Evening star., 1940-02-05

great deal more to them than his
popular title of "spender" would
suggest-and that, moreover, they
emanate from hard-headed banker
and industrialist. He cannot be dis
missed as starry-eyed theorist and
dreamer who never had to meet a
pay roll.
Knows How to Make Money.
If his ideas are wrong-headed
they are ideas that terminated not
in cloister but in an active busi-
ness experience of more than 20
years before he came to Washing
ton. Taking over from his father,
Scotch immigrant who left an
estate worth several millions, he rose
to be the head of a corporation
owning string of banks in Utah
and Idaho, the head of a large beet
sugar enterprise, the head of a milk
products company, the head of a
construction company and so on
and on. He knows how to make
money.
Nobody need be in doubt as to the
views and policies of Mr.. Eccles. He
has expressed them clearly in
speeches and in statements to con-
| gresslonal committees, and all the
salient parts of this material have
now been brought together in
book OF his public papers entitled
Economic Balance and a Balanced
Budget Harpers), edited by Ru-
dolph L. Weissman, an economist
| who has written extensively on
money and banking. As a preface,
Mr.. EccleS contributes "credo" in
which he sums up his main points.
Mr.. Eccles does believe in govern.
mental spending, but to say this and
stop, as do his critics generally, is
to give wholly distorted idea of
his opinions. He has never urged
| spending for the sake of spending.
There is ample room for Disagree
ment as to the wisdom of his views
but no excuse for miSstating them.
AS his editor says, there is no CEN
trail banker in the world who has
barred himself so completely. Mon
tagu Norman remains a mystery;
| EcCleS is an open b0Ok.
Believed in Balanced Budget.
Let him speak for himself:
"If I had my choice, would at
all times have a balanced Federal
budget. The difficulty is that an
unbalanced budget is not an inde-
pendent condition created by Gov
ernment decision but reflection Of
deep-seated unbalance in the econo-
my. This unbalance of the economy
must be corrected before we can
hope to remedy the unbalance of the
budget"
In other words, the Government
is engaged in war on depression
unemployment-and to win the war
the Government must spend.
eff" he continues, I'VE are to pur-
sue such course, then as prosperous
conditions are restored, and as un-
employment is absorbed by private
activity, We must be prepared to
bring the budget into balance, off,
setting the dangers of a boom on the
upswing as positively as depression
has been counteracted on the down.
swing. Action in both directions
must be prompt"
Seeks Improved Democracy.
Mr.. Eccles has been represented
as one who would destroy our pres
ent economic system. 1t may fairly
be argued by those who disagree
with him that the effect of his views
would be in this direction, but there
is no ground for saying that he con-
sciously seeks other than an i'm
proved form of democracy. His
words are explicit:
"Our economic progress has been
the envy of the world 1t has been
built upon the principles of private
initiative and enterprise. am OPP
posed, therefore, to governmental
action which would dictate the terms
of our business life beyond what
is essential to the public interest.
am convinced that we need not
sacrifice our economic system
to achieve far greater material well
fare for our people than ever be-
FORE"
A Lone Wolf.
Mr.. Eccles is something of lone
wolf In the Government and he
speaks his mind freely. He thinks,
although he comes from a silver
State. that the silver-purchase pol
icy of the Government is cock-eyed.
He says that 1--WE should follow the
unpopular but necessary course of
imposing additional taxation in or
der to meet the added costs of our
armament program and to reduce
the deficit" But in this tax pro-
gram there should be no sacrificing
of the low-income groups whose
sustained and increasing purchasing
power is needed to sustain and in
crease production" He believes that
the social security program, with its
payroll levies for the building up
OF huge reserves, has had a bad
effect on consumption and that this
whole program ought to be re-
vamped.
He believes there should be a
drastic revision of the whole Fed
eral and State tax structure in order
to reduce taxes on consumption and
increase taxes on funds Which
would otherwise remain idle" The
test that he consistently applies to
the measures of Government Is
whether or not they will build up
consumption.
| This is the Eccles as revealed by
his papers. He's person much bet
ter worth knowing than the "Eccles
the Spender" creation of ill-informed
or prejudiced critics.