Evening star., 1935-05-12
Three Kinds of New Deal Trouble
Are Now Besetting the President

secretary OF state. Mr.. Peek Keeps
taking potshots at Mr.. Hulls thesis
that recovery lies in the direction Of
tariff adjustments and revival of nor
NAL trade relations with the remain
der of the world. This situation has
approached the official embarrassment
stage. However, President Roosevelt
thus far is standing with Secretary
Hull.
There Is a Donald Richberg-Labor
Board row that strikes down deep, but
it is relegated to the background by
the doubt over the future Of N. r. A.
and its labor section. None of the
present troubles quite compares with
that which grew out of the break be-
tween Mr.. Richberg and Gen. Hugh
johnson prior to the generals retire.
ment from the New Deal
But the problem of keeping his
major actors in line Is one that taxes
Mr.. Roosevelt's ingenuity. Even when
he manages to iron out personal trou-
bles, there are other troubles Of more
acute importance to tax his resource
fulness.
A glance down the list of leading
alphabetical agencies discloses the fol-
lowing:
T. v. A.. seeking to remake the
economy Of the Tennessee Valley,
checked In its ambitious electric power
development plans by court decisions
The result Is the prospect of a book
loss this year where profit had been
counted on. Also, communities that
had turned to municipal power dis
tribution were stopped. Months must
elapse before the Supreme Court con-
siders this situation
N. r. A., shorn of much of its
power by decisions of lower court
judges. They questioned the right of
the Federal Government to step across
State lines to regulate business. An
early Supreme Court decision may
clear up the scope Of central Govern
ment power
A. A. A., in trouble with the mar
keting agreement part of its farm
program. Again courts have held that
the Federal Government cannot ex-
tend its powers to regulate all phases
Of marketing. The Supreme Court
has yet to decide whether processing
taxes, on which crop-co control plans are
based, are within the Constitution.
N. L. r. B., hamstrung as an agency
to regulate labor relations, owing to
court decisions limiting the Federal
power.
Old-age pensions and unemploy-
ment insurance, in doubt because of
Supreme Court decision holding
that Congress was without power to
order old-age pensions for railroad
employees.
Narrowed down, the issue between
the New Deal and the courts is
whether this country has ceased to
be a federation Of sovereign States
and now is single Nation, with the
States playing less and less a part.
The Constitution stands in the way
Of many actions by the central Gov
ernment.
Dynamite is tied up in that rather
uninteresting subject of constitutional
law. But Just as much dynamite is
tied up in some plans with which
Congress is toying. President Roose-
welt finds that his congressional
troubles grow with time. He Is hav-
ing to use more and more Of his
energy to keep the legislators ION
the reservation"
The vote on the plan to pay ST.
200,000,000 Of bonus debts in newly
printed greenbacks Is sample.
Treasury officials are convinced that
the only immediate effect Of distri-
button of that amount Of new money
would be to create that much new
spending. and to add about two bill
lion dollars to bank reserves that
already are huge.
But, II money can be printed to pay
veterans, 1t can be printed to pay of
farm mortgages Regular committees
in both houses Of Congress have
recommended that $4,000, 100000 be
printed for that purpose. And there
are depositors In closed banks who
want more billions. Then If money is
being given away, everybody In the
country Is going to want to get some.
When that time comes, the per-
sonal troubles and the court troubles
that now bother Mr.. Roosevelt may
be as nothing.
What the President Is striving to
do is to straighten out all the troubles
and see II the country can't work
quickly out Of the economic hole In
which 1t continues to find itself. His
biggest trouble. so some Of his ad-
visers think. may be the task OF
curbing Congress In its urge to forget
all the alphabetical New Deal efforts
to escape tho depression and turn
on the printing presses % Q suppos-
edly quick way out.
(copyrisht 1850