The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1938-01-27

DS8 SsSOSS dudlrS In the leu.
Consulted eral government
..4- and the Roosevelt
administration. wish were pos
sessed Of sufficient wisdom to I'M
dertake an analysis Of them, as they
exist now, for it probably would be
helpful to all. But having no such
vast wisdom, I shall have to con-
tent myself with the service Of re.
porting on several circumstances Of
recent development and let it 60 at
that.
For several weeks now, we have
Witnessed a steady stream of call
ers at the White House. There have
been some labor leaders but mostly
the list Of callers whom the Presi.
dent invited were the greatest Of
American industrialists, the "eco-
nomic royalists" whom Mr.. Roose-
welt has so roundly denounced from
time to time, or whenever it served
political purposes to attack them
publicly. The purposes Of having
these men visit the President, as
announced at the White House, were
to consult and try to find ways and
means Of checking the current de-
preston.
AS I said, these White House Wis
itors were the very economic roy
alists'' whom Mr.. Roosevelt has at
tackled with such apparent satisfac-
ton throughout the last five years.
Indeed, among their number were
some of the sixty families" upon
whom Secretary Ickes of the Inte-
rior department, and Robert H.
Jackson, trust busting assistant at
torney general. have been heaping
abuse as the folks who control
America. Anyone who will take the
trouble to review the Presidents
speeches and the more recent bar
rage Of attacks by Messrs. Ickes
and Jackson cannot help wondering
if those men are crooks and if they
crush the common pee-pul," as
charged. why their advice can be
any good now.
Nextly, it is hard to understand
why or how anything is to be gained
by consulting with men of that type
in serious effort to solve the prob
lens Of the current depression and
set off dynamite under them at the
same time. That is what happened.
Mr.. Roosevelt announced with We
hemence at a press interview that
all holding companies must co."
They must be eliminated from
economic life and at
once; there can be no federation of
corporations that are organized to
hold the stock Of other corporations,
ETC., etc. He has taken a definite
position on that before as regards
power companies and drove a bill
through congress to eliminate them.
This time. he wants to 60 much
further. Which is proper. if that be
his policy. But here is the peculiar
thing. Two hours after he made
his announcement, he had a dozen
men in conference who represented
the very thing he was denouncing
and was seeking their advice. It
seems paradoxical, to say the least.
On top of these conferences that
have brought scores of prominent
industrial captains to Washington at
the Presidents invitation, there is
to be noted an entire absence Of any
administration action looking to re-
lease of business to do its part in
taking on unemployed workers. I
nave talked to men in congress of
every shade of opinion and they are
all awaiting some word as to the
views. Their position is
hat the President wants to take the
cad in mapping a program and
most of them, ! believe, will help
him carry it out. They feel also
hat for them to start DEVELOPMENT
# a program of their own makes
hem subject to White House criti-
ism if the legislation fails to meet
New Deal specifications. So they
simply wait!
In the meantime, the depression
has sunk deeper and deeper. III
rankly believe that in some locali-
les it is right now as bad as any
hing we saw in 1892. Business men |
ire frightened to death and will not |
xpand their businesses because of |
he danger that they will lose every
hing they have, and individuals are
and will not spend more
money than is absolutely necessary.
n other words, there is again a
ack of confidence that is appalling.
t seems to center on Mr.. Roose.
cit as it centered on Mr.. Hoover
a 1880 and 1881.
I can judge the whole situation
My by attempting to compose the
that / gather from
ountless conversations. If this con-
ensus be accurate, then it would
ppear that current fears result
rom an inability Of anyone to know
that Mr.. Roosevelt will do next.
hat is to say, the expressions
tressed statements that his poll
les lack continuity" that he
hanges overnight" that he at
acks business with one hand and
icks it in the pants with one foot
nd asks it to take the load of of