Milford chronicle., 1940-01-26
LOOKING FORW ARD
BY FRANkLYN WALTMAN
Publicity Director, Republican
National Committee

. The measure Of greatness OF AM
/ party leadership Of a country is tn
measure in which Il gets done in IL
time the big job that has 10 b
done.
So said President Roosevelt in hi
jackson Day speech. He was quit,
correct Performances Of the task Al
hand-not gIittering generalities ant
honeyed words-is the yardstick ol
whether the party leadership in pow.
er has served the Nation. Let's hold
that yardstiek up to the New Deal tC
ascertain how It measures.
What was the big Job before the
Roosevelt administration when II
came into power IN 1893? Briefly sta
& ted Il was to restore this country
TO sound economic recovery. More
specifically it was to end unemplOy-
ment; to restore farm prices 10 par
/ ity; to raise the national income to
its previous levels and even higher
ard to stop deficit financing. In
! short, to put our governmental and
economic house in order.
What Platform Asserted
"The only hope for improving pres
I cnt conditions, restoring employ
nlent. a9ording permanent relief to
the people and bringing the Nation
lack to its former proud position OF
domestic happiness and Of financial,
Industrial agricultural and CONNER
cial leadership in the world lies I'm a
drastic change in economic and gov
ernmental policies 2 was the way the
1888 Democratic Platform put it.
Has this Nation been brought back
70 Its former proud position" of eco
nOmic leadership IN the world? In
l93S-the last full year comparative
figures are available-our Industrial
production was 72 per cent Of what
Il had been in 1929. while that Of the
United Kingdom was 116 per cent:
that of little Poland 11S per cent;
that OF Denmark 1876 per cent; Fin
land 1856 per cent; Sweden 146 per
cent; Japan 173 per cent; Germany
426 per cent; italy 9S per cent. and
Canada 81 per cent.
Indeed, OF 2l nations listed in the
Monthly Statistical Bulletin of the
League of Nations, only Belgium's
Industrial production, ON the basis of
1929, was lower than that Of the Uni
ted States. Is this getting done ''the
big job that has to be done?
Unemployed Problem UnsOIVed
Speaking at Baltimore in 1882, Mr..
Roosevelt placed the number of un-
employed at 100000. He declared
il was doctrine of despaiF-that it
vas pessimism-"ha "har-shirt hypocri-
sv"-to say there was mo hope for
a restoration of normal employment
for these ten million people"
Whatever the hope, the fact is that
for almost eight years under Mr..
Roosevelt our army of unemployed
has totaled 1O,00O.00O or mOre-in- /
deed 1t has ON occasion been much
higher. Only recently, due to the
war in Europe, has the figure drop
ped slightly below 10,O0O,000 Is that |
getting done the big job that has to
be done12
Restoration Of farm prices to par
ity was the goal which the New Deal |
set for itself. Has that big job
been done2 In. his Budget Message
to Congress TINS. yedf Mr. Roosevelt l
said that despite a gratifying gem
eral increase in farm income. agri- /
culture is still not receiving its pro- |
per share of national income He /
added the hope that next years /
crops can be sold by their producers
for at least IS per cent Of parity
Confession Of Failure
After seven long years, with a
war in Europe, Mr.. Roosevelt says
ne hopes" farm producers will get
Is per cent parity for their crops.
The confession of failure is in his
own words, which are confirmed by
statistics, that show American farm
income was 81. 500. 100000 a year less.
On the average, in the Roosevelt Ad-
than during the same
number of preceding years. Is that
getting done ''the big job that has to
be done?
Recently the Commerce Depart
nent. in the name Of Secretary Har-
" Hopkins who is a very i'll man
md has not been at his office for !
months, estimated the national in !
;0me for 1889 at s6S, 800, ,OO0. 900. This !
igure was less than in 1897 and was
iOme $l4,0O0,000,0 900 less than in
929. Indeed. il was substantially !
ess than the national income in any 4
ear from 1925 to 1890, inclusive.
5 that getting done 'the big job that I
las 10 be done? Ia
If getting done the "big job that +
as TO be done" is the measuring I
tick-and the President proposed it n
then the New Deal is demon
trated failure Not only has it been h
failure. but as evidenced in his 4
wo recent speeches Mr.. Roosevelt is y
ankrupt in ideas and plans for the
iture. Though he denies it. he is II
living way TO defeatism and despair. \
to laugh OF his failure
hen not feebly seeking to defend T
In