The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1945-02-16

truth is that Wallace and the full
employment movement that he sym
bolizes represents the one chance OF
strengthening and preserving private
: enterprise in America. 1t is not Wal
lace who lacks faith in free enter
prise; 1t is the opposition to Wallace.
Wallace believes that a combination
of governmental direction and private
enterprise can achieve full employ
ment in America"
But you cannot convince some peo-
pie, and there is reason for that.
Arthur Krock is the top Washington
man for the New York Times. He
says that Wallace would use the De-
partment of Commerce for political
reasons. He writes that "Mr. Wallace
made it plain that he would use the
federal loaning authority as a social
economic instrument" He says Jesse
Jones refused to do this, but that is
not the truth. The question is not
whether the RFC and other federal
lending agencies shall be social-eco-
nomic instruments. They always
have been. The question is this. How
shall they be used and for whose ben
eft? The big business boys are afraid
they cannot run Wallace. That is
why they are trying to take the RFC
away from him.
So, let us hold school right here on
teh air. Let us find out how the RFC
came into being. Mr.. Stone is teach
er. This is how the RFC came into
being. Mr.. Hoover, when he was
president, refused all demands for fed
eral loans to finance relief and public
works during the depression" This
idea was one he could not and would
not get into his head. 1t ran counter
to all his ideas of rugged individual
ISM" This idea also ran counter
to all the prevailing ideas in financial
and banking circles" Financiers and
bankers back in the Hoover days
thought that he best way to handle
a depression was to let it run its
course. The idea was to wait until
the fall in prices and wages had gone |
so far that even the most timid in
vester would begin to be tempted |
back into the market by the bargain
counters of disaster. This was a phi
losophy of complacency. Bankers
and financiers were all for it as long
as they had their investments and
factories and three square meals
day But they became jittery when
the slump weakened the foundation
Of some of the country's biggest banks
and insurance companies. You re-
those days.
"At that point rugged individualism
became a little too rugged for the
masters of American finance and in
iustry They wanted help and Hoover
gave it to them" He gave it to them !
by establishing the RFC." With the
RFC, Hoover began "ladling relief out
o banks and railroads and insurance !
Thus the RFC was born"
t was born as a social-economic In {
'trument. OF course, you know the !
heory behind it. 1.-THE theory was !
hat if the government took care of ,
he big money boys, their prosperity
would trickle down to the rest of u.s." {
But the truth and theory do not jibe ,
The reality behind it was that the
zig boys were as frantic for handout I
Is any down-and-out panhandler."
Today Jesse Jones carries on the f
Hoover tradition. Jesse Jones has 2
,alked every time the President has v
ried to use it as a social economic t
instrument for the lower and middle /
ayers of society as well as the upper
rust. Zones hates to lend money
ut for relief. He hated to lend mon
y for crop control. He hated to lend
money to little businessmen. Under
ones, as under Hoover, every effort (
as been made to keep the RFC as s
soup kitchen for the big banks, the s
and the insurance COM Z
anies." The big boys want to keep
that way when the war is over.
They want it's raw material sur
luses and its big war plants kept in &
afe hands. That means hands that 4
ill do the chores for the big boys in
nance and industry and especially 3
| the raw material division which q
rofit by monopolistic restrictions and B
,arcty." These big boys want to use 8
&c for their purposes and their pur q
oses only. These big boys do not 3
sally object to the use of federal 8