Evening star., 1939-02-18
Roosevelt Reassures
Business No New
Taxes Needed
No Further Government
Power Developments
Planned He Adds
BY the Associated Press

by tne Associated Press.
ABOARD ROOSEVELT TRAIN
EN- ROUTE TO KEY WEST, Fla,
Feb. l8-President Roosevelt head
ed for his f1eet-inspection cruise in
the Caribbean today after asserting
at a train press conference that
business and industry should have
no fear of new taxes, further Fed
eral competition in the power field.
or spending beyond budget needs.
His statements on domestic af-
fairs also included an invitation to
budget critics to come to the White
House where he would welcome
them and state specifically how the
Governments financial books could
be taken out Of the red without
higher taxation or elimination of
essential Federal functions.
No Reason to Fear.
What really started the President
OH on business and finance was a
direct question whether the admin
1Stration contemplated any business
appeasement moves He replied with
question of his own He asked
what there was to appease and
called for specific reasons for what
reporter called fears on the part of
business to branch out.
The reporter said some power
utility people were hesitant to go
forward with expansion plans be-
cause Of uncertainty over further
Government competition.
The President said this was a good
illustration of how generalities are
destroyed when considered in the
light of the actual facts. He added
that for year and half about 95
per cent Of the utility people had
known and accepted as fact that the
Government was not planning any
further power developments.
Industry Cooperating.
With the exception of one or two
concerns he said all companies dur
ing that period came under the
Holding Company Act by registering
with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Registration of Elec-
trio Bond & Share, he said, marked
virtually complete understanding
between the Government and the
utilities that the former intended no
more power programs. The consti-
tutionality of the act had been &C
cepted, he added, and virtually the
entire industry was cooperating.
He said the utilities had no reason
for not going aheaoAvith expansion
programs.
When a reporter observed that
some persons thought the President
should recommend new taxes to help
balance the budget, Mr.. Roosevelt
replied there was no need to worry
much about taxes. He added there
would be cause for worry if Congress
failed to renew some levies about to
expire or if it appropriated large
sums outside budgetary requests, but
he said there was no prospect of
either of these things happening.
At the same interview, held in his
private car as his train neared Flor
ida late yesterday, the Chief Execu-
tive made the qualified declaration
that he personally supervised the
recent sale of military planes to
France. He said that this was true
if his reply was prefaced by saying
the French were within their rights
in buying the planes, that the sale
was legal and that the whole Gov
ernment facilitated it.
He also assailed civilian writer's
whom he described as quasi-military
experts for turning out magazine
and syndicated articles on foreign
affairs which they knew nothing
about. Much of their writing is Just
bunk, he said.