The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1938-06-09
Want to
Go Home

-, what date 1t Will
Wdnt 70 go home, but 60
Go Home home it will, in
just a few weeks
more. There is nothing more con-
tagious than inconsistencies among
congressman when primaries are in
the air and votes around the grass
roots await to be garnered.
suppose that when they go, there
will be a certain amount of crlti-
cism about the do-nothing congress.
Particularly will they hear barks
that they have left the nations most
important problem unsolved. They
will be told how they should have
charted course to lead the country
out of the depression and how they
failed to do anything towards restor-
ing unemployed to permanent jobs.
The prospect of this condition, it
seems to me, warrants a general
discussion without pulling punches.
Congress is supposed to formulate
national policies. It, therefore, must
accept some blame for its failure.
But it is not alone to blame, and
the voters ought to know it. There
are some other spots to which at
tention should be directed-in all
fairness to the members of the
house and senate.
Let us look back a bit. It must be
agreed, I believe, that recovery is
the foremost problem. Recovery
plans must be divided. Attention
must be given, first, to relief of the
destitute, the unemployed. Second
ly, policies must be laid down that
will permit business, big and little,
to take on workerS-or obviously
they will remain on the relief rolls.
Since last November, there have
been pleas, threats, argument-all
seeking establishment of policies
that would permit business to have
confidence. There has been nothing
from President Roosevelt in the
way of suggestions or proposals
along this line, and congress re-
fused, cowardly enough, to lead the
way.
AS the session wore on, unem-
ployment increased until the other
day the social security board made
public figures showing that about
100000 persons were receiving
government assistance of one kind
or another-almost 100000 FAM
lilies. And during the same period,
the volume of business fell further
into new low levels. The whole pic
ture undeniably has grown worse.
Then, there came from the Pres
ident the request for the use of
further money, some six billion
dollars of it. It was the so-called
lending-spending program that has
just been enacted and the congress,
anxious to avoid conflict with presi-
Dental will, rubbed its collective
hands and said, in effect, "There!
That takes care of the unemployed"
So we will have new post offices,
new bridges, new roads, new this
and new that-some time. Those
things can not be put over on a days
notice. 1t takes time to get them
started where they will employ
workers. The portion of the six
billions allocated for relief, of
course, can be used at once because
Mr.. Harry Hopkins can have his
boys and girls write checks at a
rate which is positively amazing.
The public construction phase will
be valuable, or ought to be, to the
candidates because the candidates
can say to their political meetings:
"Here it is-and from my hands,
too"
After that money is spent, then
what? My conviction is that we
will be just where we started. That
is to say, we will be just where we
were three years ago. Every one
recalls, of course, how there was
pump printing of business then. It
cost 81, $50, 100000. The result was
some very nice postofices and other
public buildings and an addition of
81, 1880, 900, 900 to the national debt.
The administration tried some other
pump printing, too, and succeeded
in building up the national debt still
higher. 1t is now pushing right
up to the forty-billion mark.
Since the pump printing and the
other spending ideas failed to &C
>. complish anything
SPendtng in the other trials,
Fails there seems to be
no reason to eX-
pect the new outlay of cash to do
more than create new high record
for the national debt. It will do
that, beyond question.
But I said at the outset that there
were others to blame. This fact
has been brought to the fore by the
condition lately much publicized in
Chicago and Cleveland. Scenes dis
tressingly reminiscent of the lines
of starving in 1880 were re-enacted
in Chicago and Cleveland within the
month. The cities were out of cash
and the relief lines became riotous.
There is not much to be done about
starving people but to feed them.
That is accepted. Yet, how did
that happen? Why was the condi-
ton allowed to reach that stage?
Here is the fact that will make me
very popular, am sure, in the areas
where the shoe fits: The states have
failed to assume their proper share
of the responsibility.
Let me repeat that: The states
have failed to assume their proper
share of responsibility! They have