Evening star., 1940-02-09

ington Of the National Automobile
Dealers Association. Mr.. Richberg
was general counsel to the late un-
lamented N. r. A. and later its
administrator. When he talks about
the relations Of Government and
business he is talking about q sub
ject with which he is intimately,
and somewhat sadly, familiar. He
has no nostalgia for the N. r. A.,
nor any grievance against the
Supreme Court for striking it down.
The court, he says, merely destroyed
an institution which was commit
ting suicide.
ct Is permitted to wonder
whether the Supreme Court Of
today would do what the old
"horse- -and-buggy" court did in
1885. doubt it. This is not q
point, however. which Is raised
by Mr.. Richberg)
Must Shoulder Blame.
The point that Mr.. Richberg
drove home to the automobile
dealers is that business itself must
shoulder a large part of the blame
for the governmental regulation
under which it chafes. This for the
reason that not alone labor and the
farmers, but business groups As
well, have in recent years increas-
ingly brought pressure on Govern
ment for special favors.
1t isn't only the farm lobby or the
labor union which says there ought
to be a law about it,; it's just aS
likely to be some trade association
with plant against what it re.
CARDS as unfair competition by an.
other group
To use Mr.. Richberg's language:
ut is evident, particularly in the
extensive Investigations Of the Tenn
porary National Economic Commit
tee, that every. aggressive group Of
business interests. every organized
geographical or industrial section Is
promoting some sort of national or
State regulation of business which
it is hoped will advance the special
interests of one group necessarily at
the expense OF many Others"
Faced Choice Many Years.
The choice which the country has
faced for many years. as Mr.. Rich
berg sees 1t, is choice between
government In industry, under
a limited but necessary government
tai supervision, and a complete DO.
litical control Of industry"
The pressures Of which he speaks
are tending inevitably, he says. to-
ward the alternative of complets
political control.
He draws an analogy between the
pressures applied by labor and the
farmers, on the one hand, and busi-
ness interests on the other In each
case, the beneficiary finds that the
favors wrllng from Government have
their drawbacks. Thus:
Public utilities had their day OF
extravagant favoritism and grants
OF monopolistic privilege; and now.
from the staggering railroads to the
weeping electric power companies,
they are shouting and groaning over
the hardships and injustice of po-
litical regulation and Government
supported competition.
"Organized labor, with just cause,
sought political aid in its struggle
for economic power; and now 1t faces
a rising demand that its increased
power shall be balanced by legal OBJ
legations to fulfill the responsibilities
that go with power.
Farmers EA>l vnLa
Farmers sought Government aid.
with just cause, to raise prices and
to assure them Of some reward for
their labor; and now they find that
such political assistance carries with
1t the obligation to accept political
control of their uses of their own
land.
businessmen sought relief from
price determinations; and now find
themselves enmeshed In a vast net
OF legal obligations to conduct their
business according to vague and
complicated rules - .
ut should be evident, even to tho
most ardent advocate of special leg
islation, that, while he may save his
individual white shirt today, he Is
doing his part to put the Govern
ment into the business of making
black shirts and brown shirts which
he will have to wear tomorrow. He
Is doing his part to make inevitable
a political control Of all business in
the not distant future"
Mr.. Richberg might have added
that business groups are as quick
as any to rally for Governmental
spending when the shoe of economy
begins to pinch.
He wound up with the sound ad-
vice to all industrialists to try to
work out their problems themselves
before inviting in political regu-
lators."
Jostling the speech OF Mr.. Rich
berg in the Record Is an address by
Senator Taft saying that the policies
Of the New Deal are leading newt
ably to the absorption of all in
dustry into collectivized state"
If that happens, the blame will not
rest wholly on the policies Of the
New Deal; it will rest in part on
the unregenerate human nature
which has led business men, as we'll
as others, to turn to Government
for the advancement Of their special
interests.
No group can hope to get political
aid for an economic purpose without
paying q price. That goes for
farmers, labor rlnions-and industry.
None Of them can eat their cake and
have 1t too.