The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-10-02
THE
WASHINGTON
SCENE
By HENRY ION
Federated Press)

WASHINGTON.-One of the slight
ly noticed aspects of the current po-
litical campaign is a man by the name
of Henry Wallace.
Wallace, vice presidential candidate
of the democratic party, has been tour
ing the midwest, stopping off at small
towns, talking to people on the corner
of Main street.
OF all the speeches that are being
made in this campaign, Wallace's seem
to make the most sense With mini
mum of the usual hokum, the former
secretary of agriculture has been
speaking his piece and telling his au-
diences what is on his mind
That is a good deal more than can
be said about the other candidates for
office.
Out in Indiana, for instance, Wal
lace recently delivered a speech about
democracy and capitalism. It was like
an echo of the speeches that were be-
ing made by new dealers in 1886.
Wallace started out by talking about
tant freedom-freedom of speech, free
dom of the press, freedom of worship
freedom to organize Most candidates
start out that way.
But Wallace went on from there to
talk about economic liberty, the free
of business the field is fenced in by
the great financial empires and most
of us cannot get into these fields I'M
less the men who hold power there
are pleased to give us job" he said.
'There is difference" he went on,
between business and finance which
some people sometimes try to make
you forget Capitalist enterprise is a
process of producing and sell
ing food, clothes, automobiles and
other useful goods and services.
at is certainly the most efficient
system for producing these things that
the world has yet discovered. But high
finance is not much concerned with
producing real things.
at is concerned rather with manip-
llating stocks, weaving an intricate
web of CONTROLS web that the ordi-
nary working business man cannot
when the web of high finance
,nares the little business man in its
neshes, he is helpless. He never
Snows what happened to him except
hat he is out of business or is re-
luced to a salaried job as the servant
If some unseen distant power"
Wallace then launched into de-
icription of a concern such as the AS
ISOLATED Gas & Electric Co, which
ought the Public Utilities Holding
Company Act with flock Of phoney
elegrams and letters.
"The influence" he said, "of such
great financial empires does not stop
with setting high prices to consumers
and drawing off the income from the
legitimate operating companies at the
bottom of the pyramid.
Congressional investigations have
uncovered a bad record of political
High finance men have
fought to control state legislatures and
tate public utility commissions. They
AVE put pressure on members of the
congress- both in Washington and at
ZONE. Any man who fights them takes
lis political life in his hands"
$50 long" Wallace said, "as the
BUSINESS world is so largely held in
heck by financial controls that are
opposed to production the farmers and
cannot do otherwise than
rganize to protect themselves"
The speech then went on into rou-
inc description of the new deal, 1929
nd the republican party. 1t concluded:
"Our democracy must be for the
lany and not for the few. License to
pin the entangling webs of high fl
ance is not the essential freedom.
license to work, to be of service, to
AXE a useful and respected part in
he life of the community is the free
ON that we may hope to gain not for
he privileged few but for all"
There was pretty good reason for
he endorsement of Wallace at the
emocratic national convention by clio
ice President Philip Murray.