Evening star., 1936-11-27


ing to find out from the business men |
who come and go here what the future |
holds. Do they believe now in a con-
trolled economy, when they fought 1t |
so vehemently before election? DO |
they acquiesce in the plan to revive the |
N. r. A. and do they accept the pro-
posal for Federal licensing system or |
Federal incorporation Of businesses?
The answers are not yet forthcoming |
because the truth is most of the busi- |
ness men with whom have talked are |
waiting for President Roosevelt's mes
sage to Congress and his second in
augural address to learn the direction |
which public affairs will take.
Definition Need Seen.
Meanwhile. it is pertinent to ask
what do business men want. I asked
Alfred p. Sloan. jr, president of Cen
eral Motors Corp, that question the |
other day.
What business wants most and |
needs most" he answered, "is defini-
ton. Whatever the merits of the laws |
may be, business men want to be |
governed by specific statements in !
those laws The moment Government |
becomes a matter of discretionary |
activity, wherein bureaucracy can
make the laws, then there is an inter-
ference with management. And when |
management is taken over in large
part by Government. there is an end
to private initiative and Government
ownership is the inevitable result"
Sloan stated the point more sue
cinctly than have heard it from any
business man recently, but I sense a
growing opinion everywhere in favor
Of defining what business can and
cannot do and leaving it to Congress
as the lawmaking body to do the work
Of definition instead of delegating it
to commissions and bureaus to define.
It was this latter kind of thing to
which Justice Cardozo in his famous
concurring opinion In the Schechter
N. r. A. case referred as delegation
run riot"
Broad Purposes Approved.
It would not be surprising if the |
functional side Of government became |
more and more a matter of debate |
rather than the economic considera-
tions or even the social justice obliga-
tions that are being interpreted as
arising out of the mandate" given |
the President in the recent election.
Take the broad objectives of the ad-
ministration. I do not find serious |
dissent among business men, es-
pecially of the liberal school, with |
the broad purposes of the Roosevelt
program. Nor Is this just an after
the-election bandwagon spirit on their
part. Look, for instance. at the ad-
dress delivered by Sloan before the
Boston Chamber of Commerce on
April 26. 1884. In 1t will be found
declaration in favor Of giving the
Chief Executive power to negotiate
reciprocity agreements with foreign
nations. In it, too, will be found these
significant paragraphs:
mo reasonable individual can dis
agree over the desirability of min
imum wage, Of restrictions as to child
labor Of a gradual reduction In the
hours Of Labor reduction on an
economic basis and coincident with
the decline in the cost of production.
On the other hand, arbitrary reduc-
tions are unsound. for, even If accom-
panied with a corresponding increase
In the wage rate. while providing more
Jobs at the moment, they must bring
. reduction in the purchasing power
Of the individual worker.
Should Increase Consumption.
''To expand the total amount of
employment, we should increase the
spread between the necessities of life
and the income to enable the indi-
Ndual to purchase and consume more
of all that is essential to the Amer
lean standard of living. Entirely
aside from the economic phases of
this question, the fact remains that
the American worker in most indus
tries is no longer concerned with an
important reduction in hours. He is
concerned with an opportunity to
work q reasonable number of hours
at q fair and equitable rate in order
to be able to buy those things which
he has found to be necessary to we'll
being. This is particularly essential in
industries having . wide seasonal
ductuation.
II have little patience with the