherwise. There would be revolution
only in the sense Of one economic
group, the creditors, being seriously
reduced in wealth. and other group.
the debtors, receiving corresponding
advantage But after such imitation,
IL it should take place, America would
still be the same. All the Jurors about
initiation and even final action serious
ly reducing the value of the dollar cali
go on without having any serious
meaning for the proponents OF the real
revolution. So far as they pay any at
tention to imitation at all they might
well regard the debate on 1t as favoring
their purpose in the sense that the
country, while excited about currency,
would not notice the silent revolution
going on beneath. Another question
about which Congress will talk mucn
is veterans compensation. That too
will have nothing to do with the Strug-
gle over fundamental social change
Compensation to veterans is merely
matter of advantage of one group as
against the taxpayers as a whole.
About the movement toward change
In the American form Of organized
society there will be no debate in Con-
gree and no rollcall. Practically
never will a member vote Aye o.
| mo" on a measure formally stated as
change in the Constitution. Never,
| for example, will vote in Congress say
| in so many words, I'VE hereby enact
elimination Of the system of private
profit" Never will Congress vote for
or against what Prof. Tugwell calls &
Workers World" Never will Con-
gress pass upon an issue formally de-
scribed as rejection or retention of the
free use of capital" or as control by
government of the disposition of earn-
ings of industry.
/ say never" and never" is prob
ably correct. 1t is possible, and In the
interest OF clarity to be hoped for. that
some one will. at least in speech,
state the fundamental issue with SUCH
simplicity and dispassionateness as to
make it ineligible to the public:
There are men in Congress who could
do it. 1t could be done by Democratic
Senator George Of Georgia. or Clark of
/ Missouri, or Glass Of Virginia or Ty-
dings Of Maryland: or by Republican
Reed of Pennsylvania
Roosevelt as Stabilizer.
In the actuality Of this controversy
between keeping America what it has
been and on the other hand, revolu-
tionary change. President Roosevelt is
not wholly on one side or the other
If we preserve the tug-of-war as
figure of speech to describe the con-
f1ict, the role of President Roosevelt.
partly willing and partly unwilling. is
TO act as a kind Of stabilizer to prevent
the victory from going wholly one way
or wholly the other way. One might
picture him as in the middle giving
his strength first to one side and then
to the other He Is sort of mediator
between two groups within his own ad-
ministration. One group consists OF
some 20 or 80 young radicals, some
of them having important key positions
in the Government. typified and quietly
led by Prof Tugwen. The other group
consists OF old-fashioned Democrats.
such as Secretary Of State Hull, and
such men as Agricultural Administrator
George N Peek, who, while fayoring
many changes in the ordinary sense.
belong decidedly within the cast Of
thought that We call conservative.
and would be shocked to think of