Evening star., 1935-03-04

xdI S4C01S o6CA4SACS VI ShS = S30
eral Government had been reor-
ganized; the Civilian Conservation
Corps had been created to take
25O.OOO youths off the street cor
ners. give them useful work and
provide relief for their families;
and start had been made on farm
and blue-sky legislation. 1t was .
breath-taking month.
What was more. even under the
pressure of the grave crisis Gre
ated by the collapse Of the banks.
the Roosevelt Administration had
shown a disposition to carry out
the pledges Of the campaign. The
economy act was titled an act Ito
maintain public credit; it was no
secret that LEWIS w. DOUGLAS,
able and sincere young Director Of
the Budget. had a hand in drafting
the bill. The legislation was ac-
cepted as evidence OF the determi-
nation Of the Administration to
balance the budget, for it went
contrary to the interests Of two
groups commonly reckoned to have
a strong influence over Congress
the veterans and Federal en-
ployees. The consolidation of
farm-credit agencies, of trifling
importance in itself, was a token
of intention to make order out of
the sprawling bureaucracy Of
Washington. Modification of the
Volstead Act was pledged in the
Chicago platform; so were legis-
lation to help the farmers and leg.
islation to protect the investors Of
the nation. The CCC was an
instrument to carry out the pledge
for useful conservation work, al
well as a weapon against unem-
ployment.
Regardless Of the urgency Of the
banking crisis, it was evident even
then that the central problem of
the Roosevelt Administration was
that of unemployment. The Amer
lean Federation of Labor estimate
in March, 1883. put the number Of
idle at 13,6s9,000. There were
other estimates, putting the figure
higher or lower, but all the esti-
mates agreed in accenting the inn
portance of the problem. Thus the
key policy of the Roosevelt Admin
istration perforce became recov-
cry. The Civilian Conservation
Corps, as observed. was to take a
small bite out of the problem. The
Reconstruction Finance Corpora
ton, instrument of the Hoover Ad-
ministration, was made use of. A
major attack was made in the Ma
tional Industrial Recovery Act,
which sought to create employ
ment In two ways: by eliminating
child labor and sweat shops and by
reducing hours Of private indus
try. and by laying out public
works program that would give
employment to thousands. The
better part of the first objective
was reached by adoption of the
Presidents Unemployment Agree
ment, which established minimum
wages and maximum lours and
outlawed child labor and the sweat
shop. Where simplicity won, COM
plexity lost; the subsequent codes
for various industries brought
with them the inevitable chiseling
and dead cats Of which General
JOHNSON complained.
To what extent this, the major
recovery instrument of the Roose-
welt Administration, has been ef-
fective in giving work to the un-
employed is a moot question. In
his most recent message, asking
for extension of the life of the Blue
Eagle for two years from next
June Is, the President said that
NRA was the biggest factor in
putting 100000 men back to
work. To justify this estimate.
however, he had to argue that the
estimates of unemployment in the
spring and summer of 1888 were
far too low. Obviously estimates
of unemployment are not always
trustworthy, but the American
Federation Of Labor estimates.
whatever their accuracy, were at
least on the same basis in Novem-
ber last as in March, 1888, and
they showed q decline in unem-
ployment Of 2,ess,OO0 in the nine.
teen-month period.
Second in Importance only to the
National Industrial Recovery Act
as an instrument in recovery was
the Agricultural Adjustment Act.
AS the former was designed to pro-
mote recovery in the field of indus
try, so was the latter intended to
promote recovery among farmers.
whose depression began in 1921. It
was possible to argue that restora-
tion of the farm income to the
level of 1926 or to the level Of the
industrial worker would promote
recovery, for farmers who can buy
goods create jobs in factory. shop
and mill. The effect of the act
has been to reduce the production
Of agricultural commodities identi-
fled in the law as basic. to impose
q processing tax on these COM
modities and to reimburse the
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