Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1934-09-20
Republican Syncopation

tied States Daily, writer aud politician. In concluding
a diatribe on the Roosevelt New Deal in general. Law
renee concludes:
There is nothing in the Constitution which per-
mits any man or group of men to equalize competi-
ton, to redistribute wealth or to redistribute brains. to
put a penalty on efficiency or to punish success by
confiscatory taxation"
And there you have the swan song of every PEN
nyaline writer of Lawrence's type. who are permitted
occasionally to sit in" with our socalled mighty
captains of industry, our idle rich or society ollie
tantes," whom they serve as intellectual bravados In
much the same fashion that nobility hired its military
bravados in the sixteenth century, when weapons and
not dollars were sign manual of wealth and power.
There is not a thought in the Roosevelt program
to penalize or punish success. Neither has anyone ev-
er inherited brains. Brains are cultivated precisely as
the orchid has been brought to perfection through CEN
turtles of study, care and attention. What passes for
Mr.. Lawrence's brain is the epitome of early environ
ment. education and opportunity. Born and raised in
the slums. it is entirely possible he might have dever
oped into a firstclass gangster, equally true OF any
captain Of industry whose success was probably alto
gether due to opportunity and a ruthless disregard
OF the Golden Rule.
Whether or not the Constitution empowers any
man or group Of men to equalize or to redistribute
wealth is beside the point, If those highly desirable
detectives can be accomplished. If our understanding
of the New Deal is even approximately correct, u
"equalize competition and redistribute wealth with
in lawful means land if lawful they are constitutional),
is what President Roosevelt has sought and will seek
to bring about, a purpose in mind through instrument
atty of the New Deal.
To curb the %inordinate greed OF those In position
to stifle competition by forming monopolies; to place
big and little business at par or as close thereto as
human ingenuity can devise; to supply the public now
at the mercy Of gigantic public utilities with the same
service at greatly reduced rates through exploitation
OF natural resources-these are accomplishments
sought by the New Deal.
Certainly, each and every step taken by the pres
ent Democratic administration is designed to equal
ize competition" whether Mr.. Lawrence and those
whose hired man he is like it or not.
One could with some truth assert equalizing COM
petition is correlatiye to redistributing wealth, since
ruthless competition can lead to ahnassing wealth that
properly belongs to others. A gigantic corporation
which drives others in that business to bankruptcy
and ruin, mops up what the loser has lost-that is
logical.
Amassed wealth alone has means to form gigantic
corporations that may have many small stockholders
but is invariably controlled by a few large stock hold
ers. Compel fair play in competition and you have a
powerful leverage in bringing about the redistribution
OF wealth.
Mr. Lamrences plant of confiscatory taxation is
speaking for his clients. President Roosevelt's prom
- AH6i ~ ouC III Lib SouuLly WILL 3 ~ hAAb1y = -
ing our heaviest taxpayers a bit Of brass beyond dis
pute, but preferable to the alternative OF revolution,
possible anarchy.
What Lawrence and his clients have In mind Is
TO leave those in want to shift for themselves, to bal
ance the sacred budget and get back on our old foot
ing of every man for himself and the devil take the
hindmost-have we not the police, the militia and
army to keep those in want within bounds II they
dared to take food, clothing and fuel SO they may
exist? Did not Mr.. Hoover drive the exservice beg
gars from Washington by use of the brass hats?
What Lawrence ct al forget is that a lot OF water
has passed under the bridge since that episode. Drouth
over a large section of the country has accentuated
the resentment felt over our depression tthe 1929
debacle could have been prevented by government
regulation such as the new securities act) and added
possibly a half billion dollars to the vast relief ex-
~penditure before In effect.
This added misfortune has enabittered people TO
a marked degree; the conservative of yesterday Is the
radical of today and unafraid to say so. The hereto
fore radical is the more radical. Our agriculturists
are openly In revolt against our creditors In general.
Except for the class Mr.. Lawrence champions, our ay-
erage people have become short-tempered. resentful
and desperate over conditions they cannot overcome.
Just a match could light a conflagration. Mr.. Lawr-
ences clients can thank a kind providence that Presi-
dent Roosevelt is at the helm, cool. courageous and
resourceful. calmly and deity meeting such crises AS
the country never before has faced.
Like any pin prick, the Lawrences occasionally
draw a little blood and are annoying, but that is as
far as their effectiveness goes. After all, they serve
a purpose In recalling we still have with us the rem
nants OF the old order deluding itself in the belief that
this country should be ruled by an autocracy OF
wealth, whereas the iolts to come are as nothing com
pared to the jolts they would have undergone had
not President Roosevelt stepped into the breach.
Mr.. Lawrence could undertake a study OF dodoes
to much advantage.
*xxx
The hunting season will find a lot OF business
man able to get of for q day without hurting their