Evening star., 1935-08-25
WISCONSIN NEW DEALERS
SEEN READY TO WEAKEN
Gov. La Follotte Hints at Turn Toward
Goals Traditionally Linked With Re.
publicanism, With Reasonable Curbs.


plications bigger than any one can
administer. That means we must
give economic tndividualism some
thing 1t hasn't had for q good many
decades fair chance.
"I like to put it this way. It's q
pretty strong-sounding paradox, but
business requires Just so much regu-
lation from government as will per-
NIT the individual or individualistic
group Of small capital or technical re-
sources to engage independently In
business on a scale that will insure
eficient management and TO conduct
that business profitably. Government
in Wisconsin doesn't want to admin
lister private business, and I don't
think government anywhere In the
United States should. What We are
trying to do here is make any cor
poration or industry. no matter how
big or little 1t Is so long as it is EN-
GENTLY run, feel safe and inde-
pendent In Wisconsin and give it q
fair chance to survive"
Whats the prescription" the Gov
ernor was asked.
Corporate Regulation.
Sensible corporate regulation. OF
course" he replied. I'VE pioneered
more than 80 years ago In Wiscon-
sin In laws that would give the breaks
to the honest and efficient corporation
rather than to the other kind.
believe we have kept pretty well up TO
date in it.
But more important than any
thing else is the kind of q distribu-
ton of wealth and income that keeps
the economic life of population re-
yolving. We've got to have money
constantly spent in Wisconsin. men
constantly hired in Wisconsin, or
it wouldn't revolve fast enough. Then
we would come to one of those pain
full stoppageS in which so many
thousands of the small individuallstic
business enterprises Of the sort we
believe in here regularly perish.
well, we don't propose to see them
perish in Wisconsin. We propose to
keep things revolving. as well as we
know how, instead. To do it we use
income taxes-other taxes on wealth,
of course; but income taxes especially.
We've got high income taxes here,
and we admit it. In some brackets
they have been higher even than the
Federal income taxes. What is more,
we have learned how to tax income
from dividends and even from slick
little family corporations. The State
of Wisconsin gets what is coming 10
it, which Is one Of the reasons good
many financially important people IN
this State"-and the 38-year-old Gov
ernor grinned boyishly-'hate every
bone in my body.
But the reason for having high
income taxes is, if my pet enemies
only knew it, a sound, constructive,
conservative economic reason. we
have them, not to take anybody s
money away from him for the fun OF
it. but to keep income and wealth In
Wisconsin constantly circulating. We
don't propose that any corporations
or financial groups in Wisconsin, sim
| ply by the natural accretion Of
! wealth, shall have it in their power
to shut of purchasing power the mo-
ment a period Of economic distress
overtakes the Nation and starve ef-
ficiently managed small business en-
terprises out"
"Saying Small Business Man.
"Wasn't saving the small business
man the main aim Of the original
Progressive in your fathers time
30 years ago?" the Governor was
asked.
You bet it was" Governor La Fol-
lette almost shouted. THE old In
surgent Republicans thought Of their
movement as a moral crusade. They
didn't bother their heads much about
economic planning. All the same
they had sounder fundamental eco
nomics for the 1905 than most
people realize. We have had to devise
new methods for protecting indi-
vidualism for these times. Of course
But the main object is still to pro-
tect it."
The fate of the celebrated wis
consin plan" apparently has stirred
up no regrets on the score of damage
done to the Roosevelt program. Gov
ernor La Toilette speaks of hi
defeat philosophically as one Of th'
fortunes of political warfare, whilt
among his close political advisers are
some who are almost jubilant. Los:
of the plan" they insist, besides
giving the La Follettes an excuse fol
anything that may be unfortunate
in w. P. A. developments. saves them
from an excessive bond with the ad'
ministration.
The Progressive party itself is re-
garded even by some of its own lead
ers more as a local convenience thar
as germ culture for National thirc
party. 1T is the kind of party
the La Follettes always will have tt
invent when the Democratic party
gets progressive enough in the Natior
to give the Republicans a real f1ght
in Wisconsin" a veteran newspaper
observer in Madison described it..
How actively Phil" and Bob" La
Toilette are scouting for the fork oi
the New Deal highway that leads bach
into the progressive Republican fold
remains, Of course, a matter Of deer
political secrecy. But when phil
La Toilette was asked If he didn't
consider his ideas closely akin tc
those of some of the New York State
young Republicans, he smiled and re-
piled: IT know a lot of those New
York State Republicans mighty WELL"