Evening star., 1937-12-23
Roosevelt Shows Mood
Overtone Of Derision Marks His Remarks About
Utilities in Conference.

business man. Mr.. Roosevelt asked
the same questions and got the same
replies. Then Mr.. Roosevelt mada the
same suggestion If Mr.. Roosevelt
would get Is minutes en- the Yankee
radio network, would the business man
state publicly that he believed in q
wage and hour lAw2 The business
man said oh, no, he was afraid Of his
business associates.
From all OF which the deduction
implied by Mr.. Roosevelt was that it
is not government that business Is
scared about. What frightens busi-
ness, believe it or not. is business itself.
If that sounds little cockeyed to you,
reader, so it does to some of the rest
Of US. Here again one should add
that some business men are as reac-
tionary as Mr.. Roosevelt says they are.
Some OF them have not, even yet.
been licked as thoroughly A. they need
to business is not that of disciplining
the bad, 1t is that Of crucifying all
Indeed the whole Of the New Deal
attitude ID one that, II carried out
fully. would make privately owned
business impossible In the United
States, with greater certainty of death
to small business than to big. To
make privately owned business impos-
sible is--so Gen. Hugh johnson says,
and SO one cannot help suspecting-
the concealed purpose of certain OF Mr..
Roosevelts intimates upon whose Ad-
vice he most often acts. who are most
successful In working the President
up to belligerent moods.
Then Mr.. Roosevelt got around to
the newspapers. 1t Ia the newspapers.
he said. that are fostering fear. He
asked the correspondents to put that
down. One Of the correspondents,
Mr. James L. Wright Of the Buffalo
News. in a spirit Of sheer seeking for
information. asked. What do you
think the newspapers have to gain
by fostering fear?" That. Mr.. Roose-
welt replied, is what he has been
wondering.
Papers Dislike Pessimistic News.
In that presidential wonderment
many Of us share. In my experience,
the thing that newspapers most dis
like to print Is any news that would
disturb business confidence. News
papers live largely upon advertising.
and at any shock to business conf
dence advertising shrivels. II I were
making an indictment OF newspapers.
one of the main points would be their
undue disposition to radiate optimism
about business.
If one were to put Mr. Roosevelt's
attitude, the atmosphere he creates,
into the form Of a wholly imaginary
statement coming from him, one
might imagine him saying. Here you,
business, I want the scoundrels to
have confidence in me, and I want
you to have 1t p. d. g. If you don't
place confidence in me and DO 1t
quickly. It'll take you by the seat Of
the pants and whirl you until I snap
your internal heads of your internal
necks." And you might imagine him
adding, And that goes for you news
papers, too: come across here with
some confidence; I want some love
and affection out of you fellows and
If don't get 1t III show you some-
thing"
l have observed, in the movies
occasionally. lovers who say to their
ladies. Love me. darling. or III beat
you up" In the movies that cave
man tactic sometimes seems to work.
But cannot help doubling its faith
fulneSs to actual life
(Copyrisht, 1879