The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1937-12-09

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see no reason why the federal gov.
eminent should not encourage
rather than discourage such thing
It is the conviction Of a very great
many an increasing number Of PEG.
pie that the federal government L
messing too much into business.
j But aside from that phase. There
are number of things happening
that are difficult to understand Al
q time when business is sliding of
like q SNOWFALL going down hill, the
President steps out and orders an
investigation by the federal trade
commission into "high prices" The
inquiry, of course, is directed at
monopoly. I have no doubt at all
that there will be blast from some
government official pretty soon in
which "big business" again will be
told it is crushing the "little fellow
and that the public is suffering from
the high prices maintained by q
trust" There may be even a fire
side chat because a Presidents voice
penetrates everywhere.
AT time, too, when the prices
of bonds and shares of corporation
stock are sinking like they have
double pneumonia, out burst Chair
man Dougles of the securities and
exchange commission with small
cargo of dynamite about crooked
dealings underneath the stock ex-
changes of the country. Fortunate
ly for the hundred of thousands Of
small investors, the stock exchange
quotations did not fall much further
as result Of Mr.. Douglas learned
remarks. The prices already had
fallen below the knees. But the
Douglas statement certainly gave
no confidence to those who were be-
ginning to believe that congress
would try to undo some Of the
wrongs previously done.
just about the same time and
during frequent appeals from the
senator's and representatives that
the tax laws had to be overhauled,
the President sent report to con-
gress. It was a report by the New
York Power authority, charging the
power interests with some weird
mis-doings. happen to know some |
of the folks on the staff of the pow
er authority and I feel that they
know just about as much about the
power problem as do-which is to
say they are pretty dumb about the
situation. OF course, those alleged
economists have brilliant ideas about
reforming America, and I am dumb
about that, too.
Further: While this power author
ity report was being emplazoned up
on the front pages of newspapers,
President Roosevelt was holding long
conferences with Wendell Wilkie
and Fred Carlisle, who personalize
the power trust" If there be a
power trust. Mr.. Roosevelt was
talking with those men in an effort
TO get the large power interests to
go ahead with construction and ex-
pansion programs to provide work
for unemployed.
Different Picture
The political strategy of blaming
everything on "big business" work.
ed well for time, just as the old
demagoguery about "Wall Street"
used to inflame thousands when a
politician Grated and slapped his
legs with widely swinging arms. But
the picture is different now. The at
tack on business has become mill
stone on business and it has crush
ed little as well as big-and since
there are so many more smaller
ones than there are trusts and mo-
noplies, members of congress are
hearing about it from men whom
they went to school with at home.
But what is to be done? Let con-
gress repeal about five hundred laws
that force business to pay more for
the privilege of doing business than
It gets out Of its whole volume; re-
duce or revise the direct taxes and
bring the thousand and one items Of
tax out in the open so the people
can see and know what they are
paying; cut out forty or fifty of the
silly experiments that were worked
up by the coterie of individuals who
are constantly feeding Mr.. Roose-
velt half-baked and cock-eyed
schemes for spending money and
thereby reduce the federal expenses
these and many more of honest
purpose can be done. II they are
done, business again can employ
workers and as it employs workers,
they come off of the relief rolls.
and as they get wages, they buy.
This means profits and profits mean
tax receipts by the treasures Of
state and nation.