Evening star., 1937-04-12

other policies are
contemplated.
incidentally,
grim joke is being played on the
American people by the politicians.
spokesmen that one mans vote on
the Supreme Court controls their
destiny, that all economic and social
progress is held up until the odd
man." as Secretary Ickes calls him,
makes up his mind which way to
switch the rulings of the Supreme
Court. This can readily be disputed
for, when there's close decision, five
men make the courts ruling-not just
one.
White House Rule.
Actually, however, the one man
who does control Americas economic
destiny and on the making up of whose
mind everything depends is the occu-
pant of the White House. For one
man government is no longer a mat
ter of dispute or theoretical discus
sion, it is here. Through various
legislative enactments and broad
powers vested in the presidency by
Congress, and presumably ratified at
the polls last November, it now can
be demonstrated that:
l. One man controls the credit of
the Nation. Method: BY his au-
thority to keep on spending and
taxing
2. One man controls the interest
rates. Method: New banking laws
and control of huge stabilization and
trust funds to influence market
prices of bonds, all headed up to
White House.
8. One man controls the price of
goods. Method: BY increase or de-
crease in heavy goods purchases by
Government itself and through Robi-
son-Patman act by regulating
quantity discounts and price relation
ships in consumer goods, all con-
troled directly or indirectly by the
President.
Wages Controlled.
4. One man controls the wages
that shall be paid labor. Method:
Full governmental power and in
fluenoe behind collective group de-
mands and tacit approval by White
House of "sit-down" strike technique
of attaining economic power by GER
tain types Of labor organizations.
5. One man controls the quantity
Of crops that shall be produced
Method: Soil conservation laws and
subsidies paid to farmers.
6. One man determines what laws
the Congress shall pass or reject.
Method: Billions of dollars of re-
lief funds. patronage of political
Offices, and other favors needed by
individual members of Congress to
assure their denomination and re-
election.
And now one man is about to ac-
qulre from Congress the power to tell
the judicial branch of the Govern
ment what laws the justices are to be
permitted to declare valid or invalid. |
Method: Bill to pack Supreme Court |
for which the administration claims |
enough votes to enact into law in a
few weeks.
People May Check Power.
The President, whether he be Mr.. |
Roosevelt or anybody else, will con-
tinue to be aIl-powerful until such
time as the American people make |
up their minds that one-man gov
eminent is not to their benefit and |
that three branch system of gov
ernment should be restored.
For all practical purposes, there
fore, unless there is a revolt on the
part of voters who understand the
implications of what is going on, the
present cycle will run its course. The
present cycle may run several years
yet.
The only checks upon it other than
q voters rebellion will be such eco
nomic impediments as may arise to
bring home the true meaning of a
one-nan era.
For the immsdiate future, business
will continue good in a broad sense
because the experiments of one-man
control cannot possibly reach down
into the whole economic system over
night nor can they stop the natural
restorative processes that are in oper-
alton today as machinery and other
shortages due to long years of de-
preston have to be made up. There
are, of course, danger signals on the
horizon today just as there were in
1927 and 1928, signals that meant un-
toward happenings two or three years
beyond, but not the next month.
Thus, the long-range situation may be
cloudy, but the short-range situation
will have a bright external appear
snce for two or possibly three years.
Long Range Trouble.
The condition of the Federal budg-
ct is a signal of trouble visible at
long range. The Shutdown" strikes
are likewise symptoms of long-range
difficulties. At the moment as the
Government by its own policies forces
labor costs upward, prices are running
ahead faster than wages. This
means eventual hardship for the
wage Garner, but it will not be felt
in all items of the household in
terms of voters resentment for an
other couple years or more.
AS for security values, bonds are
directly related in their prices to what
the Government does. Government
bonds are at the moment fiuctuating
somewhat, but in a few days re-
assuring statement will be made on
the budgetary situation, doubtless an
announcement of some curtailments
in expense, which however slight, will
pe received with considerable optimism.
The public is still in mood to accept
paper promises as to budget financing
even though already it is apparent
the Government experts are wrong in
their estimates of tax receipts.
The biggest item on the Government
calendar is price control. Slowly our
one-man government is turning
toward 1t. Price control takes a lpg