Evening star., 1938-04-05

QueNlIy amount
to Indignation and resentment is not
only 50 extraordinary that it is I'M
portent to report it even in this
guarded way, but it is reflection of
the do-nothing stalemate which must
be broken if business is to improve at
all
Naturally these advisers do not dare
to be quoted. In a dictatorship their
heads would be Topped off and a
purge would be in order. But these
men are as eager for the success of
Mr.. Roosevelt and the New Deal as he
Is himself. They merely differ with
him on the course he has pursued in
the last three months.
Two Glasses of Thought.
Two groups or divisions exist and
their reasons for dissatisfaction are
entirely different.
The first group wants pump prim-
ing and wants it right away, believ-
Ing that the business situation will
grow dangerously worse and the whole
New Deal may be swept out of power
in the autumn elections unless the
Government begins spending again on
a wide front. Mr.. Roosevelts refusal
to heed this advice has naturally pro-
duced reaction.
The second group wants Mr.. Roose-
velt not to resort to pump printing"
again, believing it will only lead to a
worse business crash later on when
the second cycle of pump printing"
Is exhausted, and that business must
be built on f1rmer foundations. This
set of advisers feels the President is
on the right track when he declines
TO start spending again, but they are
annoyed at Mr.. Roosevelts refusal to
do the one thing that they consider
a vital counterpart of a non-spending
policy, namely, restoration of busi-
ness confidence through drastic
change in the administration atti-
tude toward business and the system
OF private capital generally.
See Side Issues Stressed.
What the Gecond group complains
about mostly is that the President has
gotten all tied up with controversies
like the reorganization bill which,
while of broad-gauged importance, is
not the prime requisite of the hour at
all. They feel that Mr.. Roosevelt
Is not coming forward with the eco
nomic policies that will encourage
business.
Running through some groups which
DO not have a particular plan for the
administration to follow but which
reflect a general lack of morale is the
oft-repeated statement that the Presi-
dent is making the whole situation
into too much of personal quarrel.
that he is taking personal affront at
Criticism and that. he is thinking of
the problems of government in their
personal relation to himself. His die
tator" statement, for example, caused
profound disappointment because 1t
all revolved around his own personal
likes and dislikes and did not strike
ut the fundamentals.
Meet Buffer.
Most asked around here is, who Is
advising the President?" Stories are
being told Of this and that adviser
who tries to gain the ear of Jimmie
Roosevelt-important officials at that
and who come away with a sense
OF despair when they realize that to
get things done in the great Govern
ment of the Unites States it becomes
necessary to convince the Presidents
son OF the seriousness and gravity Of
the whole economic situation.
Perhaps some of all this is just the
1itters overwhelmingly reflected here
from financial and business centers
or produced by the long faces worn
oy so many of the visitors who come
here with "for Gods sake do some
thing clamor. But anyway, the ex-
ecutive leadership which has been
looked for by the New Dealers is not
forthcoming. The left" is unhappy
and disgruntled. The right" If this
be the proper way to describe the
more moderate Of the Presidents ad-
visers, is depressed and bewildered,
too.
In Congress the revolt among the
former supporters of the New Deal is
an open secret. From long years of
experience, one may say that when
members of the party in power begin
to talk critically of their own Presi-
dent, it is sign that back home the
people are really beginning to turn
away from the party in power"
Politically ION Spot"
Broadly speaking, the present situa-
ton is not unlike that which has faced
other Presidents in the latter part of
their terms of Office R11t il hoe ,,,,,ah