Evening star., 1939-02-25

Harry Hopkins, Il
the new Secre- M 4
tary Of Com n,v;d Laurence.
merce.
Now both of these moves were
discussed at the cabinet meeting
which took place before President
Roosevelt went away on his trip to
the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the
brief remarks which the President
made at his informal press confer
ence on the train were not ampll-
: fled sufficiently to make clear the
far-reaching significance of the new
policy That's why the Secretary Of
the Treasury's public statement has
had such a stimulating effect on the
security markets. 1t made definite
what had previously been vague.
Changes Might Spur Business.
This problem of new taxes means
not only that no further levies are
planned, but that there may be
some revisions or adjustments of
the tax laws to operate as an incen-
tive to business. Certain kinds of
tax legislation are almost always
before Congress and there is a bill
: pending to renew certain miscel-
laneouS taxes which were due to
expire. 1t may be that an oppor-
tunity will be presented at this ses-
centive to business through the tax
authority.
The removal of fear concerning
new and higher taxes is an i'm
portant factor in the re-establish-
ment of business confidence. Fear
of Government policy, whether
justified or not. has been at the root
of much of the so-called lack of
business confidence. To say there
is not going to be any general up
ward revision of taxes is to give
businessmen feeling of stability on
that point.
But what of the other policies
which so often are cited by buSi-
nessmen as the source of their
worries? Secretary Hopkins at
, tempted to deal with these in his
first formal address since he took
over the Department of Commerce
His speech has in it the tone of
friendliness and cooperation which
his predecessor. Daniel Roper, used
right along But still businessmen
declined to give weight to Mr.
Ropers words of reinsurance. Will
they feel any differently now?
Silent on Crucial Points.
The answer may be that Mr. Hop
kins will be regarded as having full
support of the President and that
pledges made now by the Secretary
of Commerce represent Mr.. Roose-
velt's plans and purposes. An
examination of Mr. Hopkins address
however, fails to supply any specific
formula as to how such problems
as instilling confidence in investors
to engage in utility financing are to
be solved, or how relations between
employers and employees are to be
improved without furnishing some
1 new or revised machinery for ad-
justment of disputes. Not a word is
said, for instance, by Mr.. Hopkins
as to how the administration stands
on the proposed A F of L, amend
ments to the Wagner Act.
AS to the utility problem. Mr..
Hopkins has been persuaded to be-.
lieve that the controversy about the
T. V. A. has been much ado about
nothing, ard that the lawyers were
mostly responsible for the so-called
war between the Government and
the utilities. That isn't what the
ioc
would say. So long as the Govern
ment supplied the money for T. V. A.
and gave no indication of how far
it had embarked on course of state
socialism, it was natural for the pri-
vate utilities to balk and for invest
ors to grow apprehensive. All the
lawyers really did was to keep the
cases going on in the courts so that
confirmation could be postponed at
least long enough for public opinion
to become apprised of the dangers
of Government ownership.
Effective Point Not Used.
1t would have been a much more
effective argument from the admin
fstration's standpoint if Mr.. Hopkins
had gone back to the original pur-
pose of the T. " A. and defended
the Roosevelt policy on the ground
that a system of Government own
ership was not and is not intended,
and that the purpose of T. V. A.
was merely to furnish an expert
mental area in which to develop a
yardstick with which to measure
electric light rates everywhere else.
The "yardstick" idea is understand
able, but the continued appropria-
ton, even now, by Congress for more
Government power projects isn't.
The lawyers, it is true, have failed
to block the Government ownership
crusade on constitutional grounds,
but public opinion can thwart it
through the simple processes of the
legislative branch of the Govern
ment, where the House of Repre-
sentatives is already giving evidence
OF a desire to reassure private in
vestors by deeds rather than words.
The administration words of hope
and cheer to business are timely and
were it not for the disturbed con-
ditions related to Europe and the
Far East, this would be a period of
considerably larger business activity
than it happens to be-
(Copyright 1939)