Evening star., 1934-12-31
RIGHT TENDENCY
TERMED A MASK
Basic Left Principles Held
Hidden in Making Re-
form PaIatabIe.
Continued From Page BID

background for the otherwise not too
alarming picture presented above. On
the whole, it seems probable that most
of this roaring around Is for the pur-
pose of securing lower rates. AS far
as the Government at Washington is
concerned, there will doubtless be con-
siderable encouragement of small mu-
inequalities building their own power
plants, especially when it is case Of
utilizing Federally- owned sources. But
as far as the big cities are concerned,
new legislation and new appropria-
tons from Congress would be needed,
and 1t is most dubious if even RooSe-
velt magic can squeeze that through in
this session. But the fact must be
faced that the utilities are just where
the rails were 80 years ago, and likely
to have the same experience at the
hands of the Government.
Minimum Wage Agreements.
Second on the list of basic principles
is that which will be Incorporated into
new legislation, undoubtedly forth
coming in the coming congressional
session, which will feature minimum
wage agreements. The idea, not by any
means new one or one which de-
rived its inspiration exclusively from
F. D. r., that high minimum wages
are a basic element in future pros
perity in this country. will probably
be part and parcel of future industrial
legislation. Even more certain Is the
fact that tremendous efforts on the
part of the administration will be
directed this Winter toward getting
the child labor amendment into the
Constitution, although it seems un-
likely that this will be accomplished
in the year 1885. In any case, this
piece of prospective legislation is not
so important economically as it might
once have been, due to the relatively
small number of children employed.
The third of the basic principles
resulted in one of the most misunder-
stood and most mishandled pieces OF
legislation that ever appeared on the
statute books-namely, the famous,
controversial, uproarious section Ia of
the national industrial recovery act.
1t is obscure at this point Just what
course the Government will take on
the question when legislation which
viii substitute for the national in
dustrial recovery act is eventually
launched. Indeed. the big question is
not so much what form the actual
legislation will take as it is how it will
be administered, how interpreted,
what labor itself will do about it.
One thing Is certain-that the Gov
ernment is not so disposed to aid
organized labor as was once the case.
To a large extent the intransigent
attitude of the labor leaders them
selves has contributed in no small
degree to the confusion which has
arisen. That they now realize this,
and are working more quietly, more
comparatively, than they. did when
they thought they had a mandate to
organize the Nation, is one of the
encouraging signs for the coming year.
One thing is certain, and that is that
the textile strike marked the high
water mark Of labor power in the year
1884. 1t may well have been high tide
for organized labor for longer than
that.
There are two more questions. them
selves closely allied, which constitute
the rest of the principles which will
be carried to the country in 1885
money and credit.
Money Changers Threatened.
When the Roosevelt administration
first took Office there was much dis
cusssion of driving the money chang
ers from the temples" This some
what biblical allusion to money prob
lens was promptly carried out, in
that legislation was passed which was
frankly in the interests of those whose
debts exceeded their credits.
1t is idle to argue that in this coun-
try most people are both debtor and
creditor; this is largely true, yet at
this time, no less truly than in 1888.
the interests of the vast majority of
the population are and we're on one
side or the other. That the policy of
the administration was clearly in favor
of those who we're under burden of
debt, and against those who stand to
profit by the fall in prices while obli-
cations remained at the same levels
as before, is evidenced by its whole
course since that time. The COM
modify dollar" idea, quickly dropped,
was merely one failure in a camDaipn