Evening star., 1934-07-02
JOHNSON WRITING
REPLY TO DARR0W
Final Report of Review
Board Holds N. R. A. F0S.
ters Monopoly Control.

BY the Associated Press.
Hugh s. johnson intends to FIRE the
parting shot IN his feud with Clarence
Dafrow.
He put his N R. A. aides at work
today drafting an answer to the final
rroc-t of the Recovery Review Board
wh.fh h Darrow headed.
Ike the previous two, the third re-
port maintained N. r. A. fostered
monopoly In so doing. it said last
night, the recovery unit became mot
the Zoe, but the adjunct of depression.
Dcspite IH recommendations. the
board said. there seems q sinister
purpose to entrench" monopolistic
practices "stlll more securely in the
processes of the act
Members Take Recess.
Abandonment of price-hxing was
recommended.
Since completion Of the report. Dar-
row has resigned Other members said
thec would take a recess until they
received further directions from Presl-
dent Roosevelt.
In the chapter entitled The Gov
ernmentai Boycott" the board said
Mr.. Roosevelt's order requiring GER
tiicates Of compliance for bidding on
Government contracts was eliminating
many small firms which cannot. with
ou' ceasing to exist. comply with the
requirements that mean the surrender
Of Lneir vital business secrets or the
end of every chance TO meet the
stronger position and greater resources
of moe powerful rivals
Film Code Hit Again.
Hitting the motion picture code
again. the board said:
The first means toward correction
would be the abrupt dismissal of the
present code authority and the choice
of another that can conceive some
thing of the rights of the public and
has some other impulse than the ex-
traction of fat profits
The final report. presented to the
President five days ago. was made
available by the board yesterday, a
few hours before the scheduled de-
cruise.
The N. r. A. codes, the board con-
cluded, were too drastic and at
tempted to do too much" In this
connection 1t recommended that the
price fixing attempts of NJ r. A. be
abandoned as soon as possible.
The board told the President that
In all codes examined zone condition
has been persistent. undeniable and
apparent to any impartial observa-
tion." that the code had given oppor-
tunity "for the more powerful and
profitable interests to seize control of
an industry or to augment and extend
control already obtained"
MonopoIies Held Fostered
"Our Investigations" the board
said. have shown that in the in
stances mentioned, the codes do not
only permit but foster monopolistic
practices and the small enterprise Is
not only oppressed, but in many cases
its exit accelerated from the field OF
buiness.
1T is ominous and disquieting to
have to note that although these evil
conditions have been demonstrated
and are well known to exist, nothing
has been done to remove or even to
restrain them.
"On the contrary, there seems
sinister purpose to entrench them
still more securely in the processes of
the act, to make still more unques-
toned the monopolistic sway of the
great interest. Thousands upon thou
sands of small enterprises in many
lines of business have petitioned for
relief The answer has been to drive
the car of depression still more re-
lentlessly upon them"
The board noted that the national
recovery act was framed for noble
aims. but the codes were most often
made by large business units animated
by no higher purpose than their own
advantage"
Codes Held Too Drastic.
The board summed up its views on
the industrial recovery program in
these words:
THE codes were too drastic and
attempted too much. To abolish child
labor was a most worthy object: to
establish labors right to bargain COL
lectiyely was most salutory; to shorten
the hours of labor was well.
But to deliver industry into the
hands OF its greatest and most ruth
less units when the protection OF the
antitrust laws had been withdrawn
was a grave error.
1T may be said that not in many
years have monopolistic tendencies in
industry been so forwarded and
strengthened as they have been
through the perversion of an act ex-
cellently intended TO restore prosperity
and promote the general welfare.
These are the facts and we believe
that the sooner they are frankly rec
ognized and bravely dealt with the
better for the Nation and its people,"
Act Held Failure.
The recovery act failed to meet
need of the Nation "sternly revealed
by the depression the report said,
identifying that need as the better
distribution Of wealth" Reiterating
its charge that the codes had not
discouraged but fostered practices
and systems under which 1 per cent
of the Nations population has been
enabled to possess itself of so per cent
of the Nations wealth." the board
said:
In this respect it has become not
the foe but the adjunct of depression.
For of what use would it be to win
the hectic and delusive prosperity
when close beside wait the conditions
that will inevitably produce another
and greater Disaster"
The report contained findings and
recommendations for changes in IL
codes, among them that for the steel
and iron industry.
Out of an original fund of $50 900.
the board had at the conclusion of its
third report approximately $4,000.