The Indianapolis times., 1933-06-09

the extreme grav-
ity of the crisis
made it necessary
Lipumann. to employ heroic
measures. T h y
knew that no man could see far
enough ahead to define in statutes
the exact nature of all measures
that might have to be taken.
They knew that even if some one
attempted exact definitions of all
the possible measures, congress
would not find the time to debate
fully every feature of so large
program.
Had it been attempted, the gov
ernment would have been stalled
by debate so prolonged that an
other winter of misery would have
been upon us before the program
was enacted into law.
TINE bills which congress has
Il passed vest great powrs in
the President But those powers
are not arbitrary. They are clearly
related to well-conceived strategy
in dealing with the depression.
The monetry and economic or
ganization of the country having
become diSorganized profoundly, it
was the duty of the federal govern
ment to intervene. If the govern
ment was to intervene, it had to
put its own affairs in order. 1t
had to bring it's budget under con-
troll and protect its own credit.
This was the purpose and it has
been the result of the economy bill,
and that bill was, therefore, the
foundation of all that followed.
The next step was to use the re-
stored credit of the government to
raise prices, relieve the unemployed,
assist debtors and stimulate busi-
ness. With the governments bud
get under control, it was safe to
let the dollar depreciate reason
able amount and practicable to
control it, to borrow new money for
relief, for the refinancing of mort
cages and for extensive public works
BY those measures very great
progress would seem to be possible
toward correcting those enormous
disequilibria between prices and
fixed charges, between wholesale
prices of raw materials and of
manufactures, between wholesale
and retail prices, between long
term and Short-term money, which
have been running the farmers, de-
stroying profits in almost all busi-
ness and producing a gigantic un-
employment.
THESE basic measures have been
Il supplemented by grants of au-
thority in the farm bill and the in
dustrial bill, which, however COM
plicated they may sound on paper,
are essentially simple in purpose.
They are designed to encourage in
exceptional cases, by government aid
or by government compulsion, the
cooperation of producers to reduce
the cutthroat competition which
exists when men are fighting des-
perately and deStructively in a
shrunken market.
Now it is open to anyone to say
that he thinks the government
should not attempt to lead the
country out of the depression Any
one has right to say that he would
rather let nature take its course.
But nobody can reasonably say, I
think. that he likes the imitation
amendment, for example, but not
the economy bill, or the farm bill
but not the industrial bill, or the
public works program but not the
taxes and the retrenchments.
If it was right to take the line we
started on last March, it is impera-
tive that we stay on it long enough
to demonstrate whether it will sue
ceed or fail
MO one, suppose, likes every
l ' thing in all the bills that have
been passed There are foolish
things in them. There are powers
which, if exercised foolishly, can do
great damage. There are powers
which, if exercised at all, would be
mischievous.
But that is not the point. The
point is that, to deal with the crisis,
congress has with the overwhelming
approval of the nation made tenn
porary grants of enormous power. It
has done so in the conviction that
the President is to be trusted; that
he is intelligent, reasonable, and
open to expert advice; that he is
just, incorruptible and ambitious to
carry out his promises.
There are no signs that he is af-
f1icted with delusions of grandeur;
that he is plotting against the Con-
stitution; that he is not clearly
aware that the successful use of his
powers will, the moment congress
adJourns, depend solely upon the
wisdom and technical competence
with which he administers them.
The sensible thing to do, having
gone as far as we have gone, is to
go the rest of the way to finish the
job by granting the powers which
the President has asked for. and
then to give him loyal, but vigilant
support while he exercises his
powers.
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