Evening star., 1938-01-04
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

/ "a VAhSAA dIC 4uAOS P1nAAAy 4CoAACA1e
Roosevelt yesterday told Congress-par-
ticularly the Democrats-that he did
mot propose to let the people down" and
that he did not expect Congress to let
them down either. What he said was q
challenge to Congress-and again to the
Democrats in Congress-to break with
his New Deal and his legislative program.
The reception given the President by
this Congress, which has on several oc-
casions f1outed his leadership and de-
clined to pass the court reform bill or
the wages and hours bill, was of con-
siderable interest in itself For a full
minute the applause and cheers rose in
the House chamber when he entered and
took his place on the rostrum. And there
was applause and a few cheers during the
course Of his address. But the cheers
and handclapping came mostly from a
cheering section in which ardent New
Dealers were located On many occa-
sions when the applause was started
more than majority of the assemblage
kept entirely quiet. On the whole the
reception Of the Presidents address was
different from that given any other by
him to joint session Of the Democratic
Congress since he entered Office.
|
This does not necessarily mean that
the Presidents demands for legislation
| will not be met-although it is not
| particularly encouraging. Congress will
have to decide for itself whether it
wishes-in the language of the President
ito let the people down." He will Ger
tainly charge during the next campaign
that some OF them have gone against
the interests Of the people, if they oppose
his legislative recommendations.
Distaste and disagreement for num-
ber of the things the President said were
written clearly on some of the faces of
the Democratic Senator's and Repre-
sentatives as they listened to the Presi-
dent yesterday. After the speech had
been delivered, many of the more ardent
supporters Of the New Deal came forward
with favorable comments. There was,
however, an ominous silence from a very
| considerable number of Democrats, who
| declined to comment for publication al
though they had something to say
| privately. The session is now on, and a
battle with it.
| President Roosevelt, in his address to
| Congress yesterday, did not take back a
word that was said by Assistant Attorney
| General Robert H. Jackson and Secre-
tary Ickes of the Interior Department
about big business. He merely said that
words used by these officers of the Gov
ernment meant something different
from what, for example, Representative
John O'Connor of New York, chairman
of the House Rules Committee, said
they meant.
What the President said in this con-
nection is worth considering. He de-
scribed his own position and gave his
own ideas regarding capital and big
business He said: Capital is essential;
reasonable earnings on capital are es-
sential; but misuse of the powers of
capital or selfish suspension of employ
ment of capital must be ended, or the
| capitalistic system will destroy itself
| through its own abuses.
The overwhelming majority Of busi-
ness men intend to be good citizens
Only small minority have displayed
| poor citizenship by engaging in prac-
| tees which are dishonest or definitely
harmful to society,", This statement is
| straightforward and true. No person in
any responsible place in the Government
of the United States has ever taken any
| position contrary to it,
In these words the President seems to
imply that there has been selfish sus-
pension of the employment of capital
since he says that it must be ended
This is the strike of capital to which
Mr.. 1ckes and Mr.. Jackson have re-
| ferred. They insisted that the strike
was undertaken to discredit the New
Deal administration. They, like the
President, referred to big business, mo-
nopolies and vast capital. An attack
upon these. the President insists, does
not mean an attack on business gen.
orally. He may be entirely correct, but
business generally has regarded itself as
under attack. Whether the Presidents
address has relieved business of this
| feeling remains to be seen.
The Presidents speech yesterday was
| regarded, and SO described, by members
| Of Congress, even some Of those who
have opposed the administration as more
mild, more conciliatory than the speeches
| Of jackson and Ickes. Indeed, they
| consider his remarks more mild and
| conciliatory than those, for example, in
year ago. It Is difficult, however, to see
| just where the conciliation comes in.
The President does not term his oppo-
| nents economic royalists" or tories, p"
to be sure. It has. however, been his
practice in the past to insist that only
| small minority of business men have
been opposed to the New Deal and its
policies. And he does just this again.
| He proposes to 60 right ahead with
| legislation that business has opposed-as
well as part of organized labor-the
wages and hours bill Indeed, he makes
the wages and hours bill and the crop
control bill the major bridges by which
he proposes to increase the consuming
power Of the people, and so bring pros
! perity.
The language of the President may
have been more temperate, but there is
no indication that he has changed his
mind one iota about what should be
done in this country. He again brings
forward his old criticism of those who
live In the horse and buggy days, and
who look upon government and the
economic problems of the people today
in the light of the old days, although he
uses different words. We cannot, he
said, conduct a National Government
| after the practice of 1857, or 1887 or
| 1887. The problems have become too
| great and the desires of the people can
| not be met through the kind of Federal
Government that maintained in the days
| Of Washington, Jackson and Cleveland.