, 1935-02-13
The World
At Glance
BY LESLIE EICHEL
Central Press Staff WRITER

NAW AOAeAAE @GGs To- WAA1C LAX
Roosevelt administration commits
itself to upholding the profit motive
IN business, It Is putting through
bills that make the government the
center OF business. Both through
active participation and the contro.
and manipulation OF credit.
In other words, the emergency
CT business continues. Private profit
Is to be foStered when il is Strone
enough-but when business cannot
carry 1t through, then the govern
ment enters business.
That. Of course. has been the
theory throughout the last few years
Of the depression.
But the question arises in mems
minds, ar the government stop al
a given line, and, say. beyond 1t shall
not 60?
Can 1t virtually manufacture
billions in credit, a 1t undertake
vast public WORKS, can 1t rehabilitate
the railroads, can ii build houses
90 into the mortgage business, be-
come the largest stakeholder In
some insurance companies, in some
banks and make loans TO industry
that virtually gives 1t control-and
stop there?
Can the government generate
electricity from ~waterpoWer and not
enter coal mines TO generate elec-
tricity from coal power?
Con the government dictate the
management Of the railroads-and
then let buses, steamships and
barge lines. and airplaneS run wild
in competition?
Can the government dictate the
the price Of meat on the hoof and
then have nothing to do with the
packing houses?
And suppose the government
builds SOME houses for a small
sum per house? How much chance
will q private builder have against
It?
And suppose the government eS-
tabllsheS a cooperative marketing
agency for some crops? How long
will 1t be until the government is
the only middle man?
All those questions are brought
up through a first-hand converse
tion in a large bank. Said the
banker:
I'm sorry We can't pay more
than 2 per cent interest now. The
government will not permit us to.
II desires TO defect all the money
TO government bonds. Anyway, our
surplus funds are piling upSand
that Is costly 70 u.s."
In brief, private capital remains
Stagnant-While government turn
over increases enormously. Much
the same Is true in England.
We seem 10 be entering a new
economic era sort Of in-between,
in which no one is satisfied. But out
OF this transition period something
Is certain TO develop that will be
different from what we have known.
In the meantime, bills being pass
ed by congress give the government
full power to 20 into virtually any
kind or business.
Some say il will lead 10 the
Fascist corporate state (Which lib
erals dread while others say II
will lead to a S~ocialized state
(Which business dreadS.) It proba-
bly, all depends on the government
in power, its wisdom and its integ-
rity in upholding democratic in
stitutions, in fostering democratic
ideals.
At any rate. the Roosevelt admin
istration asks: What else can be
done?"
The majority OF alternatives either
are fantastic or abSurdly ante
dated.
United States trade and that
means the standard OF living-is be-
ing damaged more and more by
tariff and exchange barriers.
The United States cannot. for eX-
ample, consume all the cotton OF al
the wheat that 1t produces-nor can
1t consume all the manufactured
products its factories can turn out.
Nor can foreign nations pay IN
money. for productS they buy.
Thus the administration Is draw
ing closer and closer TO barter-s
barking back 70 the primitive meth
DDS OF trade in order to break down
the barriers with which a civilized
world has shut itself up.
Actual starvation OF large masses
Of people in many countries could
result II the Strangulation OF trade
were to continue.