Evening star., 1938-12-01

official name is
Temporary National Economic Com
mittee-that this is the most COM
prehensive survey ~ever undertaken
of American business management
and ownership.
Owing to the fact that other in
vestigatiops have been pursued in
prosecutor like vein, there has been
hesitancy on the part of some
business men to feel that the in
quiry has a constructive purpose
They have thought of it as po-
litical Witch-hunt designed to FUR
nish ammunition for the 1910 cam
paign, but the assurances Of such
conscientious public servants as
Senator O,Mahoney, the chairman,
have tended to remove any such
suspicion.
For the committee is undertaking
to get facts and to bring to light
the operations of the American eco
nomic system. If the facts indicate
shortcomings and faults, then the
disclosure will no doubt here and
there put business men on the de-
fensive. If, on the other hand, the
facts indicate that custom and prac-
tice and the vicissitudes of COM
petitive urge produce wastes and in
efficiency, then the country will
have to decide whether by legisla-
ton any curb can be put on such
business methods or if any curb is
desirable in democracy.
Put Blame on Business.
For years it has been the habit
of the Socialist spokesmen, and
lately some of the radical Demo-
Gratis, to charge that the American
capitalistic system is doomed" or
that business does not and will not
cooperate with government and
that regulation is essential in or
der to protect the public against
chiselers. But at no time have the
facts of just how business does OPP
crate been disclosed SO that busl-
ness men can refute them if wrong
or support them If right. Nothing
In the way of scientific diagnosis
or exposition has been made and
that's why the committee investiga-
ton will prove one of the most i'm
portant studies made by any govern
ment agency in many years.
It's because the survey Is 50 valu-
able and so penetrating that the
members of the committee are de-
sirous Of conducting 1t on q high
plane. AS for the advocates of
"planned economy" which is often
suggested as the alternative Of our
uncontrolled economy, they will
have to make case out of the
facts presented by the committee.
The opening stages Of the investi-
cation will deal with economic
studies which various staff members
In the New Deal agencies have been
working on for several months.
There has been relatively little
money appropriated-only $500, 900
but Congress undoubtedly will grant
more as the nature of the inquiry
becomes evident and the great con-
structive value of the evidence be-
comes more and more apparent.
Certainly, the determination of
the committee to make thorough
Investigation before recommending
amendments to the antitrust laws
commends itself to business. For
any revision of the trust laws cuts
through the whole structure of
American business as set up in the
last 40 years. Unfortunately, Con-
gress has been amending the anti
trust laws off and on for long time
without regard to what this piece
meal method of legislating can do
TO the whole economic system.
Problem of Marketing Goods.
The fact that the ct. N. E. c.
as the committee soon will become
known-is going to go into the whole
problem of marketing of goods and
the distribution of stock oWnerships
and financial controls is widely rec
Dgnized, and business organizations
and individual companies have been
detailing specialists for several weeks
10 prepare the answers to voluminous
missionaries and interrogatorieS
on the witness stand.
Much of the material that will be
disclosed will be of a technical ma
trre, but every trade association is on
the alert because some of these tech
nical points means hundreds of mil
lions of dollars year to their con-
stitutent members. The attendance
at the daily sessions will probably be
largely the representatives of large
business, commercial and trade or
ganizations, lawyers and newspaper
reporters. The hearings will be held
In the large caucus room of the
Senate Office Building and are ex-
pected to run four to five hours a
day for at least year, with occa-
sional recesses of a week or two
while material is being gathered by
committee investigators. So wide
spread is the interest in the COM
mittee's work that one of the service
companies here which specializes in
reference services on governmental
subjects has arranged to make avail
able In printed form each morning
the verbatim stenographic record of
tho preceding days session. It is
believed this record may run as high
Is $4,000 words day.
Copyright. 1889