Evening star., 1939-01-04

VerSal ungrudglng attitude by en-
ployers toward the labor move
ment, until there is a minimum
OF interruption of production and
employment because of disputes,
and acceptance by labor of the
truth that the welfare of labor it.
self depends on increased bal
anced output of goods.
Time Is Deciding Factor
In Our Choice of Remedies.
To be Immediately practical,
while proceeding with steady
evolution in the solving of these
and like problems, we must wise
ly use instrumentalities, like
Federal investments, which are
Immediately available to us.
Here, as elsewhere, time is the
deciding factor in our choice of
remedies.
Therefore, 1t does not seem log
ical to me, at the moment we
seek to increase production and
consumption, for the Federal
Government to consider a dras-
tic curtailment of its own invest
ments.
The whole subject of govern
ment investing and government
income is one which may be ap-
preached in two different ways.
The first calls for the elimina-
ton of enough activities of gov
eminent to bring the expenses of
government Immediately into
balance with income of govern
ment. This school of thought
maintains that because our ma
tional income this year is only
6O,0O0, 100000 ours is only q
$50, 900 900 900 country: that gov
ernment must treat it as such;
and that without the help of gov
ernment, it may some day. some
how, happen to become an $780,
000,000,000 country.
If the Congress decides to ac-
cept this point of view, it will
logically have to reduce the pres
ent functions or activities of gov
ernment by one-third. The Con-
greSs will have to accept the re-
sponsibility for such reduction:
and the Congress will have to de-
termine which activities are to be
reduced.
Certain expenditures we can
not possibly reduce, such as the
interest on the public debt. A
few million dollars saved here or
there in the normal or in cur
tailed work of the old depart
ments and commissions will make
no great saving in the Federal
budget. Therefore, the Congress
would have to reduce drastically
some Of certain large items, such
as aids to agriculture and soil
conservation, veterans pensions,
flood control, highways, water
ways and other public works.
grants for social and health Sc
curity, Civilian Conservation
Corps activities, relief for the un-
employed. or national defense.
The Congress alone has the
power to do all this, as it is the
appropriating branch of the
Government.
Has Men and Resources
To Be 8O-Billi0n- Dollar Nation,
The other approach to the
question of Government spending
takes the position that this Ma
ton ought not to be and need
not be only a 60-billion- dollar
Nation; that at this moment it
has the men and the resources
sufficient to make it at least an
8O-billion- dollar Nation. This
school of thought does not be-
ieve that it can become an 30
billion n-dollar Nation in the near
future if Government cuts it's
operations by one-third. It is
convinced that if we were to try
1t We would invite disaster-that
we would not long remain even a
.60-billion- dollar Nation. There
are many complicated factors
with which we have to deal, but
we have learned that it is unsafe
to make abrupt reductions at any
time in our net expenditure pro-
gram.
BY our common sense action of
resuming Government activities
last spring, we have reversed a
recession and started the new
rising tide of prosperity and ma
tional income which we are now
just beginning to enjoy.
IT Government activities are
fully maintained there is a good
prospect of our becoming an 30
b1llion-dollar country in a very
short time. With such a national
income, present tax laws will
yield enough each year to balance
each years expenses.
1t Is my conviction that down
IN their hearts the American pub
hc-industry, agriculture, finance
wants this Congress to do
whatever needs to be done to
raise our national income to 80
billion dollars a year.
Investing soundly must pre-
clude spending wastefully. To
guard against opportunist appro-
priations. I have on several oc-
casions addressed the Congress
on the Importance of permanent
long-range planning. I hope,
therefore, that, following my rec
ommendation Of last year, =