Evening star., 1934-07-15
RICHBERC Is SEEN STAR
OF NEW DEALS NEXT ACT
Predicted as Attacking Emergency
by Knocking Props From Industry
So Prices Can Find Own Level.
BY WILLIAM HARD.

Donald RichbeTR ana upon the
governmental and economic
emergency" which the President
has asked Mr.. Richberg TO try 10 re-
duce 10 understandable sense.
Mr.. RichberR Ia nov chief counsel
of the National Recovery Administra-
ton executive secretary Of the "ES-
ecuttve Council" i" executive director OF
the National Emergency Council" and
director Of the Industrial Emergency
Committee" II he Is not yet lord high
executioner he is, at any rate, some
sort OF lord high planner
As for the Executive Council and
the National Emergency Council and
the Industrial Emergency Committee
the reader need not be bothered
about them much. II Is as II Is on the
stage. You sec on the stage grand
group Of Bulgarian bandits. And
then you see the lords and ladies Of
buckingham Palace, London. And
then you see United States naval Of
ficers and Samoan damsels. But It's
all the same chorus And the "Ex-
ecutive Council" and the National
Emergency Council and the Indus
trial Emergency Committee" are moth
ing but assemblages or cross-sections
OF the same old group OF cabinet
members and heads Of new deal
emergency agencies. The point Is not
that group In any Of its various cos
tunes. The point is Richberg and
his appointment by the President to
be stage director and to try 10 get the
chorus people TO do fewer solo dances
and to step about more in unison and
according to plan
Sort of Dance Designer"
In other words, and to express 1t
perhaps deplorably fippantly Mr..
Richberg is now sort of govern
mental dance designer and he is
called upon to do this designing be-
cause Of an emergency" So what
thenA-to begin with--is the 'emer-
gency"?
Well. frankly. and without having
got it from Mr.. Richberg. III say.
without hesitation, that the "emer-
gency" is this,
The abundant life" promised by
the new deal administration-whic
differs not at all except in phraseol-
ogy from the prosperity promised
by the Hoover administration or from
the full dinner pail promised by
the Mckinley administrations COM
ing into existence too slowly for new
deal political comfort.
Let us forget for moment the
irresistibly fascinating accents of the
President on the radio and let us
60 a bit beyond his remark, Il could
give figures" Let us give the figures.
4,r4n Toe IF N
life" Is not in the number Of people
said to be employed" 1t is not
in how many cents they are said to
be earning per hour 1t Is not in
the price of carrots. 1t is not in
any of the figures which indicate
how we'll off people would be II they
we're working a sufficient number of
hours and selling a sufficient number
of carrots TO be actually well of.
The true test is in the volume-the
total volume--of the commodities and
services which they are in fact pro-
ducing and consuming. The "abun-
dant life" is in the exchange-the
growing and swelling exchange-of
the satisfactions Of life.
And what do we see there? We
see an improvement slow indeed.
Loading Only Per Cent Up.
Let us look at railroad carloadings.
That's q basic figure for the pro-
duction and consumption of COM
modities. The year 1882 was year
of full Hoover" depression. And
how do the carloadings to date this
year compare with the carloadings
TO the corresponding date OF 1882?
They are only per cent higher.
And let us look. at retail trade.
On that point l will quote from a
very high authority. l viii quote
from Paul H. Nystrom. who is
very unusual combination of aca-
demie man and of commercial man
and who at this moment is both
professor of marketing at Columbia
University and vice chairman of the
National Retail Code Authority. Mr.
Nystrom says;
The actual volume of physical
merchandise moving through retail
channels to consumers is showing
but little gain. Since the first of
March II has been scarcely better
than during the same period of time
In l933.'
Obviously the buyer Of things in re-
tail storeS-the men and women and
children of the families of the Ma
tion-are not living more abundant
ly" than they were last year in any
notable degree.
! do not know whether the PreSi-
dent pointed this out to Mfr Richberg
ss the emergency" but am certain
that 1t is. indeed the emergency
which Mr.. Richberg faces and which
1t is his duty to greet with some
more new Government planning.
Thereupon the next logical ques-
tion is.
What sort Of "plsnner" is Mr.. Rich
berg?
The technical answer is that Mr.
Richbere is a ''planner" for balance.
That's too technical. possibly. But it's
vital. Two kinds of planning have
fought each other within the new
deal.
One Kind Is Dictatorial
There has been the philosophy of
planning for an adjustment" between
production and consumption. This
kind Of PLANNING at its peak, would
decide Just how much print paper was
going to be needed next year ana
would put the paper mills TO work
producing just exactly that amount
OF paper-no more and no less; and
then the publishers Of newspapers
and magazines would accommodate
themselves TO that amount and 50
would the readers. II the readers
wanted 10 read more, they could per-
haps wire their Congressman TO 60
and plead with the planners.
This kind Of planning, In the end.
Is dietation TO consumers. Mr.. Tug
well, now UnderSecretary Of Agricul-
ture, seems, in his remote paSt-of q
few years ago-to have llrted with it
even If he denies that he married II
Mr.. Richberg is wholly hostile to il.
Mr. Richberg has had 3 varied
practical experience. His father, Ii
Chicago. was a lawyer before him. He
A4vr,ro3F Ia ,,,ift,