Evening star., 1935-04-14
Much of the Enthusiasm Has Now
Gone From the New Deal Program

These laws are for this reason alone
q political experiment Of extraordi-
nary daring and truly epoch-making
proportions"
That is just the trouble, as Con-
gressmen see it. They have voted
power to the Federal Government to
interfere with the individual rights
Of a citizenry that resents interfer-
ence. Now the demand is made for
additional grants Of power for the
same object. An election is ahead.
Reactions already are setting in to
restraints that have been imposed.
Instinct tells the average Senator
and Representative that he should go
slow. Instinct also tells him that he
may already have put his foot into
trouble by favoring New Deal reforms
His mind may 60 back to the reaction
following the World War. when the
promise of ''normalcy" was enough to
work a political revolution.
The fact is that much Of the en-
thusiasm has gone out of the New
Deal program.
Many of the young men who in
spired that enthusiasm in the early
days after March. 1893, either have
gone out of the Government service
or have been sobered by the way the
experiments have worked in practice.
Then there Is the fact that the task
of making plans work out in practice
is far less dramatic and inspiring
than the task simply of making plans
and predictions.
Remaining enthusiasm among orig
inal New Dealers is reserved for the
new S4,880, ,000, 900 work program, and
that enthusiasm is not great. 1t may
be stimulated by Mr.. Roosevelt. who
now must undertake the job of cheer
leader as well as quarterback on his
recovery team.
In the N. r. A. the morale of
workers and of officials largely has
been destroyed by the uncertainties
and the evidence of code collapse.
Present strategy is to keep the blue
eagle alive in an oxygen tent until
Congress can make up its mind about
its future. Even If saved, the blue
eagle can hardly become the bird
that it once was.
The tenor of A. A. A. has been
changed by the purge of left-wingers.
But of all the alphabetical organiza-
tions, this one and F. e. r. A., which
cares for the unemployed, maintain
the best esprit de corps. Even Henry
Wallace regards the farm adjustment
program merely as an emergency pro-
gram, but as such it is continuing to
provide results. However, sharpshoot-
ing by Congressman has unnerved
some Of the officials.
T. v. A., once a crusade to remake
a whole section of the country, has
had its wind knocked out in the
courts. Much of the glamour is going
out of this experiment under the
stress Of competition.
F. E. r. A. continues to care for
millions of people, but the Presidents s
statement that the Federal Govern
ment is going to get out of the busi-
ness of relief has caused workers to
wonder about their jobs.
Among P. w. A. workers, morale is
far from high. With billions to spend,
results from this pump -priming Or
ganization have been rneager enough
to cause it to take a secondary place
in the new spending program. Pump
printing" has ceased to be an ac-
cepted phrase in the New Deal.
AS a result, both in Congress and
in the Executive departments of the
Government. bewilderment has re-
placed certainty and there Is a yearn-
ing for the good old days when life
was more simple, and government
more stable.
tcopyright. 19359