Evening star., 1937-11-19

DAVID Lawrence.
esident
Roosevelt might have been able to pun
all the discordant factions together
If he had started earlier. But the
leadership of America for the pres
ent economic emergency has not yet
been developed. Maybe it will be
found in the attitude of an nde-
pendent group in both houses of Con-
gress.
Letter From Manufacturer.
But there is no use blinking at the
facts. Labor has assumed an extreme
position and the administration, While
outspoken heretofore in scolding busl-
ness, has not lifted finger to orlng
about peace in the labor world. Here
is letter from a small manufacturer
in the Middle West which tells OF the
dangers in the present labor sltuatlon'
Efficiency in production cannot be
obtained when dlSSenslon amongst
groups of employees is constant. You
will note that / do not say between
management and employees. The Sit
uation is far more serious than
break between management and en-
ploves, for the simple reason that en-
ploves, who l believe are in great ma
toritv. resent the intimidation which
has been going on, but who dare not
speak because they have no spokesman
or government or newspaper body be-
hind them.
MANAGEMENT must have non-frlc-
ton between employees and attention
to work. Otherwise goods cannot be
produced at reasonable cost regardless
of whether wages are high or low
This condition obtains in plants which
have no open labor trouble as well
as in those where labor trouble is
open"
Cause of Present Unrest.
President Roosevelt's failure to deal
impartially and aggressively with the
labor situation is one OF the causes
of the present unrest. Nobody who
Is fair about it wants him to do any,
thing to interfere in the slightest
with the rights of labor to organize
and bargain without interference from
any employers, but everybody who is
fair about it does want him to see
that labor is free from intimlda-
ton and abuses of organizers who prey
on workmen with the full and frank
approval of governmental agencies.
Conditions abroad finally got to the
point where restrictive legislation had
to be adopted. No new legislation is
really needed in America, but an i'm
partial enforcement of the legislation
already passed is necessary. If Mr..
Roosevelt were to take steps in this
direction he would do more to instill
confidence in his policies among busi-
ness men than a dozen messages to
Congress with words of reinsurance in
them.
Business men on the other hand
who are skeptical about the admins
tration's sincerity in its expressed de-
sire to help business can, unhapplly
enough, point to evidence of what has
happened before with public pro-
nouncements designed to encourage
business. Take, for instance, this ex-
cerpt from the famous breathing
spell" letter written by the President
to Roy W. Howard on September 2,
1895:
This administration came into
power pledged to very considerable
legislative program. 1t found the con-
dition of the country such as to require
drastic and far-reaching action.
DUTY and necessity required us to
move on a broad front for more than
two years. 1t seemed to the Congress
and to me better to achieve these OBJ
jectives as eXpeditiously as possible in
order that not only business, but the
public generally might know of those
notifications in the conditions and
rules of economic enterprise which
were involved in our program.
This basic program, however, has
now reached substantial completion
and the breathing spell of which you
speak is here-very decidedly So
"Vicious" Tax Plan.
Then what happened? The Congress
which adjourned in June, 1886, had
thrust upon it the most vicious tax
plan in the history of America-the
undistributed surplus tax. Far from
being able to understand the rules, the
tax made companies guess at divi-
dends and guess at the value of inven-
tories and made a hollow mockery of
the idea of saving surpluses for rainy
days.
After that breathing spell" letter
less than year passed before the
President was calling American busi-
ness men economic royalists" and on
October 81, 1886, he was speaking as
follows:
II should like to have it said of my
first administration that in it the
forces of self1shness and Of lust of
power met their match. should like
to have it said of my second admins
tration that in it these forces met
their master"
How in the face of the record of
such contra dictions between assurance
and antagonism there can be faith in
administration promises today to help
business is the dilemma of the hour,
and yet such faith must be built up If
the new business recession is to be
overcome. The President produced the
apprehensions and he alone can re-
move them. He can approve the vari-
Gus constructive plans for tax revision
that are pending on Capitol Hill and
give the word to go ahead in the pres
ent session. He still has a substantial
majority in Congress ready to follow
his wishes. Deeds today will count
more in bringing assurance to business
and re-creating employment than all
the debates in Congress, optimistic
messages from the President or his
Spokesmen. The time has come for
action by democracy to prove it can
discipline itself voluntarily and with
out the coercing tactics of q Fascist
dictatorship.
(copyriEht, 1879