The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-12-26

many different exchanges and the daily quotations nowadays are by no means all the same.
 There was a time when they were. Between March and July it mattered little whether you looked for the appraisal at home or abroad in the East or in the West or in the South, among Republi- can conservatives or Republican progressives, among Bryan Demo- crats or Wilson Democrats, in the fiancial centers or the grarian, among employers or Wage-earners. There was virtually unanimous and unlimited approval In this period the premise of the far-reaching so- cial reforms embodied in the leg islative program was accompanied by spectacular recovery in agri- culture and industry. The net re- suit was immediately satisfactory. The country as whole approved the intentions of the reforms while 1t enjoyed the substance of re- turning prosperity.
 Beginning in midsummer these conditions began to change. The reforms began to be applied They were brought down from the high plane where they could be judged and applauded for their intentions into the rough reality where they began to bite and take hold. At the same time the pace of the re- covery was halted and there was in fact a considerable recession. The net result was far from satis- factory. Men who had approved the reforms when they were en- acted began to challenge them now that they were being put into ef- feet. Others challenged them be- cause they were not being put in to effect quickly and drastically enough. Senator LaFollette was re- ported as being unhappy and like wise Senator Reed. The President was attacked by Al Smith for lis tening to professors and reports began Q emanats from Washing ton that the professors were un- happy because he was not listening to them enough.
 But what had really happened was reasonably clear. The reforms however desirable in themselves and for the long run, were not pro noting recovery. In the absence of sufficiently rapid recovery the reforms themselves did not pros per and were becoming inordinate- ly difficult to apply.
 
 The charge which is most ire quently brought against the Pres ident is that he is an opportun- lst who went now to the right and now to the left, following no single course whole-heartedly and clearly. Those who bring this ! charge do not, I believe, apprec fate as well as he does the circum- stances which compel him to work out, step by step, a combination Of an ordinary capitalistic recovery and a rather far-reaehing social reconstruction.
 What is the principle of an or dinary capitalistic recovery? It is, believe, that private initiative based on the expectation of private profit revives when the accumu lated supply, and the cost of pro ] ducing new goods is low enough to be profitable. Obviously, measures which discourage initiative or raise costs before there is an increased volume of profitable sales must de- lay capitalistic recovery.
 Now what is the promise of the social reconstruction? It is, I be- lieve, that uncontrolled private in- | itiative produces excessive profits that are badly distributed for a few boom years followed by devastating unemployment and no profits in the ensuing depression.
 How to stimulate initiative for immediate recovery and yet to con- trol it for a long term stability has been the Presidents problem. To find a way of stimulating and yet controlling has not been easy nor has he been entirely successful. But no one can fairly judge his Administration who does not take into account the dual nature of his task
 The question naturally arises whether he is right in attempting to find a workable blend of stim- ulation for recovery and control for reconstruction My own view is that he had no choice but to make the attempt. In the first place had he concentrated exclusively on the orthodox measures of recovery he would not, I believe, have l achieved much of it.
 It is the fashion to point out that Great Britain seems to be re- covering without resort to drastic and noval measures. The exam pie is misleading. Great Britain has relatively simple industrial economy compared with the com T III