Evening star., 1934-11-11
BY OWEN L. SCOTT.

What comes next in the Presidents
effort to bring back better times? Will
Mr.. Roosevelt simply push ahead
along New Deal lines already laid
down? Or is he likely to accept the
unprecedented Endorsement given him
by the voters in Tuesdays elections as
blanket order to do anything he
thinks necessary to get people back to
work2
Recovery, obviously. has begged
down. Figures prepared by Govern
ment statisticians show that the tempo
Of business has been slowing up since
last May and only now is turning up
slightly. Estimates of unemployment
reveal that the number OF men at
work in private employment is not a
whole lot larger than it was two years
ago, when the depression was near its
low point. These things scarcely sug-
gest general success for the expert
ments already tried.
Yet the people, as they demon
strated in amazing fashion November
6, continue to pin their faith on the
President. They have given him a
chance to assume almost dictatorial
powers. They obliterated any effeo-
tive opposition, so that he need not be
bothered by conservatives fearful of
experiment. They approved steps al
ready taken. In the States of Wash
ington, Wisconsin and Minnesota they
showed themselves ready to go far
along the road to socialism. while in
California they turned back from that
road
What the public appears to have
said to Mr. Roosevelt is this:
Go as far as you like in trying to
make this country's economic machine
work again. We are not frightened
by names. What we want are results.
! The men we are sending to Congress.
in most instances, are ready to try
anything once"
But that raises the question: What
Of the experiments already tried?
They struck many people as radical.
How have they worked? Is there any
thing to show that they provide the
key to better times? If not, Is there
! anything to show that more expert
ments would produce greater results?
On the study now being made OF
questions Of that kind probably will
depend the course to be decided upon
| by the President. Congress will be
back in Washington in less than two
months. If business has not improved
materially by that time, its members
will be impatient. They will come
with promises to fulfill. Mr.. Roose-
| welt may have to offer a convincing
New Deal performance chart to keep
them from impulsive action.
| But what Of the record of New Deal
performance? Is it impressive? A
glance down the list Of experiments
under way may be helpful in apprais-
ing it. That glance will show:
| ** X
! Mr.. "A: In trouble, suffering from
such deep-seated ailments that Presi-
! dent Roosevelt Is taking personal
hand in their treatment. Not a few
New Deal economists accuse the Blue
Eagle actually of retarding recovery
by raising prices too fast, by making
| life more difficult for the little busi-
nessman and by inducing labor dis
putes. As a self-starter for prosperity
N. r. A. definitely has Topped. The
salvage Job now under way seeks tc
| correct past mistakes. Congress must
decide in what form the recovery ad-
| ministration will be continued.
A.. A. A.: Best record of all. Run
bv realists, Henry Wallace and Ches-
ter Davis, who recognize pitfalls when
they see them. One OF the few New
Deal organizations with a balanced
budget, despite huge bounty payments
to farmers. There are many signs
that the adjustment administration
| has increased farm income, but vital
| problems remain unsolved. The A. A
A. does not claim to be a depression
| cure-all. Congress is likely to be
pretty well satisfied with its opera
ton.
P. w. A: Like N. r. A.. a disap'
pointment. Money has flowed init
public works, but the pump remains
unprimed. Again, New Deal econo
mists IN many instances regard F. w
A. as an actual hindrance to recovery
This Is so because 1t has been used II
bolster an artificial wage scale in tn
building trades and to hold up build
ing material costs, increasing tn
troubles of private builders. Still
public works money has built man!
auditoriums, dams, parks, roads ant
other things that Congressman cal
show of. Congress is expected to tr.
to force larger expenditures in thi
field.
F.E. r. A: An efficient relief or
rauization. But the country ha
nothing permanent in the way Of re
! covery to show for the buildings tina
have flowed through its hands. G. W