Evening star., 1937-12-30

Instead OF CO.
operation to bring back jobs to those
out If work, instead Of bringing back
confidence and an increase in wages
and pay rolls, it ..nplies a period of
polemics and bitterness-the very
worst thing that could possibly hap
pen in a democracy struggling to keep
its freedom from Fascist influences.
It would be easy to dismiss the
speeches of Robert H Jackson. Assist
ant Attorney General as merely the
outspoken bid Of ambitious man 70
win the Democratic and American
Labor nomination fer Governor of the
State Of New York next year, thus
paving the way for a presidential
nomination in 1910. 1t would be
relatively simple to say tina other
men have climbed to political fame
and prominence by just such tactics.
While one may disagree with Mr..
Jackson's view. there is nothing wrong
at all with his publicity technique
and many a man-Republican and
Democrat-has used his public office
as springboard for political cam
paigning.
But when one finishes reading and
explaining the motive of the Jackson
speeches. it doesn' answer the ques-
= tion of why Secretary Ickes should be
preparing to make a speech attacking
the business men of the country.
Rumors on Ickes Talk.
After all. Mr.. Ickes sits at the
cabinet table of the President of the
United States. For several days now
the whispering columns which reflect
New Deal purposes and left wing"
conspiraciec have been saying that
>Mr. Ickes was about to deliver bitter
speech denunciatory Of business.
Presumably the President knew this
IN advance, too. Important speeches
are rarely made by more than one
official in the administration without
the knowledge of the boss. There are
rumors that Secretary Wallace and
Gov. Eccles of the Federal Reserve
Board counseled against the move,
saying the country was tired OF bick-
ering Incidentally, part of the tech
I,ique Of the left wingers" is to carry
on sniping campaign through favor
ite channels against men in the
cabinet or important Government
agencies who happen to breathe few
refreshing words of moderation INTO
the scene and seek to restrain their
overzealous colleagues.
Granting that Mr. Roosevelt knows
about all these speeches and under
cover campaigns, why does he allow
it? Either he feels it is good
thing to have discussion of various
points Of view or he is becoming rec
onciled to the idea that with the
ending of his second term, new figures
and personalities must rise to take
political power in the Democratic
IN the scramble that is going on
among his aides for that 1910 nomi-
nation.
The Business Men.
Another report Is to the effect that
business men have failed recently to
meet the Presidents advances even
half way and that the irritated express
sions Of blame heaped upon the
administration for the present busi-
ness recession finally got on the nerves
of Mr.. Roosevelt and caused him TO
let his chief gunners let loose a few
barrages against those who were try
Ing to smear him with the onus of
the so-called Roosevelt depression
The whole situation appears to be
growing more fantastic and childish
every day. Two powerful forces
government and business-stand aloof
from one another calling names and
attaching blame. No progress Is made
toward constructive bridging OF the
gap and business conditions continue
every day to produce more and more
uneasiness. Is this not a condition
which may some day develop converts
to Fascism on the theory that disclp-
line by democratic methods is failing
to provide jobs for the unemployed?
The administration spokesmen rather
cleverly deny that they want any
Fascism. They attribute to big busi-
ness the true Fascistic complex. But
the truth is neither side wants Fas-
scism-each wants power. Business
men say they want less restriction by
government. The political govern
ment which controls the economic
system says 1t wants more restriction.
Back OF 1t all is a fight, lately called
controversy between monopoly and
=anti-monopoly, but actually a struggle
20 control the pricing system of the
country. The New Deal thinks big
business passed on wage costs and
added profits, and that customers re-
belled at the high prices and stopped
buying. Business spokesmen say the
administration started out in 1888
u, deliberately to force the price curve
upward till it might reach the 1926
level and then, when the rise was too
precipitate and q business recession
came, turned around and blamed busi-
ness TOR doing that which was one
OF the original New Deal objectives.
What Does the Public Think?
What will the average man think
and what will he do? He cannot fol-
low the intricacies Of blame shifting
and the Machiavellian art of creating
an abb. He can only face the fact
that economic conditions are worse
than they were, that the Roosevelt
administration has boldly in the last
few years assumed responsibility for
the welfare Of the citizenry and has
more power, financial. economic and
political, than ever was bestowed upon
any administration in the history OF
the United States. And still the un-
employment figures are growing and
business and values are declining. If
things are wrong, what does the ad-
ministration propose to do to put them
right? And what about those 531 men
in Congress who draw $4,000 a year
apiece for the Job of representing the
bewildered citizenry? Do they agree
that the way to produce confidence in