The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-03-16
SOME FAIL, SOME SUCCEED

THREE years of New Deal experimentation have
Il demonstrated that the public is willing to give
any good idea run for its money, but that it is
quick to turn sour on an experiment when admins
traton of it is bungled That has been the fate of
many hopeful enterprises, notably subsistence home
stea6s and direct government housing.
Usually such failures can be traced to inexperi-
enced administrators, in control of more money than
they know how to handle and driven by an urge to
spend all of the money as quickly as possible This
is a bad combination, and leads inevitably to the
building up of topheavy bureaucracy which tangeS
itself up in red tape and confusion.
Those New Deal agencies which escape these pit
lalis-ano great many have-continue to enjoy
public support. And one by one they are being in
corporated into the permanent government establish
ment Thus the AAA, a good idea wisely admin
lstered, even overcame the setback of an adverse
Supreme Court decision BY contrast the NRA also
good idea, but not wisely administered was al
ready sagging against the ropes when the court
administered knockout
among the other New Deal experiments which
the public has taken to its bosom and for which it
Is willing to provide more money are the Civilian
Conservation Corps, which actually took boys off the
street corners and gave them useful employment in
the forests and parks and the plains and the soil
SSAASNAfoOioAA
on erosion control projects of demonstrable value
10 This list of agencies which Congress is trans-
lerrlng from temporary to permanent status will
soon be added the Rural Identification Admnistra-
tion Allotted at first $1O0OOO000 to spend in carry
Hie elecTlclty to American farms Morris L. Cooke
PluoenG REA administrator, turned back all excent
Cne lew millions which he could spend on sound self
1iquioaCihg projects. Knowing he had long wav
W Color only about one out OF 10 American farm
MONIES are electrified whereas the proportion in such
countries as France and Germany is about nine out
of Observation-Disclosures Cooke moved cautiorslv For
months he made aliotments whatever. But his
work has gathered momentum recently and alreadv
ne has approved loans and alotments for loans
totaing $8,144862 which have brought or are in the
process of bringing electricity to $4,000 farm homes
And private utilities have been stirred into COMPETE
tive enterprise, to the extent that last year the num-
Der of farm homes electrified almost three times
the number in the previous year.
And, of great Importance to a governments which
needs to husband its resources the loans are made
on sound plan which provides for amortization
over 25-year period. And thus it is contemplated
that every cent lent, plus per cent interest
about what it costs the government to borrow money
will come back into the Treasury
Reward for this success comes in the form If
the Norris-Rayburn bill, already passed by the SEN
ate and soon to be passed by the House, authoriz-
ing the REA to increase its loans, over the next 10
years, to total of $42o.oOOO0o.
That's not remaking the map of America over
night. But it's technique that will accomplish
in the long run.