Evening star., 1938-02-04

case OF the business conference-there
has been no prearranged scheme of
organization or preliminary work look
Ing toward definite program.
When one considers the many weeks
OF preparation that are spent by such
organizations as the Chamber of Com
merce of the United States or the
National Association of Manufacturers,
the numerous committees and sub
committees which work out in ad- |
vance the main principles and SUBJ
1ects for discussion. it is not surprising |
that 500 men of the small businesses
should have had so much difficulty. |
The names were selected almost at |
random from persons who had written |
the White House or other Government |
agencies. Here and there some friends |
OF the administration in different parts
OF the country were asked to suggest |
names. No time was spent in check
Ing up to see whether the business
men selected were producers or dis |
tributors or retailers. There was no
attempt at classification by industry
or business type or even by function.
Needed Time to Develop.
Clearly every element of business is
related to some other. Big business
and little business are intertwined ard
when it comes to forming a national
organization of men representing little /
business men, the Department Of
Commerce had a real job on its hands |
and should have been given by the
President at least two months to do
the preliminary work.
This idea of summoning a lot of
men from small businesses may have
been an excellent gesture, but the
Government itself already has far
better facilities for getting data and
advice from business men scattered
all over the country and classifying
the data under separate subjects than
could possibly be done overnight in
the kind of conference which was
assembled here.
Naturally many of the business men
were full of ideas and wanted to speak.
For the last seven years the mails
have been flooded with suggestions
and panaceas of one kind or another
directed to Washington officials on the
problem of how to end depressions
and bring prosperity.
But there will never be any value
10 these ideas unless sifted by econo-
Ynists and by those who are charged
with responsibility for special fields of
study here.
Trade Associations Are Keen.
For one thing, trade associations
represent at the moment the very best
way that we have in America of con-
tacting business, large and small. !
These trade bodies are familiar with
the problems of their own industries
and business, and if it were desired |
to get representatives of small busi-
neses it would have been a simple |
matter to ask each trade association
to send delegates whose own busi-
nesses did not exceed certain per-
centage of the total volume of any
given field. That would have been one
way to assure real representation of
small units.
Of getting advice as to the existing |
situation from heads of small financial
institutions familiar with credit. In
deed, there are dozens of ways by
which information can be gotten by
Government besides having mass
meeting with a lot of talk that only
reflects discredit on the lack Of plan
ming by those who called the confer
ence in the first place.
It so happens that there are many
more small business units in America
than large units. In fact, it has often
been averred in these dispatches that
when the generic term business is
used, the public thinks of a small
group of wealthy men fairly bulging
with profits and able to meet pay
rolls out of imaginary surpluses for
indefinite periods of time.
Discomfort Registered.
What the events Of the last few days
prove is that the small businesses are
discontented over the present eco
nomic situation and that they hold
the administration responsible. The
suggestions made for revision of tax
and labor laws are but a symptom Of
the feeling that too. much law-making
has interfered with economic evolu-
ton.
Certainly to determine what has to
be done there need be no more mass
meetings. Some day the administra-
ton will ask group of economists to
work with Government economists
YhAnnAMMM M xs