Evening star., 1933-03-19
BY WILLIAM HARD.

The ROCSeveltlAn new zeal, ~ % 1eI
revealed In Washington, seems to ironic
observers to be animated by the desire
of throwing both OF the old terms.
conservative" and progressive equal
ly into the discard.
the Congress nothing could be more
"conservstive" than the Rooseveltian
economy bill' Just this week propelled
BY presidential pressure into the statute
books. It Is . bill-to begin with
which ascribes q Fundamental impor-
tance to the balancing Of the budget, !"
and in fact makes the balancing OF
the budget" the corner stone OF the eco
nomic governmental edihce. That idea
has for two long and loquacious years
been vehemently denounced by most
progressive" legislators Of precisely
the type which most especially sup
ported Franklin Delano Roosevelt for
nomination and for election.
Additionally the bill proceeds to bal
ance the budget" by reducing the IN.
comes Of veterans and OF governmental
employees. most Of whom are poor. with
conceivably derivable from the imposi-
ton of higher taxes upon the alleged
and fugitive rich.
These two characteristics Of the bill,
If it had been presented to the Con-
gress in a message from the late CON
servative" President Of the Republic
would have drawn upon 1t the destruc-
tive thunders and lightnings OF virtually
the whole Of the progressive" group on
Capitol Hill. Presented by the pres.
ent President, it split the progressive"
group almost exactly In two. Virtually
half of the outright authentic "progres-
sives" on Capitol Hill voted under
Roosevelt for a bill which under Hoover
they would almost certainly auto
matically have spurned.
X x
Moreover, In both Houses OF the
Congress there are numerous Democrats
who are not counted in the ranks OF
the "progressives," but who esteem
themselves as liberals" and as friends
of the common people" and who always
Joined themselves-during the last ad.
ministratiop-to the indignations mani
tested by the ''progressives" against the
"conservatisms" of the then unhappy
inhabitant of the White House. These
Democrats, many Of them, privately de-
nounced the economy bill" as further
deflation of the poor andy conse-
qusnce-and relatively-a further ag-
nevertheless numerously voted for the
bill and insured its passage. They
rendered possible the spectacle OF q
budget left unbalanced by a so-called
business" President, and then abruptly
advanced toward, at any rate, pos
sibility Of balance by . So-called anti
business" President.
The same sort of paradox appears
in the circumstances surrounding the
emergency banking bill" That bill, as
delivered by the President to the Con-
gress, was a sore trial to all genuinely
progressive" souls In its treatment
or non-treatment-of the poor little
State banks"
Even a banker, II he is small
enough" can attract the sympathy OF
a progressive" Senator. He can r-
resistibly attract it If he Is Just about
to be "gobbled" by big" banker. TINS
makes the barracuda appear to be 4
nice, amiable fish II 1t Is about to be
swallowed by shark.
Inspired by that principle, many
progressive" Senators-and, indeed.
many conservative" ones-were at
heart bitterly hostile to the emergency
They thought it a prologue to the
absorption" Of little" banks into
gigantic chains" which would coil like
boa constructors around the limbs Of
the economic body Of the United States
and strangle 1t into being Just one
more morsel for Wall Street. There,
nevertheless, were only i've "progres-
sive" votes against the bill IN the Sen.
ate on roll call.
The Justification was "the emer-
gency." More strictly speaking, "the
emergency" was part Of the justifica-
tion. The other part was the pro
gressivism" Of the President who had
sent to the Congress these basically
conservative" measures.
This "progressivism" indubitably ex-
ists. In the economy bill, with It's
avoidance OF new taxes, and IN the beer
bill, with its levying Of heavy tax
upon "the poor mans champagne" and
In the emergency banking bill. with its
avoidance Of any specific governmental
guarantee Of bank deposits, there can
be said to be Conservation" In nu-
merouS other projects Of the new Presi.
dent. however. there can be said TO BE
"progressivism" Of . distinctly drastic
order.
The Government y 70 employ hun
dreds Of thousands Of men directly on
public lands. It Is to employ them for
the Improvement Of publicly owned
forests, which thereupon Will be able to
produce better crops Of lumber than
forests privately owned. It u to en-
ploy them In assertion Of the principle
that II private capital cannot produce
employment, then employment will be
produced by public capital. It y per
haps tho most emphatic assertion OF
that principle ever made In any coun-
try in any modern time.
Meanwhile, In relief Of agriculture the
Government y to undertake an I'M: