Evening star., 1939-07-09
Businessmen Seen
Influencing New Deal
By ODen L. Scott.

that President Roosevelt does not and
will not understand them or their view
point. Over and over again the refrain
is heard that what the country needs is
some hard-headed business talent in
Government
A survey of the facts at this stage dis
closes that businessmen-far from dis
ppearing-actually are bobbing up in
more and more key positions. There
even are mild complaints from old line
New Dealers that the New Deal itself
is beginning to look like businessman's
Government.
Reasons for that feeling are not hard
to find. Key jobs recently have been
going to individuals who can qualify in
any contest as "hard-headed business
men" 1t can be said that the business
viewpoint is heavily represented in the
circle of the Presidents advisers. The
facts disclose that that viewpoint is flnd-
ing expression in action.
For example,
Jesse Jones has just been selected to
direct all Government lending activities
as head of the new Federal Loan Agency
and John Carmody has been chosen to
direct all Government work programs as
head of the new Federal Works Agency.
Mr.. Jones is one of the Nations most
successful businessmen and financiers.
He is a man who has attained position
and wealth by meeting competition OF
the best business brains of the country
and certainly cannot be classed as an
individual who has no understanding of
business or of the business viewpoint.
The private construction industry gave
Mr.. Carmody his training. Here again
is an official who has been successful in
undertakings Of broad Importance. The
same can be said for Col Francis c.
Harrington, who now is operating the
Works Progress Administration. Col
Harrington is Regular Army engineer
of the type often called on by big busi-
ness to direct its most important admin
lstrative undertakings. There is nothing
of the inexperienced social reformer caste
about the colonel.
~
At the moment. the Bureau Of Inter-
nal Revenue is busy with rulings on
points involved In amendments to the
Nations corporation income tax laws
Those amendments are the work of John
w. Hanes, Undersecretary of the Treas
ury and a man of wealth, with broad
experience in the fields of business and
finance. Mr.. Hanes has found that the
White House Is not cold to him and his
U4t ~ L. T~ll
At the moment, too, Congress is con-
sidering q new lending -for-recovery pro-
gram.
This program-violently opposed by
many business groups-actually was de-
signed and sponsored by two big busi-
ness men. One was Jesse Jones, the
other Mariner S. Eccles, chairman OF
the Federal Reserve Board.
Mr.. Eccles probably is the most criti-
cized of Federal Government officials.
He seems to epitomize the New Deal.
Yet American business has produced few
more successful men in the practical
field. The Reserve Board chairman is a
man who has been highly successful as
businessman and as a banker. His
milk to lumber and contracting-all on
a big scale-and his banks dominate the
mountain States area.
Businessmen can hardly argue that
Mr. Eccles has no understanding of them
or their viewpoint.
And so it goes.
Harry Hopkins as Secretary of Com
merce, has as his Undersecretary and
adviser, Edward j. Noble-a big busi-
nessman. Mr.. Hopkins is advised on
economic subjects by Willard Thorp,
who also is an Official of Dun g. Brad
street, an organization that probably
knows more about American business
than any other. Then the Department
OF Commerce has its Business Advisory
Council, made up of many big busi-
nessmen.
Leo Crowley, chairman OF the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp, is a business
man and banker. Charles Edison, who
runs the business of the Navy, is big
businessman. Nathan Straus, head of
the United States Housing Authority, is
a member of family that operates one
of the Nations largest merchandising
enterprises
At one time. Joseph P. Kennedy, now
Ambassador to Great Britain, was pic
tured as the New Deals tame business
man." Right now, Mr.. Kennedy is one
OF a crowd.
There are other facts as we'll
One of these facts is that Tom Cor
coran, painted as the leading radical,
actually came to Washington from one
of New York's big law firms and could
step out of Government tomorrow with
an opportunity to become a big legal
light In the field OF private practice.
Ben Cohen of the team Of Corcoran and
Cohen has much the same record And
Jerome Frank, chairman of the Securi-
ties and Exchange Commission, was a
very successful lawyer in private practice
before he turned his talents to fostering
the New Deal. Donald Richberg, once
pictured as the leading revolutionary"
New Dealer, today is one OF the country's
highest paid lawyers working for the
corporations that once feared him.
The real fact of the matter is that the
New Deal is overrun with big business
men and big financiers-at time when
many one-time New Dealers who were
classed as inexperienced radicals are
stepping out of Government In larger
and larger numbers to take good jobs in