Evening star., 1937-01-10
NDIVIDUALISM RESTORED
BY REFORMS OF NEW DEAL
RESIGNATION of Roosevelt Advisers Indi.
Gates They Believe in Opportunities
in Private Business.

tions, but confident assertions OF ex-
isting fact-by many persons, some
having high leadership in various lines,
to the effect that capitalism was dead
To what extent was there, within
the Roosevelt administration, con-
scious intention to take America into
q new order? Some in the Govern
ment. some close to Mr.. Roosevelt,
hated the capitalist system, were de-
termined to get rid of 1t. They opposed
1t aggressively, even If not always
openly. Some were enamored of the
Russian experiment and eager to
duplicate 1t. with notifications. here.
Othere had an attitude which as
sumed that the old system was GER
tain to die; and that, therefore, there
was no harm in giving 1t kick. They
really felt they were doing a useful
service in pioneering toward the new.
There were others in the admin
Stration-and these were the ADLER
and more stable-who had different
view. They had no intention beyond
rescuing the individualist system
from its debacle, curing it, improving
it and sending 1t again on its way.
These were the ones who prevailed.
They were as devoted to the individual
ist system as anybody else, and more
intelligently devoted than many busi-
ness men who were supposed to be the
high priests of the system. They knew
that during the 1920's and before,
odious barnacles had attached them
selves to the capitalist system. They
knew that if capitalism were left free
to indulge in its own excesses, 1t would
bring about its own death. From these
came the New Deal legislation that
aimed merely to reform the old sys-
TEN, not to destroy it. These are the
reforms which. with notifications,
will remain. The innovations which
were designed to bring about a new
order will slough away. Some already
have.
We have moved beyond the point
where we need to apprehend any at
tempt to take America into a new
order by any direct, premeditated
process. The danger of lapse into one
Of the European experiments by that
means is past.
Danger Still Remains.
There still remains a danger. II
we should have imitation and If it
should be extreme enough it would
come to a climax in violent economic
dislocations. After that would come
collapse and depression. The process
would follow much the same lines as
the boom and collapse of 1929. But
such a development following period
of extreme imitation would be much
more calamitous than what happened
seven years ago. Extreme imitation,
to level of prices much higher and
more disorderly than in 1929. followed
by collapse from the height, would
depression of 1928-1933. 1t would mean
real chaos; and out Of that chaos
would come anew, and in a more
formidable way. the incentive for
abandonment of the capitalist system.
Shall We escape imitation? Probably.
I have written as if the restoration of
the capitalist system that has taken
place was the work Of intelligent in
dividuals. Largely it was. But much
more it was the work of the curative
processes Of nature. Yet more it was
fruit of qualities inherent in the
American people. These same quail
ties should save us from violent in
fiation.
1t is necessary to remember, of
course, that to some extent we do not
wholly control our own destiny. To
some degree We are at the mercy Of
what may happen in Europe. If in
Europe there should be a great war,
and whether we are drawn into it or
not, it would make imitation in Amer
lea difficult to avoid. The national
debt we have built up is not at all
beyond our power to bear. But If. on
top of this, We should be obliged to
do more borrowing on a large scale,
whether caused by war or otherwise;
if to our present national debt there
should now be added as much as We
borrowed to carry on in the Great
WARM that event we should have
extreme imitation most certainly.
In any event, the thing for the pru-
dent to watch during 1887 is imitation.
Along that line lies our most serious
danger; indeed, almost our only
danger, for in other respects America
is favored by many wholesome and
curative conditions which are at work
in rising volume.
Copyright. 1879