Evening star., 1934-09-02

business, private capital, does
not go to work, then the country
will have extreme imitation with
arithmetical certainty. Private capi.
tai will not like that, because imitation
would utterly destroy many forms OF
capital. On the other hand, II busi-
ness goes to work, 1t will be subjected
to more and more drastic regulation
larger and larger concessions to labor
more and more diminutions Of private
profit, more and more approach to
state socialism.
OF the two courses, the preferable
for business and for the country, Is
That way avoids imitation. And 1t Is
Just possible that with return OF nor
NAL conditions and normal state OF
mind, America might kick state So
cialism out the door. If business, pri-
vate capital, cannot go to work with
O motive Of confidence, it had better
go to work with the motive OF despair.
An apt comment on conditions to-
day might say that the administra-
ton is trying to cause men to buy
goods and increase their businesses,
through the motive not of hope but
of fear. 1t Is hope, expectation Of
profit, that makes wholesome expan-
sion of business. It is fear that causes
men to buy goods as safeguard
against imitation.
Fall VIII Fix Course.
Whether we 60 on to imitation OF
the extreme sort, or avoid it, will be
determined during the coming Fall
although the imitation in its extreme
form, If it comes at all, may not ar
rive for as much as two years; IN both
Germany and In France the full
course Of imitation consumed upward
of four years. Whether America will
have extreme imitation or not depends
upon whether private capital, private
" owned business, expands greatly
In the near future.
Why this Is should be explained
explanation and more explanation,
clarifcation and more clarif1cation is
the great need Of the country at q
time of complex and unfamiliar ex-
periments.
At the present time about 8, TOO 600
families-I take the figures from Mr..
Aubrey Williams, acting head Of Fed
eral Emergency Relief-are being sup
ported by the Government at cost
Of roughly $100,0oo,0o0 month.
Another number Of families, probably
larger, and costing much more, Is
being supported by the Federal Gov
ernment in another way-that Is,
through the various forms of public
works financed by the Government,
and through the institutions to which
the Government has loaned money, as
well as other forms Of employment
that depend upon funds from the
Federal Treasury.
Although 1t Is probably fair to esti-
mate that fully 100000 families, or
25,0O0,000 people, are getting their
living directly or indirectly out Of
funds coming out Of the Federal
Treasury. This is about fifth Of
the total population. The money by
which this is done Is borrowed-the
Federal Government is going into debt
at pace approximating $4,000. 900 900
q year.
If this goes on long enough it re-
sults-in way too intricate to ex-
plain herein O diminution Of the
value Of the dollar which ultimately,
IL prolonged enough, would amount
to extreme imitation.
Only One Way Out.
For avoiding this outcome there is
only one way. It is that private in
dustry should expand greatly. Ex-
pansion of private industry prevents
imitation in two ways: First, 1t absorbs
the unemployment, takes the unem-
ployed OF the Government rolls and
puts them on the pay rolls of private
industry; second, expansion OF pri-
vate industry makes profits, and prof.
its pay the taxes which the Gov
ernment imperatively must have to
meet the interest on the public debt
that has already been created and
continues to increase.
Whether we shall have imitation de-
pends, then, on whether private in
dustry expands greatly. Probably it
is necessary that the expansion take
place during the Fail; for If ex-
pansion Of private industry continues
to be much postponed, that condition
will lead to q public psychology which
will itself make expansion difncult.
Between private industry and Presi-
curious play-though play" is too
light O word for it, Both want to
avoid imitation. That private capital
not be explained. That President
Roosevelt wants to avoid imitation
at least extreme inflation-is a clear
inference from his course since he first
took ONCE.
Ar DooeavalfBe ocfiOyau nc q 1r,I,oia
the New Deal as a whole, do not make
any one fixed principle, they are a
patchwork, @ tangled network of
strings, of which many pull in diverse
directions. But in this lack of pattern
there is at least one consistency. The
actions Mr.. Roosevelt has taken in the
fiscal affairs of the Government re-
feet q continuing wish on his part to
avoid extreme imitation. This state
ment may be disputed; and it is true
that some of Mr.. Roosevelt's steps
have been taken with the deliberate
intention of bringing about a partial
imitation. AS to these steps leading to
partial imitation, Mr.. Roosevelt and his
friends would say they were forced on
him. To go into the merit of all this
there is not space here. I think there
is abundant support for the statement
that the President has wished steadily
to avoid imitation of the extreme sort
and has taken steps, costly in a po-
litical way, to avoid it. His early re-
duction of compensation to veterans,
largely sustained to the present time;
his early reduction of the pay OF
Government servants, also largely sus-
tanned to the present time, and many
other actions have reflected q desire
to avoid extreme imitation.
Roosevelt Knows Way.
Indeed. why should one need to
prove that any head Of any nation
would like to avoid extreme imitation
1t goes without saying.
Mr.. Roosevelt and private indus
try both want to avoid indation. Mr..
Roosevelt knows that expansion OF
private industry is the only way to
avoid imitation. Consequently, Mr.
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