Behind the Scenes in Washington
Meiman, Benjamin
Behind the Scenes in Washington By Benjamin Meiman Our Washington Correspondent WHEN Presiddnt Roosevelt re-_ turns to Wasmngton political observers expect the present dull political situation...
...The newly converted Republican, John Spargo, adds that he is certain his belief "is shared by a host of men and women to whom such action by the Republican National Convention will bring cheer and courage," and he hopes these who agree with him "will make their leaders . everywhere...
...h " |~JkjHa> meaatiiiii unany enterprises have been unable ijk jepsjji -loans and the government became a part f/Wper of such properties...
...The presidential campaign situation, too, is destined to take on a livelier phase with the President's Baltimore and New York tpeeches later this month...
...On this point Mr...
...Tbty SIP* in his opiuiun, to Stt—ilisc cos** tions and to keep up prices, "off agencies impede the free tomggf ing of the price system...
...Fundamentally, be writes, the middle class of today "has no identity of class economic interests in terms of a definite mode of production, or economic...
...It is a "split personality'' and only its lower sections in the main provide possible recruits for a revolutionary movement...
...Sew York: Cor&t FrUdt...
...MorS»*et, this fHding from Social, ism in iae sentence into Communism -far as*)Hun eoe is an obscurantism that is typical of Communist writers...
...Hem and men there were symptoms # jara^waL especially during the past .several months, t^;re*xrtl0y/ is: still in the future...
...Labor's venture into politics may prove to be of great historic value...
...Says the minority opinion: "The rule now assailed was wisely conceived and lawfully adopted to foil the plans of knaves intent upon obscuring or siijinissiilni, the knowledge ef their knavery...
...Thus a policy of government ownership arises out of an economic situation mat is firfgnmplete conflict with the Official American theory that there must he no government intervention in capitalistic industry, ft is not a matter of choice...
...that payrolls had increased 22.7 per cent during the last year, were about z}4 times those of 1932 and the highest since 1929...
...intervention "in the affairs of private enterprise, private ownership and private management and ^¦HHKftsssBssi jasbtvafly lag behind economic change and yet in tha past six years one can observe the almost complete disnaajiaisnir 1'if the old idea of American individualism as a common mode of thought...
...ef^piSjj •ocUuy valmdSo.-- ^""^^ Digests of the four volume...
...Tbey cannot be honest with themselves or with then- readers...
...To be sure, there were brutalities, but they constituted a heaven compared with what Socialists, Anarchists and dissenting Communists endure in Russia...
...Now there is being created "Labor's Non-partisan League" with the avowed purpose of enlisting labor on the side of President Roosevelt in the coming election...
...The original studies to bodied in two large voluom, "America's Capacity to Prodi** and "America's Capacity to C«s> some," tnalf it that even t_HJ times the American industrial antes...
...Hoover'at Cleveland...
...it is due ft ecmMmric necessity...
...ton, president of Brook?gHfM|tp tute of Washington, declared tint the basic i mmfdhib> jQSep^MB corporated in the final vohwe df the survey, "Income and Progrsa," is essentially that business nip should reduce prices and * fi same time maintain pfWssaSJfHf...
...When «| * Marice and Laura FaSc'HB dation of Pittsburgh prOvgBH additional *2S&X) to ings Institution of \Vas_pl to follow up their compna^^H study of the eo?aDutte;M^H the Brookings staff : Ml brought forth a small SejflH This further inquiry intend*** determine what eeadft WiH om to stabilise economic conditions sgi to bring a better utilization of M productive process *a4rS*«jB diffusion of wealth to the 4*mB can people, ended with a pMptigf to shift back society to an oaJK economy, and to aMnaijH to content thaMeatvos wttsmtn-mediate profit— - - --------ffiS_l Addressing the Commueijy i_| rum here, Dr...
...Whose influence is behind the new departure...
...This nMsrieal^ the case when a corporation "person" is con-itted w*th a wageworker who has nothing to sell but his labor power and MUST sell it if he and his family Uncle sam's new property VAST eredats extended by the Federal Government W has given it a financial interest in reality, farms and industry...
...it is a policy grow-jftpjrajt-:al g*he materia...
...president green's speech ^rj^iy'aapect of speech ^^^^j^J cIo^exon'omK: forces w^re compelling changes » sfrirnght of rosmkind...
...On the contrary, they have definitely postponed recovery...
...Major George L. Berry, the President's Coordinator for Industrial Cooperation,*' is organizing -the league, with John L. Lewis, bead of the United Mine Workers, and Workers, as coorganizers...
...Senate to Investigate Leber Spy System The two "Roberts'' of the Senate, Robert M. LaFollette and Robert F. Wagner, together with other progressive senators, are planning to have the Senate pass a resolution to probe into strikebreaking labor-espionage, intimidation, of workers and...
...Join Spargo tor Hoover John Spargo, once a Socialist and now a Republican, is the author of a 38-page booklet entitled "The Legend of Hoover Wbo 'Did Nothing"," which is being circulated from the same unidentified quarter that has been- issuing in pamphlet form the various political addresses delivered by the former President since last October...
...Major Berry, despatching several thousand letters the past week to union leaders) announced his league will pay especial attention to New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois—all major States in the election next November...
...Hoove...
...First, a negative answer...
...The technique of comparing claims of New Deal hindrance to business, with corporation earnings reports is to be worked heavily...
...Asked if it might lead to the organization of a third party after 1936, he replied: j "Perhaps...
...Roosevelt in November, and will make an active campaign with this end in view...
...Labor Enters Politics « Another line of counter-attack Came into the open on April 1. Heavy fire has been directed st President Roosevelt and bis policies by the American Liberty League, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Chamber of Commerce of the United States...
...Those who know say that a large amount of material is already available for the prospective investigation...
...BsfSMaT of the terrific impact of the industrial country the Federation today is committed to a sweep-JKBj_JJ"~l J** *«eia...
...An exception, however, was in the case of Robert M. La Follette, a Presidential candidate in 1924...
...2.50...
...The organization, he said, which will be developed in every State, will seek to encourage all laborers,, whatever their political creed, to vote for Mr...
...He declares that the American revolutionists were "merciless" in their treatment of then- enemies...
...Y . We are next informed that "Socialism means the democratic self government ef the community ol labor, within which there are nc vested mlerests to trample upon democracy.'' But this self-govern-ment has never had a moment oi tht premiums bonuses and SMg> privileges granted certain 'tyftfij workers in Russia and the diserMEl i nation against others reveal •« '.'vested interests" and caste ?3 developing there...
...Bingham' is distrustful of the working class and would give a leading place to middle class groups and ft^e^psj^^Su^wo—d ineorfh sjr^^tbsee ilsmsuts in a labor aj^S^JftiiiB^-lawsit^ would take qjtMjp|fe4ni» Wi$h the aim ef esJBK'jsrifiji...
...To offset the "split personality" of the middle class by showing more solidarity in the working class, he writes in the second book that the antagonisms in the working class "between skilled an unskilled, the organised and unorganised, are resolvable within the relations of the class...
...MouKon in support ef » remedy, however, wss forest, 9 oppose monopolistic combimdM trade aswiations...
...For example, the first book declared that the trade Unions "were not interested in a general class struggle against capitalism...
...Readers are assured that "Unfile fascism which makes an ideal of dictatorship, authoritarianism and caste...
...defiS of a system of "free" eorapetam Ho bald that business men omP be enlightened and made tam^T terested in snpsndiag tbtSTjST pear's profits or tbeir general sf-sons...
...Comparing this book with his "Decline of American Capitalism" published last year, one can observe the influence of the "new line" of the Communist International which even recasts historical judgments...
...kgislstion and it welcomes gov-mj&jmM...
...Throughout the book he uses the words "Socialist'' and "Communist" as though they were synoncmoiM hot it is obvious from the vaXMOS-sburpliments he pays to Stabn's Russia that he means However, Corey's ansaysis of the middle' clan of today, its composition,' its . division into a number of elements, the relation of these various elements to the capitalist class on 'the one hand and to the working class on the other is more thorough than Bingham's...
...The Spargo publication winds up with the statement that "the best interests of the Republican party snd the nation likewise will be served by the nomination of Mr...
...or the Hoover ites who are foolish enough to think that Spar-go's endorsement will do their hero any good...
...Berry, in a specially summoned press conference, said: "I dare say the organization .will continue after the election...
...Ple^a^Bftstrisl depression brought with it the policy Ot^liWne^er the pump...
...Wil-llft ssLXm of the National Mediation Boards^MaMp^ scmsi TOoprrt for the opinion of a majority of the Supteme Court that manufacturing is not com-Httfl^^QHeaVasBBisBiaw, in mesa days, is seldom a-buman being," said Leiserson...
...It should be understood that the present move not only involves endorsing a candidate, but also organizing a body to work for his election...
...After citing how these forces hod uniliwlhiii government intervention in industry, how the llu fnBnwisiH, i iniiiiisnt "All of these developments are taking place because of die operation of powerful economic facta...
...Here is a sample: Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., president of General Motors Corporation, said in a preface to the company's annual report: 1 "The corporation believes, and has no hesitancy in taking the position that the present attitude of the Government and the results of its experiments in' the realm of economics have not, to say the least, resulted in accelerating the process of recovery or inspiring confidence in the operations of the future...
...The dictatorship in Russia has been "temporary" for about nineteen years...
...On thaJHK our capacity to consume, lbs import concludes that the corinus> tive desires of the American V*t* are "very greatly in excess eft-nation's capacity to produce" an considerably In excess of ssr present ptedactl...
...He minimized the vatasf organized labor's geaersl PoVsjS raise wages as not sffordisf til most effective means to beaeft de Three years ago, the Falk Sous-dstion of Pitteburgh providsd tin Brookings Institution of WaihMf ton with a grant of $160,SQ9 B make a systematic investiga_m|lK the functioning of the annn» machine...
...M ought not be stabilized, but sbi| be lowered as part of a dfctibtig m" >]CtonUtherTmsded...
...It consists of quoting figures to show actual results...
...They have not been brought about because - This interpretation measures up to the moat progressive Bgatfiiifnl philosophy of the Labor ami Socialist movement in all couirTrias The trend of events is powerfully influeneed by changing economic forces and the speaker, departed from bis manuscript twice to emphasize this truth...
...Its authentic stuff, uncovered by a government agency, the National Labor Board, since last fall...
...New Deal Technique Behind the scenes you can see a new technique being developed by New Deal technicians (or tacticians, whichever you prefer) for dealing with attacks by big business, big industrialists and big financiers...
...Correct, but this is followed with the statement that "Communist dictatorship is wholly functional and temporary...
...Spargo argues that "the number of the 16,-000,000 who voted for Mr...
...Page the Liberty League...
...takes the stand that the regulstion prohibiting a registrant from withdrawing a statement once placed before the commission was valid...
...fortunes,\if there wtOR* general understanding that f subility of the economic sy#0 Beth Dr...
...We |? and we would like to —eoyjSO bird wbo can...
...yjse|aef eTenWJssist many years ago aptly described this MMOT sslatiemsliip when he said that "The worst form MjaWPblfey it the equal treatment of unequals...
...Surely those who boiler from the house-tops that tbey are for the sanctity of the Constitution and make believe they are the watchdogs of personal liberty .ought to be for it...
...These showed that sales and earnings were the best since 1929...
...Harold GlennKbsf...
...Supremo Court Decision The Supreme Court decision, 6 to 3, that the Securities and Exchange Commission can net-investigate the application of J. Edward Jones for the registration of $100,-000 oil securities after Jones withdrew the application, sounds to the layman like saying that you can not arrest a burglar who tried to break into your house if he announces that he withdraws after he finds out that you are wide awake...
...The ouostteu ooasiddBj was whether the capital ift *y*0jfl of wealth production had Perfll nently broken down, or, if a diffOT ent distribution of the nationaVO come were elfbctod, sasal^B live functioning of our productht machinery would result, afforAsj greater benefits for all...
...JmMta^Bflll Conclusions h Brookings Study Heldl^enahk By Eaasl I hiikiM PITTSBURGH...
...This new technique is not as spectacular as "driving the money-changers out of the temple," but it may be more effective...
...Corey also endeavors to sell the Bolshevik revolution to his readers by drawing parallels with the American Revolution...
...violations of civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution...
...Through credit operations it has become a llpawft dtfraads, shipping, factories, utilities, oil wells and homes...
...Major Berry says the new move is aimed at "other leagues whose purpose is the defeat of the President and his policies," which was interpreted^ by political observers to refer especially to the American Liberty League...
...ii^Sntly.^ The Brooking* report has bio accepted with little challenge f*0 any source and has added feetsU confirmation to numerous m*p»-dent iHuisttfliiiui It nK vindicates a host of liberal« Socialist economists who durj||f period of 76 yesrs had rOS—• the same general conclusion* "Pro*" Csssasimpaffj Dr...
...Behind the Scenes in Washington By Benjamin Meiman Our Washington Correspondent WHEN Presiddnt Roosevelt re-_ turns to Wasmngton political observers expect the present dull political situation to be galvanized inter Hfe...
...The employer is a corporation and may have a plant in Illinois, a charter from another Yet in law the corporation is considered a "person" and the worker also#a person...
...Its president, William Green, was not consulted, .although he has been asked to support the League...
...The positive answer is—the Committee for Industrial Cooperation, a militant group within the Federation, thus launches the political organization...
...At present, the scramble for the Republican nomination at Cleveland is about all there is to the 1936 "battle oi the century...
...Equality of "persons" lK* lMas_sc4«fare the National Labor Relations Board a In WajissBsPan, soma Wtereating testimony was sub-Mtoi<ig|ad|ng stiikes since the early nineties...
...Roosevelt, either on account of the repeal issue, or a desperate resolve to give the New Deal a trial, many at last, and I am confident, a vast majority, would now hail with joy the chance to vote for Mr...
...This confusion and obsm_jjf|f| are presented as tht- "Marxaaj| lightenment" which challengepE "Dare to understand...
...the struggle against militant labor action...
...In perh#e...
...There is also in it a fairly strong hint that the organization is intended to be permanent...
...Government officials suggested to newspaper men that they compare this statement with figures appearing later in the report...
...I understand that the intention is to throw some light on the workings of detective agencies and professional strikebreakers...
...It is not the American Federation of Labor as a unit...
...MB The Brookings research Ksf made one of the most thoSSBb-going inquiries yet made of • tht actual workings of the eesSMt system...
...that employes numbered within a few thousands of 1929...
...How extensive this expansion of the gov-•Jsasntaat isstoptivate enterprise has gone we do not know Is* it is not the result of any theory...
...Is There Possibility off a Labor Party...
...In his study Of this phase of the American Revolution Van Tyne declares that "for every severe enactment to be found in the session laws of the several states, there are ten acts of pardon or abatement of the severer clauses of the original law" while the number of executions "was very small as compared with the number either found guilty of treason by actual trial or attainted with that crime...
...We may, want to cross the stream later...
...It's terribly hard to decide who is entitled to the bigger ha, ha, the apostate Spargo...
...f*HJS study of the middle class * prubiifcis ?o interesting comparison with Alfred M. Bingham's recent hook on the same theme...
...cooperatives t_ government regulation...
...i -' ; -. • ____________ 3 khjr fight for principles HHHE long struggle of The New Leader for fundamental Pps_ftdpies and policies is drawing to a close and it eftands its hearty thanks to its thousands of readers for their cooperation in this struggle...
...Socialism includes Hberty, equality and democracy ia new and higher forms...
...dees not operate within IS ft cent of its activity...
...It is interesting that Communist writers generally go back to bourgeois models for their inspiration...
...depression, as in the currents* low se SO per esas...
...Meahea aad the tnUoa's^ Snal^ study evade t» ignore dresent cescestrsnea ' petitive Hta<fe' may act sssnhiLt!t*,*^'^i5^5...
...This struggle reduced ^s^relpe.of the paper as an educational medium for reaching the unattached masses, hut it had to be made of;^aw sTntalhgent political movement of the working #MaM Went to survive...
...The minority opinion written by Justice" Cardoso and concurred in by Brandeis apd Stone...
...necessity...
...ergo, each person is free to bargain wfefc tie other* on equal terms in industry...
...J the Brooking's survey have if* prepared by the ffalk VoMmMH A limited supply is available Wjr out charge to our readers by wnv...
...order" and therefore it lacks solidarity in thought and action...
...Hew long is "temporary...
...Berry declared that the President and the Democratic National Committee have not been consulted in the matter...
...On the contrary, unionism became a bulwark of capitalism led 'by bureaucrats who acted as 'labor lieutenants of the capitalist class' ir...
...Corey thinks of the old middle class as "independent enterprisers" who have largely passed out of the picture while the new middle class is composed of a variety of elements .modi of whom have no direct property stake in the preservation' of capitalism although they are more or less under the sway of the ideology of capitalism...
...Having left the reader confused regarding the basic differences be-ttseen Socialism and Communism, the last five pages find the author treading on eggs...
...pnm^kumt must bow to the real ruler of human affairs—changing economic compulsion...
...levels...
...It's a long list of employer terrorism and labor spies...
...Hoover in 1932, but would not do so today, is an inconsiderable and negligible quantity, while of the great number of Republicans wbo voted for Mr...
...To permit eccentric Utopians to tgjwfotan ike party into another Communist sect ^¦Wi"***8^^ the host of men and women —ofiifiiti 1 k~ i____«ta'_ . _ .„ _ ., Within, a few weeks we expect to make important d^gen ft The New Leader that will make, «warern_FadiKatKmaI organ for reaching the uninformed The Crisis of the Middle Class By Ltvm Oorey...
...All are employer organisations...
...One has only to go hack to the records of the revolutionary committees and compare their actions with the executions, exiles and concentration csmps of Stalin to appreciate the exaggeration...
...The majority of the Court held that the act did not confer upon the commission an arbitrary power to deny without reason a motion to dismiss, snd strongly condemned "roving, offensive, inquisitorial, compulsory" investigation after the applicant served notice of withdrawal of his application...
...Thus the "bureaucrats" and "labor lieutenants" make .their exit in accord with the "new line...
...TradftieOuJhr, the Federation has avoided taking a partfseu part, in Presidential campaigns...
...who, for reasons best known to him, became a Hoover He...
...That is, the government ^jlpaaiajs-seaan aadsptuiuilto revive a prostrate industrial system by a financial blood transfusion but the patient wNMftNlsf waak...
...But imagine she mammoth empire of corporation dollars ?Mvfa#''qwer a dozen states and a wage worker bar-gaming with such a "person" for improved conditions in industry, it is a mocking farce and yet it is defended |pt^dhl^ie»sis«rnal police of capitalism...
Vol. 19 • April 1936 • No. 15
