Evening star., 1934-04-01
''Red Hunt in Washington Is
Not Likely to Yield New Facts

"a n. "a ne 10 typical TeIOImSl, ,
who, with Newton D. Baker, was q
follower Of Tom johnson years ago in
Cleveland. But no one has accused
DR.. Howe Of being red
Turning to the National Recovery
Administration, the search Is even less
productive. 1t Is dificult to walk down
the corridors Of the Commerce Build.
ing. fourth floor. without passing at
least one big industrialist N. r. A.
was born in the minds of ofacials Of
big coal companies. of oficials Of the
Chamber of Commerce and of Gerard
Swope. president of General Electric
Co.. among others.
It's administrator. Gen. Hugh john
son. Is so friendly to big business that
scme Senate liberals have said that
the N. r. A. was packed with indus
trialists. Donald Richbers, its general
counsel, Is liberal. but an out
spoken opponent Of Socialism. Re-
Gently he was accused of being q liber-
a! turned conservative. The Con-
sumers' Advisory Board Of N. r. A..
has been charged with harboring radi-
Gals. but II so. they haven't shocked
Mrs. Mary Hartman Rumsey, chair
man Of the board and the possessor of
a large fortune.
When the searcher gets down TO the
money policy Of the Government he
finds the Committee for the Nation,
strictly big business organization,
egging on the President. Profs. James
Harvey Rogers and George F. Warren
are both In their sixties, both orthodox
In most Of their ideas on economics,
both conservatives.
and the proposed securities exchange
act, which have been brought for
ward to carry out campaign pledges
Of President Roosevelt and the Demo-
cratic party platform.
James N. Lands OF Harvard, SO, now
member of the Federal Trade Com
mission, had much to do with draw
ing the first act. II was based on
the British act and, from q technical
viewpoint, was drawn so we'll that no
]oopholes have been found by finan-
ciers. That seems to be one Of the
chief complaints. Lands Is a brilliant,
vigorous, and . very sane individual,
Who can scarcely be termed an eco
nomic radical.
Basically. the most radical Of the
new deal projects. and the one that
draws the only real praise from Social
lists, Is the Tennessee Valley Authority
and its planned development of that
water shed, but this Is the Presidents s
own pet project and not a brain trust
product. Prime mover In 1t Is David
E Lilienthal. 80. of Harvard. who. like
Lands of the Federal Trade Commits
sion, Is one of Felix Frankfurter' s
boys" Also furctioning in that en-
terprise are DR.. A. e. Morgan and DR..
H. A. Morgan. The first is So and
the second 81 years of age. They are
former college presidents. But none
has been accused of being red"
The nationalist policy recently pur-
sued by the country was urged by
Prof Raymond B. Moley. former brain
truster. but It has the support of pow
erful business interests. The new
tariff bargaining policy is engineered
by George N. Peek. 81. and Secretary
of State Hull, who Is in the sixties,
both conservatives.
In the Relief Administration Harry
Hopkins, 43. is the prime mover and his
civil works program was so well
thought Of that spokeSmen for heavy
industries at the recen: N. r. A. con-
gress suggested that it should be con-
tinued as a permanent national policy.
Hopkins Is q liberal but, so far as any
one knows. he is not radical.
Just where Investigators are to f1nd
the "reds" In any responsible Govern
ment position, or with access to the
President, Is deep mystery here.
Radicals are scattered around in out
of-the-way places. But unless very
strange things are happening that no
newspaper man here has discovered,
the "red" hunt will produce no facts
not already known.
(CopyriEht, 1e340