Evening star., 1933-01-02
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Newest thing under the 1893 eco
nomtc sun-neWer even than technoc-
racy-is the Association Of American
Business" about to be launched in New
| York under the auspices of high-power-
ed Wall Street interests. Capitalists
Edward F. Hutton, Walter P. Chrysler
and Thomas L. Chadbourne are among
the promoters and hackers. Like near
ly all middepression movements, this
one aims. too, at more scientific plan
ming" for commerce, industry and
finance. Three basic purposes are
scheduled: (a) To reduce Government
expenses and improve methods Of tax
alton; (b) to give Government a better
understanding of business problems, and
| (c) to revise the antitrust laws, which
take us further and further from a
| planned and co-ordinated production. /"
The immediate program of the "A. A.
B." is to make studies, coordinate
business on some scheme of operations
and then conduct a Nationwide cam
paign Of education in its favor. An
expert staff of academic and semi
academic advisers is projected Re-
forms in banking practices are espe-
cially contemplated. Depression is
said to have shown that practical
commercial bankers, unaided by others,
lack the background and foresight for
long-term planning" High Washing
ton officials view the "A. A. B." enter
prise with favor and hope, literally
seasoned with skepticism born of big
business chronic inability to unite or
remain united on any program.
X x
Whats wrong with our educational
system" is the subject before the "Cit1-
zens' Conference on the Crisis in Edu-
cation" TO assemble in Washington on
January 5th, at President Hoovers call
1t will be discussed by an exceptionally
carefully chosen body of from rs to 100
delegates representing all phases of
school,, college and university life. The
delegates have been chosen by the
American Council on Education, Amer
lean Farm Bureau Federation, American
| Federation of Labor, National ASsocia-
tion Of Manufacturers and National
Grange A limited number of experts
was invited to sit with the delegates.
/ Roughly, the crisis in education"
which the conference will explore Is the
mountingly high cost of education and
how to make necessary retrenchments
| in school expenditures with least poss-
| ible injury to the coming generation.
| Ordinarily Mr.. and Mrs Average Amer
| ican are ready to get up on their hind
| legs and roar any time drastic curtail-
ment of educational budgets is pro-
| posed. The consequence has been the
| steady and widespread grating onto
1 the public school system nearly every
| where Of expensive doo-dads and extra
curricular activities miles removed from
reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic" and
other fundamentals-ofte to their
detriment The rise in bonded indebt-
edness resultant in large part from
| these costly innovations is a vital fac
| tor In tax burdens all over the country.
That indispensable link in the chain
of our Presidents, Rudolph Forster,
| perennial executive secretary at the
White House, is not likely to be missing
4 when the new deal swings into motion
on March A. Mr.. Forster Is completing
/ his thirty-fifth successive year in the
| job he fills with such suavity, discre-
ton and skill. Hes been at the elbow
of seven MISUNDERSTANDING with
Mckinley in 1897 and including Roose-
velt, Taft Wilson, Harding, Coolidge
and Hoover and been the faithful CO.
adjutor of all the White House secre-
taries from the one-man secretariats of
Cortelyou, Loeb, Hilles, Tlmulty and
| Christian TO the Slemp- Clark duality of
the Coolidge regime and the Richey-
Newton -Joslin- -Strother foursome of TO-
| day. An incoming President now and
then knows the ropes, but 1t takes For
ster to teach them how they should be
| pulled.
X x
Pending negotiations before the League
Of Nations to settle the oil-concession
controversy between Persia and Great
Britain recall that it was the alert
aggressiveness of an American diplomat
U s. Grant Smith, then our Minister
to Albania. which prevented the sup
posedly rich oil deposits OF that noun