Evening star., 1938-06-12
By NC. X.

little has been heard, indeed. that 4
casual reader Of news might be par
doned for assuming that the group has
melted away, . victim Of such dis
sension Is overwhelmed its first con-
vention. The June Commentator,
however. carries word that this is not
the case. The article Is the Com
mentator's leading one and It's au-
thor Is Wythe williams.
Mr.. williams informs us that the
little fellows" are very much alive
He describes the beginning of their
attempt to organize as coming from
the brain Of Mr.. Dewitt M. Emery of
Akron, Ohio. whose experience with
governmental interference was such
that he decided to take some means
for his own protection and that OF his
fellows. too. Mr.. Emery, according
to Mr.. Williams, Is q manufacturer
Of letterheads, whose nrm started
In 1911. grew gradually until 1925, ex-
panded between the rush of 1925 and
1929. and somehow managed to hold
on through the black years. Just
when beginning to thrive again, 1t
was hit by social security unemploy-
ment insurance. increased county and
State taxes, higher material costs and
increased wages. =
"Mr. Emery survived all this, but
when the new panic struck him, 1t
was the last straw. The sad part of
1t, he said. was that this panic. caused
by 4 systematic and a sustained cam.
paign Of hindrance and persecution Of
business from the White House., had
taken the word confidence out of
the lexicon Of American economic re-
covery."
And so he decided to do something
about 1t. He organized the National
Small Business Mems Association.
According to Mr.. Williams, the
fiasco OF the Washington meeting can
in no way be blamed on Mr.. Emery,
the president Of the organization. saw
Mr.. Williams:
"PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT at this
time was busy issuing invitations
to capitalists and representatives of
big business to talk over the recess
sion and to devise ways and means of
restoring the rapidly dwindling ma
tional prosperity.
This was excellent New Deal pub
licity. The newspapers leaped to the
story Of how the Chief Executive was
finally taking the great leaders Of In
dustry into his confidence and In
viting their corporation.
Suddenly it dawned upon the New
Dealers that the little business men
also ought to be invited to Washing
ton. = They. too. would make =
good Newspaper story"
And 10 the invitation was sent out,
but says Mr.. williams, the president
OF the group. the man who had organ
lied 1t and whose idea 1t was, was not
asked to come. Protests" he says,
were sent in" from the members, and
Mr.. Emery did then receive his invi-
tation. When he arrived. however,
bringing with him q 1o-point pro-
gram which had been accepted by the
association, he was not permitted to
speak" And, as every one remembers,
the meeting was treated largely as
comedy by both press and adminis-
tration."
Just why the president Of the or
ganization was accorded such dis
courtesy and suppression Mr.. williams
does not say. A very brief study OF
the program which Mr.. Emery had
drawn up. however. may suggest rea-
sons to most Of US. For that program
called for the cessation of Govern
ment meddling and experimenting In
business" the immediate repeal of
the undistributed profits tax and cap
ital gains tax, the independence OF
Congress from the President. the
balancing of the budget by q cutting
Of expenditures, the stoppage of in.
croachment on free speech, press and
radio, restoration Of the civil service
the end Of interference with the
courts and an Immediate, thorough,
searching and impartial senatorial in
vestigation of all alphabetical agen-
cies, with particular reference to
waste, graft and political corruption
Is any man going to be allowed
to ask for such heresies in q meeting
called by the New Deals very pontifYs? ?
No wonder the little fellows" were
made to look ridiculous. With such q
program it was probably funny Of
them to expect to be treated any
other way.
Mr.. WILLIAMS relates, however,
~ that the organization has sur
vived the blow very nicely. The Ma
tional Small Business Mems Associa-
tion," he says, "is at this moment Or
ganizing in every congressional dis
trict in the Nation and preparing to
hold its hrst convention in q Midwest
ern city this summer. '''
The delegations will comprise
1902 members, with an equal number
Of alternates covering every congress
sional district Of every State, together
with two delegaes for every United
States Senator"
Mr.. Williams adds that there Is
no money standard for membership
in the association. but quotes Mr.
Emery as saying that ANY nrm not
listed on q stock exchange or on the
curb can get in, except, Of course,
Ford or any similar mammoth un-
dertaking splashed with dollar signs"
The article has put the reviewer
in mind Of recent experience of
her own. She was visiting in a
rural district where what the current
world-shapers would probably call the
social economy" of. the population
is set In old, reason dictated patterns.
That IL TO say, the people. who are in
the main farmers or workers In the
local oil fields, rise early in the morn
ing and 60 10 bed early at. night.
There Is no town In the neighborhood,
but there once was general store.
In difference to his customers habits
the owner of this establishment opened
his doors early. Men ON the way to
work could buy cigarettes there by
2, for example. And, as everybody,
whether workers on their own f,elds