The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-11-09

HCClVlCy.
 It affects three basic indus tries:
 1. Home construction. The United States is well over B. 100000 houses behind normal housing construction.
 ?. Expansion by power cOm- panleS. These are about seven years behind in the construc. ton of new lines, poles wiring etc.
 3. New railroad equipment. The railroads also are far be- hind in moderniSation pro- grams.
 Weeks of study have convinced the president that these three hold the key to Q new business boom. Each has been In the doldrums since 1e30. Each could absorb several billion dollars of new construction, and the effect of such spending would reach into every corner of the nation. The question is how to start this economic flood-tide. Each in. dustry requires @ different set of principles. Housing
 Chief obstacle to home con- struction is the high cost of both materials and labor - especially labor.
 Experts assert that it lS lm- possible to get Q building boom started aS long as labor rates continue in the stratosphere. The average carpenter, mason, or plasterer puts in only twenty weeks of work Q year, but when he does work his wages are al- most prohlbltlve. &
 The solution proposed is an "annual wage" which while less per day, would assure year.round employment and c better total income.
 Under the NRA, General John son tried to persuade A. F. of L. building trade moguls to accept such formula, without success. Railroads
 Chief blame for Stagnation in railroad modernization rests on the Interstate Commerce Com mission.
 For Ave years lt has been fud.duddling around with car. Tier reorganization and ConsOll- dalton, but getting nowhere. Meanwhile many major roads, tied up in recelverShip and bankruptcy under Section 77B, have been unable to finance new improvements.
 Tn consequence, equipment has deteriorated to 6 point where billions are needed for railroad rejuvenation.
 If this financial log.jam could be broken, railroad replacementS would start at Q speed the coun- try never before has seen. How to do this has been 6 subject of varying debate, but one posSibil- fly is to repeal Section 77B, let- ting the roads go through the drastic, but speedy wrnger of forced bankruptcy.
 Power Companies
 Like the railroads, the power companies have fallen for behind in capital Improvements. Techni. clans estimate there Is seven years of back work to be done In planting new poles, stringing new lines.. The engineers are anxious to go ahead, but the money.bags mogub are holding back.
 Reason is political rather than economic. Those who con. trol the purse.strlngs are at dagger's.polnt with Roosevelt, say they cannot risk new con- struction while he is president. Otherwise they would spend . billion dollars . year.
 As c peace move to encourage utility replacementS, Roosevelt S seriously considering c inodifica- ton of the capital gains tax in . manner which specifically would tempt the utilities.
 Gate.C Crasher
 The story has been carefully guarded at the White House, but when BritainS famed author, H. c. Wells, called to lunch with the president he was given the bum's rush as c gate-crasher.
 It oil happened because Wells, for some unexplained reason, tried to enter the mansion through c servants' entrance, where he was promptly grabbed by Q guard. Wells in physical ap. pearance resembles Q provincial English grocer more than he does Q great literary figure.