The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-11-21
NEW ECONOMIC ORDER

TT often has been commended that high class
Il Journalist is a more reliable reporter Of
contemporary history than the trained his
torical scholar The Illuminating survey Of
the Roosevelt regime today by Cleveland
Rodgers, editor Of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle,
helps to strengthen this conviction. I have
read all Of the books which have been written
on this subject and Mr.. Rodgers volume Is
quite easily the most useful summary for the
general reader which has thus far been
published.
Mr.. Rodgers history of the last six months
is comprehensive and reliable. 1t covers both
the domestic and the foreign policy of the
administration. 1t is no polyanna volume,
pouring syrup or oil on the American system
and the Roosevelt policies. The work provides
a searching analysis of the weaknesses of
American capitalism and indicates the manner
in which the Roosevelt program is designed to
remedy the old defects.
In most fundamental sense, Mr.. Rodgers
looks upon the new deal as the decisive test Of
whether economic ard political democracy can
be preserved in the modern world If 1t
collapses, we are headed toward either Fascism
or Communism.
While Mr.. Rodgers admirably has placed
the new deal against the background of the
weaknesses of modern capitalism which need
immediate attention, Professors Mcgee, Atkins
and Stein of New York university have pre-
pared a concise summary of the essentials Of
the new deal, arranged under the general
headings Of the national industrial recovery
act, the farm program and the reforms in
money, banking and finances. The booklet
will be extremely useful for the general citizen
and invaluable for the teacher who rarely will
find anything about the new deal IN any of
the available textbooks The authors venture
few personal opinions and hold themselves
rather strictly to concise exposition.
Mr.. Smiley has had long and varied ex-
perience in Wall street as a practical broker
and an editor Of important financial publica-
tions. In this book, Popular Financial
Decisions made up of nearly hundred short
chapters, the author takes a wallop at all
kinds Of economic ideas and processes from
Moscow to Wall street and pays his respects
to publcists from Huey Long to Walter Lpp-
mann. His volume makes diversified and juicy
reading. While some of the sections, like his
appraisal of technocracy, are trivial or absurd,
his active participation in finance capitalism
has far from completely undermined his judy
ment or good sense.
The intellectual gulf which separates
Aristotle from Einstein is no greater than that
which sets off Walter Polakov from Mr.
Smiley. The former is one of the best in
formed of modern engineers. He diScards as
utterly outworn and useless the old categorieS
and Technology Of finance capitalism and
talks to us in terms of the thoroughly up-to-
date ideas and problems of the power age. He
offers cogent and convincing arguments that
there is little hope Of realizing any new deal
If we stick to the same old pack of marked
cards
There is much evidence that statesmen of
the old school. however well-intentioned never
will be able to master our intricate and dyna-
mic power age
If there is one thing certain about our fu-
ture, 1t Is that we shall have more leisure
Whether this be the leisure of unemployment
or that produced by shorter hours remains to
be seen. The National Recreation Association
and the National Education Association have
co-operated in a careful study of American
schools in relation to the leisure problem The
study treats of the manner in which school
life can solve the problems of leisure for chill
dren, as we'll as train them to handle more
effectively the problems OF leisure once they
attain to adulthood.