Evening star., 1935-01-20
BUSINESS IS GIVEN
VOICE IN AFFAIRS.
New Advisory CounciPs
Weight, However, Remains
to Be Demonstrated.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

BY DAVID LAWnENCE.
On paper the Roosevelt aomlnlStla-
tion has just granted to business lts
principal demand-an opportunity TO
be heard on all legislation af1ectlng
the economic structure.
Whether the plan will amount 10
anything more than friendly gesture
remains to be seen. but the slgnln-
canoe of the step cannot be overlooked.
What Secretary Daniel Roper mas
established is busines advisory coun-
Gil of So leaders of American business
and finance. He does not promise or
pledge that the administration Will
accept their recommendations, but
that it will at least hear them and
consider all proposals and comments
on their merits.
DEPARTMENT Most Concerned.
Roper, ;as the head of the Depart
ment of Commerce, was the loglcai
man to call for the formation OF such
a council because his department is
most concerned with the enlargement
of domestic as we'll as foreign markets
for the American producer, distributor
and retailer.
One of the principal reasons Tor the
American Liberty League movement
was that business felt it was not
getting a fair deal under the N. Il. A.
and particularly in the operation OF
the codes and that legislation OF a
destructive character, like the securl-
ties act, for example, would be put
through without proper conslderatoh
of all the factors involved.
Today the administration mas
granted business voice in Govern
ment through the newly formed ad-
visory council. This institution is not
new, but it is presumably about TO
function.
Expressions Discounted.
The theory back of it is that the
administration will not rush into legls-
lative or regulatory proposals without
hearing for business. Heretofore,
the comments of business men have
been issued largely through various
trade associations or through manu-
facturers' organizations or the cham
bers of commerce. The very fact that
business expressed itself this way
often led to a discountlng IN advance
Of its comments as wholly antagonlstlc
to the New Deal or to social reform OF
all kinds.
Even the conference held at White
Sulphur Springs, in which business
leaders tried earnestly to draft pro-
gram of cooperation with the ad-
ministration, was received with sar-
castle comments by various members
of the Government here,
Now if the Business Advisory Coun-
Gil has anything to say it will say 1t
formally and Informally to the Secre-
tary of Commerce, through whom it
will be presented at the cabinet meet
ing in much the same way that the
Secretary of Labor, for example, pre-
sents the views of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor or other interested
groups.
But how much influence will Mr..
Roper carry at the cabinet table?
What assurance is there, after he has
given considerable time and energy
to an understanding of the points
raised by business, that the President
will agree with the Secretary Of Com
merce?
Business probably will make every
effort to cooperate with Roper and
his department aides, hoping and
trusting that objections to legislation
that business sincerely believes will
retard or delay recovery will find
Judgement in his mind and in the
Presidents as we'll The period that
such policy of friendly contact will
be maintained depends entirely on
how the President treats the recon-
mendations and suggestions made.
Cooperation Lukewarm.
In a sense the Roper advisory
council Is the answer to the queries
Of business as to what they should
do to cooperate with the Govern
ment Mr.. Roosevelt in his Septem-
Der 30 speech indicated his broad
desire for cooperation and business
responded favorably, but subsequent
events, especially the attacks on pri-
vate ownership Of utilities and on the
whole profit-and-loss system, have
made business lukewarm about fur
ther efforts at cooperation.
The Roper council is, therefore, an
other step to win the active interest
and cooperation of business. But
unless the President pays heed to
some OF the practical comments on
various legislative proposals that come
to him from the business elements
which are supposed to make them
work, there will be further discour-
agement and inaction.
To Mr.. Rcper's credit be 1t said
that he has striven uninterruptedly
to bring about better understanding
between the Roosevelt administration
and the leaders of business and
finance, and that just now his efforts
are being appreciated both inside and
outside the White House.