Evening star., 1933-09-03
GEN. JOHNSON HAS NO IDEA
OF GENERAL PRICE-FIXINC
Replies at Press Conferences Indicate
N. r. A. Won't Attempt to Regulate
Every Detail of Business.

West Pointer, would never have come
into the roomful Of people in his shirt
sleeves if he had not been terribly
tired. But there was no fatigue in his
mental operations The gesture Of his
arm as he pointed was limp. his voice
lacked fire, but all his habitual acute
ness of mind was there.
We cannot afford to waste sentiment
on men in public life who let them
selves get too tired. One of the wisest
Americans Of this generation, now q
justice of the Supreme Court, once
said to me, You can keep on working
after you are tired: but you can't have
good judgment" During the war some
try. were made by men who were
obliged to make important judgments
suddenly, and were too tired to make
them wisely.
Gen. johnson has excuse for being
tired. I cannot think Of any one who
has gone through so much in so short
time. Imagine it: He spends three
or four days of about IS hours day
arguing with the strongest figures in
the textile business. Then he goes
through the same kind of controversy
with the head men of the steel busi-
ness; then coal, then oil, then auto
mobiles. Between times he holds these
newspaper conferences-dashes out to
st. Louis and Cleveland to make
speeches, dashes up to Hyde Park to
confer with President Roosevelt;
builds up the enormous organization
necessary to get the Blue Eagle going
Gen. johnson and N. r. A.
If we are to have czar for business,
Gen. johnson is the man. Let not
that word mislead. 1t is not car in
a harsh sense. The strongest instinct
I have resents the idea of government
regulation; but if were business man
If I were Myron Taylor Of the Steel
Corporation, or Henry Ford, or barber
on Main street with two employees; and
If this relation of government to busi-
ness had to come-this partnership
with government" as President Roose-
velt calls it-I should rather welcome it
with Gen. johnson in charge.
The general knows perfectly well that
money. Perhaps that is too strong q
way to express it. There is a senti-
mentality afloat which says the purpose
of business is service That is true. too.
But let us put it this way: Gen. john
son knows that men go into business
with the expectation of making money
and that without the profit motive busi-
ness will not be conducted as capably as
with it. If I were the head of busi-
ness, I should be perfectly confident
that Gen. johnson would let me make
just as much money as my ability and
resourcefulness, relative to the ability
of competitors, Is able to make.
True, the essential purpose of N. r. A.
is to eliminate certain forms of compe-
tition, such as child labor and starva-
tion wages and sweatshop conditions.
But with such practices eliminated, Gen.
johnson, I am confident, expects busi-
ness to be conducted competitively as
always, expects the best man to win and
won't try to prevent the able business
man from reaping and keeping the
profits he earns. In short, should say
that business under the new regime,
with Gen. johnson in charge, will be
just as remunerative as ever-perhaps
more so.
Men reveal their minds In onhand re-
marks.
In the course of 80 conferences Of q
half hour each, with barrage OF twice
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