The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-05-09
Liberal Viewpoint
by DIR. HARRY ELMER BARNES :

/ TN the last couple of months have moved
Il about the country considerably and in par
ticular have had an opportunity to visit with
many hard-boiled eastern industrialists, big and
| little
With very few exceptions they have expressed
quite frankly feeling of annoyance and hostil-
| ity toward the NRA Even more significant is
the fact that of late this antagonism is coming
to be tinged with feeling of contempt for the
recovery plan. Many who once displayed the
blue eagle now are taking it down.
Very widely. our industrialists are taking it
for granted that the NFA already has proved
flop. They simply are sitting pat, eagerly await
| ing the time when its failure will be admitted
| by the government or when its enforcement will
become so lax that they can hout it with i'm
punity.
A very common assertion with the antagon-
lists of the NFA is that the one thing which will
| put the final quietus on the act will be general
business recovery.
| They aver that this finally will discredit the
planned economy. Their argument is that the
| great business upturn which is expected was
well on It's way before the NFsA went into opera
ton and that the latter only frustrated recovery
/ for the time being.
THE logic in any such argument is not appar-
L. ent to the uninitiated. Whatever we think
of the measure, the country is now under the
| NRA. If it really is enforced it ought to prove
very difficult to demonstrate that any pros
| perty which follows has come to us in spite of
| the NRA.
Just how far we were our way to indus
| trial recovery before the new deal can be made
quite obvious by studying the statistics Of Amer
lean business in the winter of 1928. The end
product of pre-Roosevelt recovery" was March
| 8, 1888
The business pickup from March to july
1888 was due primarily to the gusto and assur-
ance felt by the country in anticipation of the
! achievements of a new administration No credit
may be assigned to the old financial piracy or
individualistic business enterprise.
Nevertheless, this strange reasoning of many
| industrialists that a business revival will and
ought to discredit the NRA is practiced con-
| sideration which will have to be borne very
sharply in mind by a certain wing of liberal and
administration strategsts
OUCH persons have assumed that Mr.. Roose-
Ovelt will have to beat time Until prosperity
returns Then they reason, his prestige will be
so enhanced that he can safely crack down
upon his opponents.
| This may be excellent logic but it runs coun-
ter to the psychology Of his enemies.
They are looking forward to prosperity as the
instrument which will nberate them from the
dominion of planned economy. The battle
we'll may turn out to be more fierce then it is at
the present moment.
Let us look at the matter somewhat more
| broadly. Suppose we do have a very marked
period of recovery and our financiers and indus
trialiSts are able to Squelch the NRA. This will
| let down the bars for industrial and financial
anarchy. Such situation probably will be fol-
! lowed by another insane boom like that of 1926
&c. The ultimate outcome can be nothing else
| than greater tailspin than that which followed
| the crash of October, 1929.
| VXTHEN this comes and both the new deal
| w and industrial anarchy have collapsed, we
shall be in desperate situation indeed. The
next step will not be anything so mild as the
NRA. 1t will be American Fascisrn, by whatever
name it is called.
Let those who today are relentleSsly oppos-
ing the NESA begin to rend seriously on the state
of private finance and industry in Italy and
Germany. Let them acquaint themselves thor
ougtly with what Fascism does to rugged indi-
vidualism. They will find that the NRA is al
most industrial anarchy as compared to the
RECOMMENDATION of business under Fascism.
Indeed, little study of economic history will
reveal to them the fact that, long before the
World war, German industry voluntarily SUBJ
jected itself to degree of industrial control as
extensive as that embodied in the MIRA.
When Fascism comes to u.s. those industrial
lists and f1nanciers who are today unconsciousy
angling for such an outcome will find that they
have jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
The wailing and crashing of teeth will be too
| at