The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-03-30

 They had awaited the address with bated breath as an indica- ton of the peerless leaders frame of mind. What they specifically wanted to know was whether he was going to continue taking his base on balls, or was going to step to the plate and hit his way out of the current six months coma of inaction.
 So the fighting words at Gainesville popped them up enormously, and they are now hopeful that he will bestir him. self energetically regarding the recession.
 For a while the President is pondering the economic problem under the balmy skies of his Warm Springs retreat. But, daily it becomes clearer that unless the President acts with the old time Roosevelt vigor, he may spend his last two years in office as bitterly disliked as the ill., fatcd Herbert Hoover.
 People Expect Miracles
 The most important question asked by American business men today is: "Why doesn't Roosevelt do something to end the reces- sion?"
 Having won for himself the reputation of miracle man; and having been given greater power than any other peace-time Presi- dent, Roosevelt is paying the penalty.
 People remember the decisive way in which he acted during his first term. They have been especially reminded of this of late by reading his own descrip- ton of what he did in 1883 dur ing the bank holiday and un- employment crisis.
 Now they are wondering at the reason for the inactivity. And those who are doing the wonder ing, strangely enough, include some of the closest friends around him. They are just as mystified as his most caustic critics.
 They are mystified, and even more discouraged. One of them, member of the Securities and Exchange Commission and a staunch believer in stock market regulation, remarked:
 "When the Ship of State is listing, what difference does it make if the passengers in the first class cabin cheat at cards?" Roosevelt Mystery
 Various explanations are put forward by members of the Inner Circle for Roosevelt's six-months inactivity. Most of them are pure speculation, but they in- clude:
 HE is preoccupied with the sinister international situation.
 HE wanted Congress to. push
 him into spending more relief
 and emergency money.
 HE wanted business men also
 to push him.
 HE didn't want to begin a
 new spending program himself
 because it would be an admis-
 sion that the 1885 recovery was
 built on insecure foundation.
 HE didn't believe that the
 recession was going to be seri-
 ous, thought it would right it.
 self with a little breathing spell
 to business.
 With the exception Of the first, there is probably some truth in all of these reasons.
 There are, in addition, two other factors more complicated to explain but important none the less. One is the fact that this country has been operating on a spending program for years though we haven't always known it-and Roosevelt is now trying to balance the budget. The World War days were nothing but a huge spending spree, spending money which Europe was supposed to pay back, but never will. Then after the war came the era of lend- ing money to South America and Europe, money which was largely spent for goods right here in this country, and which never will be repaid. Right on the heels of this came the Coolidge Bull Market, wher people spent the paper margins which later vanished into thir air. Then came Roosevelt's spend ing program plus the bonus which shot the prosperity index to the skies.