Evening Star Newspaper, March 5, 1933, Page 21

Editorial Page Part 2—-8 Pages “NEW DEAL” OF ROOSEVELT FACING NINE- Reorganization, New Taxes, Farming and Rail Aid, Repeal and Job Relief Are Principal Problems. BY EARNEST K. LINDLEY, r of “Franklin D. Roosevelt.” RESIDENT ROOSEVELT and face with a world-wide depres- sion in its fourth year. Prob- ably no other administration since the Civil War has been confronted at its outset with such a formidable array of problems demanding immediate | and decisive action, Reorganization of the Federal administration with dras- tic economies, the imposition of new | taxes, aid for the farming and rail- road industries, repeal of the eighteenth amendment, unemployment relief—thece | are only a few of the domestic diffi- | culties with which Mr. Rooscvelt must | ccme to grips at cnce. The war cebtor nations are waiting | at his door, and upcn his handling of | them may depend his success in deal- ing with the vital problem of effect- ing a truce in the international eco- nomic warfare inherited from the World War, but intensified during the gepres- sion years by embargoes and quotas superimposed on high tariffs and the manipulation and depreciation of cur- rencies. The critical Far Eastern situ- ation involves embarrassments and dangers for the Roosevelt administra- tion which may surpass thoce which the succession of events leading to the Boxer uprising imposed upon President McKinley. Cuba is under economic and political strains which threaten to make it for Mr. Roosevelt what Mexico was for Mr. Wilson and Mr. Ccolidge. The underlying note as the new ad- ministration moves into action is recog- nition of the necessity for speedy action. ‘The Democratic program, as outlined in the party platform and in Mr. Roose- velt's campaign speeches, contains sev- eral long-range proposals. In this category fall banking reform, regula- tion of the security markets, the strict- er regulation of public utilities, the Roosevelt conservation program in its broadet sense, including the develop- ment under public auspices of water- power resources, flood control, reforesta- tion of submarginal lands and the movement back to the land of surplus population in the industrial centers. | But to a degree unprecedented in many | years the Dsmocratic program is of | necessity not a long-range program, nor | even a four-year prcgram; it is & nine- | menth pregram. It is not exaggeration | to say that by the end of the year Mr. | Reosevelt must translate his most im- | portant pledges into action and that they must improve the economic condi- tion of the country; otherwise he wflli have to turn to more drastic measures.” Debt Problem Faced First. Perhaps the most pressing central | problem before the new administration | is to put the price of commodities and the burden of old debt somewhere | near parity, or at least in workable re- | ion‘hip with cach other. The present | slackered econcmic life of the country ow price level cannot sustain the c cverhead debt piled up at a her price level. The processes of deflation have eroded this mountain of debt, which, according to prelimi- nary estimate of the National Industrial ’ Conference Board, was at & peak of | $154,761,000,000 in 1929. They eroded | it until they were attacking the basic | strata: Railroad bonds, firt mortgages on farms and urban real estate and the cbligations of public agencies. The process had to be, and was, checked under the Hoover administration by the generous use of Federal credit. While a brake was applied to the de- flation of debts, the price level con- tinued to fall. Partly because of the overhead of debt the price of manu- factured articles fell roughly only half 2s far as the price of commodities. The result in the case of the farming indus- try of the country was an $8,000,000,- 000 debt, largely incurred when the general price level was twice as high as it is today and when the price of farm products was four times what it is now. in other words, the farm creditor lent, roughly, only half of what is now owed | him, in’ terms of power to buy finished goods: and the farmer owes four times as much as he borrowed, in terms of farm crops. The farmer’s share of the public debt, which he pays through taxation, is similarly much greater in terms of his crops than when the public debts were incurred. To greater or less degree the same disproportion between debt and current income runs through the entire economic system. Either the burden of debt must be reduced or the price Jevel must be lifted. This, to all ap- pearances, is the year when the read- justment must be made, or at least Substantially begun. The rising demand in Congress for infiation of the currency through remonetization of silver, re- duction of the gold content of the dol- lar or the simple use of the printing presses is a reflection of the critical nature of the problem and the necessity for prompt action. Pledged to Sound Cwency. The Democratic program does not contemplate resort to the bold expedient of inflation. In fact, Mr. Roosevelt is pledged by his platform and by his speeches to the preservation of & sound currency at all hazards. He is com- mitted instead to a multitude of spe- cific remedies for specific aspects of the general problem of bringing debt and the present price level into supportable relationship to each other. He is com- mitted on cne side to the general policy of reducing debts in an orderly manner and on the other to an experimental attempt to lift the domestic price of farm products. He is committed alo to the world-wide attack on the same basic probiem through the review of war debts end the forthcoming world eco- nemic conference, where the return of the principal nations to the gold basis, the revival of world trade through tariff possibilities of de limitation of the production of h basic commodities as wheat, sugar and copper are -high on the agenda. ‘The Rcosevelt program for the in- ternzl debt may be divided into two main branches: The reduction of prin- cipal where it is necessary, to be fa- cilitated by voluntary agreements among creditors; and the reduction of interest rates. The bankruptcy bill before the Jast Congress was designed to ease and hasten the orderly liquidation of tcp- heavy parts of the debt structure. ‘The lowering of interest rates is an integral part of the Roosevelt program for the farm problem and for rehabilitation of the railroads. It will undoubtedly be carried forward, too, in the refunding of the refundable portions of the na- tional debt as well as in lowering of interest rates by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and in a continua- tion of the general easy-credit policy instituted by the outgoing administra- tion. Committed to Trial of Plan. the new deal are now face to| MONTH TEST the short session of Congress. But whatever the difficulties in the way or the eventual outcome Mr. Roosevelt is | committed to a trial of the plan, If successful it will narrow the gap be- tween the price of commodities and the price of manufactured articles, enable the farmer .to support & reasonable burden of debt and concentrate in his hands a definite tity of O.K:mh“- ch to buy prod- ing power with w] ucts of industry. Concurrently with the attack on the farm problem the new administration is under compulsion to undertake at once the rehabilitation of the railroads. The railroad industry may be in no worse plight than many other indus- tries, but it bears a peculiarly vital relationship to the credit structure of the country. Its $11,000,000,000 in bonded indebtedness bearing interest charges of nearly $500,000,000 a year forms one of the largest groups of in- vestment for savings banks, insurane companies, commercial banks and con- servative private investors. It is, moreover, an industry for which the Federal Government has assumed un- usual responsibilities by an elaborate regulatory system. The rallroads were already feeling the competition of motor transporta- tion, inland waterways, airplanes and pipe lines when the depression de- scended. By dint of drastic economies in cperation the rallroad system as & whole last year earned slightly more than the interest on its bonded indebt- edness, But individual raflroads have been kept going by advances from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. And the cost of railroad transportation remains cut of line with the current price level. Proposes to Aid Railroads. The new administration’s rallroad program has been outlined during the campaign and since. On the financial side Mr. Roosevelt proposes that the Government undertake for a spec period to see the railroads through their difficulties. Badly overcapitalized roads will have to go “through the wringer,” but the process is to be ex- pedited and simplified. On the regulatory side Mr. Roose- velt proposes to create a single new agency to control all kinds of trans- portation within the country and along its coasts. It would assume the pres- ent powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission, control of inland water- ways, control of aviation and steamboat inspection, and it would be endowed with the authority, which no Federal body now has, to regulate interstate bus and truck transportation. The ob- jective of unified regulation is the | creation of a single co-ordinated trans- portation system, permitting the elimi- nation of unprofitable railroad mileage and the correction of the advantage held at the present time by water and motor transportation through the use of Government-built waterways and hightways. Simultaneously with immediate aid for the farming and railroad industries Mr. Roosevelt must undertake the for- midable task of putting the Nation's own finances in better order through Many undoubtedly would put this first on the list of the new administration's problems, believing that it is the main achievement needed to reassure the country and stimulate the use in bwi- ness enterprise of the vast quantities of liquid credit built up during the last year. Whether or not Mr. Roosevelt shares this view, he is committed to the belancing of the Federal budget and to the reduction of current Federal ex- penditures by at least 25 per cent. Like the burden of debt the cost of govern- ment weighs crushingly upen the con- tracted economic life of the country. Budget Cut to Be Difficult. Long experience has proved that a Congress responsive to the pressure of organized minorities and local constitu- ents is incapable of effecting drastic economies. That fact makes the ful- fillment of his pledges to reorganize the Federal administration and to slash the Federal budget one of the greatest of Mr. Roosevelt's difficulties and makes it virtually necessary that he be tempor- arily endowed with a freedom to act that would be unprecedented in peace times in America. Even if he attains his goal in economy Mr. Roosevelt will remain under the un- pleasant necessity of finding additional sources of revenue. During the short session of the last Congress he discour- aged the sales tax and more or less defi- nitely committed himself to increases in the income tax and extension of the ex- cise taxes, to be supplemented, possibly, by the taxation of classes of securities which hitherto have been tax exempt, with the dual aim of obtaining revenue and encouraging investment in produc- tive enterprises. ‘The legalization of beer and the re- pezal of the eighteenth amendment are inseparably linked with the revenue problem. However great the revulsion against the conditions existing under the eighteenth amendment, it is the promise of passing on to the beer and liquor business part of the tremendous burden of taxation which offers the most hope of the quick return of alco- holic beverages to legal standing. With the passage of the repeal resolution by the last Congress, themrohibition battle- front shifted from Washington to the individual States. Though the Presi- dent has no legal authority in the pro- cess, he can undoutedly expedite the ratification of the repealing amendment by the aggressive assertion of his in- fluences as leader of his party and chief executive of the Nation. Faces Jobless Relief Demand. While struggling to balance the Fed- eral budget Mr. Roosevelt is faced with the necessity of meeting the rising de- mand on the Federal Government for unemployment relief. The resources of private individuals and local and State governments have been stretched to their capacity and beyond. It is clear that if the unemployed are to be fed, clothed and sheltered the Federal Gov- ernment must assist in growing measure. Mr. Roosevelt has committed himself to the use of F:deral funds for this pyr- pose in so far as it is necessary. He has indicated also that he intends to use Federal funds for the stimula- tion of employment through iblic works of the self-liquidating or “bank- able” variety. Already he has outlined volving reforestation, flood control, reclamation of bottom lands and the development of cheap electricity. this gigantic project several of the chief features of both his short-term and long-term program are interwoven, This harmonious deveiopment of an entire watershed is probably the most ambitious single peace-time project ever seriously by an American On the other side of the picture Mr. Roosevelt must put into execution the scheme for artificially lifting the do- mestic price of basic agricultural com- modities outlined in his Topeka speech and em! in the domestic allot- ment plan. The difficulties in this Rovel experiment were indicated during. the balancing of the Federal budget. | tory. velopment of the Tennessee Valley, in- | TcRN In | 5 EDITORIAL SECTION ¢ Sundwy Star, WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 5, 1933. THE NEW CABINET : UPPER, LEFT TO RIGHT—CORDELL HULL, SECRETARY OF STATE; CLAUDE A. SWANSON, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY; MISS FRANCES PERKINS, SECRETARY OF LABOR; GEORGE H. DERN, SECRETARY OF WAR, AND WILLIAM WOODIN, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. LOWER, LEFT TO RIGHT—JAMES A. FARLEY, POSTMASTER GENERAL; DANIEL C. ROPER, SECRETARY OF COMMERCE; HENRY A. WALLACE, SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE; HAROLD ICKES, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, AND HOMER S. CUMMINGS, ATTORNEY GENERAL. A. P, Harris-Ewing, Underwood and Bachrach Photos. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. EW engineers today are at the throttles of the Nation's major governmental activities. Theoretically President Franklin D. Roosevelt had complete freedom of choice when he selected these individuals from 120,000,000 Americans to constitute his official family. The reasons that moved the new President in his choices are, of course, concealed in his own mind. There were numerous factors to be con- sidered beside the prime requisite of technical ability. This had to be bal- anced with party and sectional avail- ability, with harmony of personality, | with willingness to serve, and with still some of which | other considerations, could be known only to Mr. Roosevelt himself. Into the welter cf 120,000,000 he had to plunge and bring out the 10 who weighed best on that extraordinarily delicate and complicated balance. He doubtless chose honestly, prayerfully— for seldom have such responsibilities been thrust upon human beings as fall upon this new official family in one of the darkest hours of the country’s his- . And seldom has a President had greater actual freedom of choice, with fewer obligations to complicate the in- volved social mechanics of the balance. ERE First, it must be noted, his choices were not obvious nor easily predictable choices. Some were picked from com- parative obscurity. There were names which were hardly recognized when they were announced. Mr. Roocevelt appar- ently attached no great value to celeb- rity—that is, to the sort of celebrity which transcends a field of interest and becomes universal. It is often a false halo. He strove honestly to find indi- viduals who actually could do things, rather than those who had been able to build up a shining reputation for do- ing things—and there may be an in- finite void between the two. Secondly, there appears on the sur- face a wide divergence in the personal- ities of the new cabinet. The gulf is broad between such a man as the com- panionable, practical, politically-minded James A. Farley and the mystically- minded corn breeder, Henry Wallace. This group does not fall naturally into a composite the picture of which can be conveyed with a descriptive adjec- tive. Such a selection should insure a more delicate and responsive, but less easily directable cabinet machine than if the members had been selected for psychological homogenity. It is not one of the machine-age machines, such as American factorles turn out according to blue prints, with every bolt and nut standardized down to the millionth of an inch. * kXX ‘These cabinet members almost might be said to represent 10 fundamental types of human beings—so far are they from being 10 embodiments of a single type projected into 10 different lines of activity. It hardly seems a *“foolproof cabinet”—such a machine as a stand- ard vacuum eleaner which “any child can run.” It is closer to one of the in- struments which Dr. Abbot of the Smithsonian builds of invisible wires and wings of flies with which can work miracles. It is not a self-ad- justing machine, but it may be in- finitely adjustable. The cabinet he has chosen seems to reflect in some measure Mr. Roosevelt’s own mental outlook as it has appeared from time to time. It is quite different from that, for example, of Mr. Hoover— without reflection on either. Mr. Hoo- ver appeared to many as the high priest and prophet of the age of standardiza- tion, while the new President swings to- ward the opposite pole of individual ad- justment. ‘There is a strong flavor of what mi be called “fundamentalism” about cabinet—not, of course, in the religious sense of the word. One might n{ “rad- icalism” rather, if the connotation of instability could be stripped from this term. The records of -the members show a tendency to go down to the Toots or “fundamentals” of affairs, to get beneath clouds of fcrmula and verbi- age and manipulate actualities. * K K K Cordell Hull Tfl'f r:;:. zecuury of State first en- umdpoflmfluu in 1907 when to the House from important in administration, in March, 1931 e was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1921 to 1924 and in 1928 was nted as_Ten- nessee’s candidate for the presidential nomination at the Houston eonvut::x an im- lation during the Wilson and entered the Senate from gravitating into the hands of lhz‘ wealthy after the World War. In 1917 he presided over a board in the Treasury Department which drafted regulations for operating the war tax laws. Most of these later were incor- porated in the revenue act of 1917. Im- mediately after the Armistice he urged enactment of a sinking fund law for handling the war debt. * % *x Throughout his career his chief in- | terests have been with financial legisia- tion. To his colleagues his command of involved statistics is l'!mal'klhb‘lle. Anything pertaining to economics chal- lenges his attention. Sidelights as to his attitude on world issues, such as he will confront as Sec- retary of State, are contained in pas- s from recent statements: “This mad pursuit of economic na- tionalism or aloofness or seclusion— each nation striving to live unto ftself— :ll-l proved utterly empty and disas- rous.” “The practice of the half insane policy of economic isolation during the past 10 years by America and the world under American leadership is the larg- est single underlying cause of the pres- ent American and world panic.” “Economic disarmament and military disarmament are patently the two most vital and outstanding factors in busi- ness.” “The absurd attempt of every nation to live unto itself and aloof from others has resulted in a breskdown of inter- ?st:'uml credit, finance, exchange and rade.” Hull 1s a veteran of the Spanish- | American War and he resigned from a | judgeship to make his first race for Congress. * k% % William H. Woodin )ROBABLY none of the Roosevelt ap- pointments aroused more interest | than that of the Secretary of the Treasury. No other member of the cabinet inherits such responsibilities as does William H. Woodin, president of the American Car & Foundry €o., and composer of high-brow music. He has been a distinguished man in business and art, but politically he was essen- tially unknown when Mr. Roosevelt dragged him out of the welter of the 120,000,000. Normally the new Presi- dent might have been expected to se- lect an outstanding business man for the job, the conduct of which is so vital to the whole far-flung ramification of American business, and the selection doubtless was attended with infinite weighings and worryings. The whole cabinet would be flavored with the per- sonality of the man chosen. Finance is likely to be personified in the Sec- retary of the Treasury. ‘Woodin appears to be an intensely human figure—a long call from the cal- culating-machine type of man, the ruth- less money magnate, Money and finan- cial statistics will be humanized in his personality—and at a time when, more than ever before, they need humaniz- ing to restore the sadly shattered con- fidence of the American people. * K % X% ‘There must _be something of the mystic about Woodin. He said in a recent interview that he felt the re- sponsibilities of the cabinet post would leave him no time for musical composi- tion, although, he continued, “of course, you can’t help composing. It comes to you. If you set it Gown you compose. If you don't it goes away. It's very flee{kw." Such is a self-painted dpic- ture of & highly responsive mind, a mind in tune with nature and vibrating to the deep, unheard melodies of nature despite the walls which finance has reared to shut out that communion with the ultimate reality of things. ‘The new Secretary is approaching his job with a thorough realization of the responsibility of it all. He seems a bit self-conscious from his interviews. He didn't write the music for some nursery ballads, he says, and fears he will be “kidded” about it. He has been ac- cused of it, and people will unfitting the dignity of a Treasury Secretary. ‘Aside from that, Mr. Woodin from his long associations seems pre-eminently qualified to deal with the delicate and may be a tal cause of the whole distressing paralysis of American industry. He understands the nn,amd: * K k% George H. Dern EORGE H. DERN of Utah, new | place of bookkeeper for a mining com- threatening railroad situation - which | ing statesman. Like his fellow cabinet of-| ficer, Wallace, Dern is credited with practical accomplishments in_the line of actually doing things, rather than in administration. He is co-inventor of two widely used mining processes | which have done much for the indus- | try. He rose from the inconspicuous | pany to his present position. A native of Nebraska, Dern was a famous foot ball player in his days at| the State university back in the early | 90s. Cutting short his college career when his parents moved from Nebraska | to Utah, the future Governor of that| mountain State studied the technical | and engineering aspects of the mining | industry. He will be able to meet the | military engineers on much of their own ground, and his appointment as War Secretary may have much more significance than merely the selection of a competent and politically avail- able man. The engineering branch of the Army promises to have special significance in the Roosevelt scheme | of things. | In Mr. Dern's record there is no| reference to military experience. His qualifications are those of the engineer, and his foremost interests have been | in engineering problems. As Governor | of Utah he tock an active part in the | interstate controversy involving the | construction of the Boulder Canyon | Dam and was one of the organizers of | the seven States’ conference on the | Colorado river. | As a business man, he rose to promi- | nence in the gold mining industry and | has also engaged at various times in banking, dairying and canning. * X ok ¥ Homer S. Cummings. HE sudden desth of Senator Thomas | J. Walsh, who had be:n named as | Attorney General in the new administraticn, on the eve of the inau- guration, constituted a heavy blow to President Rocsevelt. Walsh possessed | the admiration and confidence of the | people as did few other men in public life and his appointment had won the hest _praise. hlgh Rgo!cvell was obliged to act quickly to have a full cabinet when he took office and his choice fell on a man who not only had been his own loyal supporter but who had held a high place in Democratic politics for mote than a quarter of a century. Homer S. Cummings of Connecticut had served for 25 years as a member of the Demo- cratic Naticnal Committee. He had been mentioned for President in the 1920 convention, which finally nomi- nated Gov. Cox of 0. He was uni- versally acknowledged as a man of ability, tact, experience, keen knowl- edge of organization mechanism, and with a highly attractive perscnality. Mr. Cummings has been a practicing Jlawyer since his graduation from Yale in 1893. - He has had extensive civil has been a familiar figure in d Federal Courts, and has often appeared before the United States Supreme Court. He has been three times mayor of his home city of Stam- ford. At the San Francisco conven- tion he made the keynote speech in praise of the ideals of Woodrow ‘Wilson. The new Attorney General is a na- tive of Chicago, but comes from old New England stock. Had Senator Walsh Jived, it is believed President Roosevelt had decided to appoint Mr. Cummings Governor General of the Philippines, the highest appointive office outside the cabinet itself. EEE James A. Farley N _Elk on tour” is the descflpflt hrase applied to the new Pos . ?n:ster General by a writer in Henry Mencken's American Mercury, which has no great respect for “EIks. His appointment appears the most conventional of the Roosevelt choices. His reward is that whélch t.ndlm = goes to the pre-convention m: a successful %rsidentm candidate. He represents a segment of American life very diverse indeed from that which is personified by Henry A. Wallace or Frances Perkins. He brings to the cabinet the stmo?hzre of the I room, the sporting fraternity, the smok- room of the Pullman vfil:tehthe ce, State an .“ glt important industry in New York ity. * X k% Farley worked hard for the nomina- tion and election of Smith in 1928, but after that disastrous campaign, be- came convinced that his friend was not fated for the presidency and trans- ferred his efforts to Raosevelt. As the Governor's campaign manager he was the real driving power behind one of the most enthusiastic campaigns ever conducted by the Democratic party. His unflinching persistence and atten- tion to details, as well as his super- salesmanship, are largely credited with assuring the ncmination for his can- didate, while his restless activity went far toward building up the election cli- max. He is descril as & human dy- namo, but at the same time an in- tensely likable man. His loyalty to Roosevelt is unquestionable and he is looked upon as one of the greatest as- sets of the administration. Office Faricy brings a ietime of prac: a e of - tical business experience ‘which should stand him in good stead. *xx % Claude A. Swanson new Secretary of the Navy comes to the cabinet with long ex- perience in naval affairs. He is perhaps best known in Washington of all the new official family, due to his long and prominent service in both House and Senate. He served in the House for six successive terms before his election as Governor of Virginia in 1906. He returned to Washington as a member of the Senat: in 1920, and has held his seat in successive elections. In 1918 he succeeded to the chair- manship of the Senate Naval Affairs Committee gnd served in this vital ca- pacity during the trying days of the World War. As a member of the com- mittee in 1916 he had sponsored the | three-year $500,000,000 ship-building program of 16 capital ships. After the armistice he was the ranking Demo- crat on the Senate Fcreign Relations Committee, and was one of Woodrow Wilson’s strongest supporters in the effort to bring about American ad- herence to the League of Nations. He :“t one of those closest to the Presi- ent. When the Republicans came into power Senator Swanson became the ranking minority member of the Naval and Foreign Relations Committees. He had fixed for his objective, impressed as he was by the lessons of the war, an American Navy second to none in the world. His plans were biasted, for the time, by the Washington con- ference. He has remained a big Navy man. * k% % Senator Swanson was the first dele- gate President Hoover selected to go to Geneva last year, and was the American member of the Naval Com- mission after the delegates were di- vided off into naval, air and land Simirals ‘and other High- ramting of- a an T of- ficers of the urvlce.” could have been a more popular ap- ?olnl‘.mem from the point of view of he Navy itself. It is assured of sympathetic handling of its problems. Swanson is a ‘self-made man. As & boy in Swansonville, Va., just after the devastation of the: Civil War, he was obliged to work while attending school. His college course was inter- rupted while he worked for two years Later as a grocery clerk in Danville. he obtained a law degree from the University of Virginia and was a suc- cessful practicing attorney at the time of his first election to Congress. In the House he was one of the principal figures in the establishment of the rural free delivery service. *x x Harold L. Ickes new Secretary of the Interior is the least known to the general oo, public of all the cabinet. an"—s succestul busi- | the traveling salesmen gather. sutcessful “salesm: Special Articles ROOSEVELT MUST RECEIVE BY MARK SULLIVAN. ments which, I think, are axi- omatic. The first is: No_American can wish for good Tor himself during the coming months and years without also wishing good for the country as a whole. That statement, true at nearly all times, is particularly true in time of depression. We are all in the same boat. There may be trifling exceptions. A few “short sellers” in the stock or grain market may have improved their business positions during the depres- sion, and because of it. There may be w others, uniquely placed in the and social structure, who es- cape the common lot. But as to the mass of us, the truth applies: the times cannot b2 good for any cf us un- | less they are good for all of us. ‘The sec siatement, equally eW- omatic, 1s: No man can wish for §r | good of the country, dme coviAy months, without also for the good of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the suc- cess of him as President. “Sell America Short.” Here again there may be trifling exceptions. There may be a very few speculators in the markets, of a not very appealing type, who would make money by, in J. P. Morgan's f miliar phrase, “selling America short”— and through having their short sales made profitable through lack of suc- cess on the part of the new adminis- tration at Washington. But, broadly speaking, the rule for all of us is the same. Any one who tries to go through the coming months and years hoping with one part of his soul for his own and the country’s prosper- |ity, and hoping with another part for failure of Mr. Roosevelt as President— any such perscn is going to have an unhappy time, be in an impossible po- sition. He is going to be at war with himself, his soul a battlefield racked and torn by struggle between contend- ing desires. ‘The only way for national prosperity is success for the Roosevelt administra- tion. The cnly way for individual hap- | piness, so far as personal happiness can be affected by politics, is success for the Roosevelt administration. This is true | not only for America. Measurably it is | true for much of the world. Mr. Roose | velt has an enormous opportunity—and, | of course, responsibility in proportion. For another reason, equally urgent, | success on the part of the Roosevelt administration is important to the United States. More than important, | almost indispensable. Lack of success | by Mr. Roosevelt as President would |lead to disappointment in him. And disappointment in Mr. Roosevelt would | be, under the conditions that exist, about the most cruel tragedy that could | happen to the people, the deepest spir- | itual wound that could befall them. | Lack Violence So Far. We have come this depres- | sion so far with ap immunity from | violence, from resentment teking the | form of social disorder, that has been | a wonder of the world. Every one who would like to see us go the rest of the way with the same immunity must wish that Mr. Roosevelt's presidency be sat- to the people, and specifically that during his administration and | early in it, we should feel ourselves on | the upward way toward material pros- | perity and social contentment. One more deferring of hope, one more fail- f f fail- ure of a man or an institution to live up to the ideal the people have of him, one more disillusionment would be the thing America could hardly endure. Whoever wishes for the happiness of America must wish that Mr. Roosevelt's | presidency be a success. The people have suffered, as an in- | cident of the depression, unhappy dis- appointment, tragic disillusionment— illusionment about men, about lead- ers in various lines, especially in busi- ness and politics. There was disap- pointment about some of the strongest, most venerable institutions in the world. On a day in September, 1931, one of the oldest metaphors in the English language, “As strong as the Bank of hngdlfnd," became, for the moment, less val In many cases the men about whom disillusionment has come have not de- served it. But no matter—the history of the last three years has been a series of t.o'gphng gods. The most con- spicuous—the least deserving of this cruel ,accident of fate—is Mr. Hoover. In the beginning he was the symbol of prosperity—and through no fault of his prosperity ceased. The thing the peo- ple felt he stood for ceased to be. In- w 'was not made about fault, in the ppointment the people felt, justice :lbo\;’t‘r!‘lult or responsibility played lit- e . BEGIN by setting down two state- | SUPPORT OF ENTIRE NATION Failure of Administration Would Add to People’s Disappointment and Bring Dangerous Results, In similar manner symbol after sym- bol turned out not to mean the thing the people thought it meant. In some | cases the failure of the man to live up to the public expectation of him was the man’s own fault—in more cases, mere accident. The distinction between ac- cident and deserving made no differ- ence in the disillusionment which the country suffered. The fallen gods lie all about us. The greatest public utility magnate in the country, symbol of strength and secur- ity, Samuel Insull, turned out to be & iugg]er of finance, or worse. Today he lives precarfously in Greece, resisting extradition to the United States to face charges made by a grand jury, and his brother clings to a similar refuge in Canada. Avparently Insull was one of the cases in which the man had fault. But Insull by his fall tarnished other men, completely innocent men, and these were added to the priests of sound business practice who became, to the public, false prophets. Some great banking houses, one of which had had the confidence of gen- erations of investors, sold to the pub- lic & quarter of a billion of securities issued by a man, lvar Kreuger, who turned out to be the most colossal | swindler, forger and criminal in all | history. = The venerable and justly re- | spected banking house was utterly ’gumless of anything except that they, | too lightly gave their own confidence | to the swindler—their fault was lack | of suspicion leading to lack of care. | But these, also, were added to the | fallen gods, the sum of the people’s | disillusionment. Destroys People’s Faith. Such shattered idols lie all about us. ‘To the many national ones are added countless local ones; heads of banks that failed, local gods of politics or other types of public men who turned out not be the parochial Gibraltars ‘thelr communities though them. The sum of their fall is a tragic destruce tion ol the people’s faith in their sym- bols. T the particular result of the cepression which is at once the most pithetic and also the most dan- gerous of our institutions, to the so- cial oraer. ‘The people, as & mass, can think and feel and act only in terms of their accepted symbols—and the m-en behind the symbols turned out to be not the thing the symbols i True, the people themselves were not without folly and supidity in their faith, and not without crueltv in their disappointment. They locked to the gods of business and politics to pro- vide them with plenty, much as the Indians looked to the medicine man to see that the crops were abund: the buffalo plentiful and fat. W business weather turned out to be r within the medicine man’s contrel t people turnsd upon him with a s agery less drutal only than that the angry Indians. “The American people do not ca an unmbrells,” is Mr. Al Smith’s pu: ent expression of our national cpt ism, our faith in things as they ¢ For the umbrella we rely on our lec ers; and when the storm proves hea: than the umbrella can protect against we do not blame ourselves. Disillusionment Dangerous. Another disillusionment is the one thing this country must not have. It ‘would be too saddening, too dangerous. All men of good will must wish against it. That means they must wish that Mr. Roosevelt have the kind and de- gree of success that will come up to | the faith of the people who have | made him President. Great expecta- tions have been built about him. It does mot matter how much or how little he invited the people to place their hopes in him. To have expec- tations arise which you cannot live up to is one of the highest causes of tragedy, and fate does not discrimi- nate between expectations deliberately held out and expectations that arise | as the fruit of conditions. | . Regardless of promises held out by | Mr. Roosevelt or on behalf of him, he was, in the people’s minds, the con- trast to President Hoover: and as they visited resentment for disappointment upon Mr. Hoover, so did they, and so do they now, place reliance upon Mr. Roosevelt. The people expect his ad- ministration to coincide with prosperity. 1t is all one whether Mr. Roosevelt can bring prosperity or whether prosperity happens to coincide with him. Either | way toward the same outcome, pros- | perity would bring the satisfaction of |faith in him that is the country’s | greatest need. | That is why success for Mr. Roose- velt must be wished for by thoughtful men, responsible men, men of good will | everywhere. n ROME.—A sharply worded manifesto against modern music, issued and signed by 10 of the most noted Italian composers, has thrown musical Italy into an uproar. ‘The signers are Ottorino Respighi, Giuseppe Mule, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Riccardo Zandonal, _Alberto Gasc Alceo Toni, Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalll, Guido Guerrini, Gennaro Napoli and Guido Zuffenato. _The Metropolitan House, New York; the New York Philharmonic _ Orchestra and other American orchestras and opera com- panies have drawn largely on these composers for their programs. “We are against this art which can- not have and does not have any human content and desires to be merely a me- chanical demonstration and a cerebral puzzle,” declare the manifestants. “In the musical world reigns the biblical confusion of Babel. For 20 rs the most diverse and disparate tendencies have been lumped together in a continual chaotic revolution. We are still among ‘tendencies’ and ‘ex- periments,’ and no one knows to what definite objects they will lead. “The public, distracted by the clamor of so many wonderful claims, intim- idated by so many profound and wise of esthetic reform, no particularly to young musicians. “A sense of rebellion to the centuries- old canons and fundamentals of the art of music has filtered into the spirit of young musicians. Schools cannot give them and do not give them any stand- ard to go by. There are no masters whom they will bow, modern masters Manifesto Against Modern Music By Italian Composers Brings Uproar ‘The protesters wish it understood that they are not reactionaries. “We know that the rhythm of life and art are in continual movement which xoes not stop.” But they go on to say_ “The conquests of life and of &¢ do not come in leaps and starts. A legical chain binds the past and the fiture. * * * The romanticism of yesterda will again te the romanticism of tomofrow.” Several well-known Italian composers have not signed the manifesto. They are Mascagni, Marinuzzi, the director of the Rome Opera Orchestra, and Al- fredo Casella. Casella, however, is a confirmed modernist. Liquor “Fat” Worry To Slim Figures LONDON.—Persons of both sexes in Britain desiring to be thin have re- ceived a disconcerting warning on the fattening propensities of alcoholic bev- erages from the dietetic expert, Dr. W. F. Christle, Many individuals who have been ab- it | occasions if only to drive away thoughts of war debts, ¢coflonic depression and income tax collectors. But Dr. Christie, in an article in the Practitioner, has & dismal tale to tell of the sugar that will be consumed if the simmers allow t.h%selmhtuc}} latitude. He says: ose who give up sugar in tea for the sake of their MUGWMM logically abstain from alcohol. One glass of sherry is equal to three lumps of A