Evening star., 1934-11-11
The First Word.

directly to the American people in
December. His address over the ra-
dio will be in advance of the assembly
Of the newly elected Congress. In it
he plans to discuss two vastly impor-
tant subjects-relief in its various
phases and the administrators plans
for control of agricultural production.
The President is wise to get in the
first word to the country on the ques-
ton of relief. There seems no doubt
that, spurred on by apparent gratifl-
cation of many of the people on the
relief rolls as displayed in the recent
election, many members of Congress
are coming to Washington with plans
for bigger and better relief, for more
spending on an even larger scale. De-
mands will be made for many more
billions Of dollars to be expended for
public works.
For a year and half the admins
tration has sought to prime the pump,
to spur industry and business on to
large measure of recovery through
the expenditure Of thousands of mil
lions of dollars. Business has increased
in some lines, as has employment.
But the recovery in private employ
ment and private business has not
been what the pump primers had
hoped. 1t becomes more than ever
necessary to examine not only the
advisability Of continuing the present
relief program, but also to make other,
different plans.
So far as direct relief to the unem-
ployed and destitute Is concerned. any
declaration by the administration
that it intended to draw in and cut
down might bring an instant and
raucus reaction. It requires no great
memory to recall what happened when
1t was announced last Spring that the
Civil Works Administration was about
to be abandoned. The parades and
denunciation Of the curtailment by
those who had been on the pay rolls
were emphatic. They were followed
by the adoption of a modified, but
nevertheless extensive, program Of
similar employment to take the place
of the C. w. A.
Perhaps the President will reveal to
the country what he plans for the un-
employed during the coming Winter,
a period which American Federation
of Labor officials say will find more
unemployed than the last Winter Mr.
Roosevelt hopes and expects that
private industry will take up the
slack and gradually remove the need
Of governmental charity and relief.
But if industry is expected to accom-
plish such results it cannot do so in
competition with the Government.
The A. A. A. program for reduction
of farm crops has not been wholly
popular. The vote in the referendum
on the corn-hog program showed an
actual majority vote against the plan
in Kansas and in Nebraska, with a
very large number of those who had
taken part in the program this year
not voting at all. The serious drought
which struck deeply into the corn
belt States upset to some degree the
plans Of the A. A. A., but at the same
time it aided greatly in breaking down
the huge surpluses Of agricultural
products built up in past years.
The suggestion has been advanced
that the crop-reduction program Of
the A. A. A. will be considerably modi-
fled for the coming year. But this
Is by no means certain. Secretary
Wallace and Undersecretary Tugwell
of the Department of Agriculture may
have concluded that their plans are
popular enough, in the light of the
vote cast for Democratic candidates
in the Middle West States and else
where. 1t is true that farmers have
received more for their crops this
year than they did last year. 1t is
equally true that the farmers are
paying more for what they buy this
year than they paid last year. Any
discussion by the President OF the
farm problem will be of great
interest and significance. In the last
session Of Congress the proponents
Of the A. A. A. program vainly sought
to obtain amendments to the law
which would have given the Secre-
tary Of Agriculture absolute control
in farm production Is such a demand
to be made again by the administra-
ton?
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