STATIC SOUTHERN PLAN
Hesseltine, William B.
Static Southern Plan PLANNING FOR THE SOUTH. An Inquiry into the Economics of Regionalism. By John V. Van Sickle. Vanderbilt University Press. $2.75. Reviewed by William B. Hesseltine THE SOUTH...
...From Chapel Hill has come a host of studies, sociological and economic, of Southern regions...
...Or, to put it bluntly, federal restrictions in the interest of the common man should be removed, and federal funds should be given the Southerners to bolster up and perpetuate the present system...
...His viewpoint is as conservative as theirs, but he does not follow them in proposing to oust industry and restore the pristine virtues of an agrarian society...
...He proposes a reduction of income taxes, and feels assured that "we may reasonably look to the wealthy to take care of those who have permanently lost their employability...
...For more than 15 years, two opposing schools of Southern thought have centered, respectively, at Vanderbilt University and the University of North Carolina...
...This is the voice of the Southern Chambers of Commerce, and, the world being what it is, this program has probably more chance of being followed than have the suggestions that usually emanate from either Chapel Hill or Napby^lle...
...After examining, with much verbiage drawn from classical economics, the human and physical resources of the South, the author proposes the elimination of such "federal obstructions" as the tariff, the discriminatory freight rates, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the legislation for collective bargaining, and the federal housing projects...
...The implications of the North Carolina group are progressive, the explicit pattern of the Tennesseans' thoughts is conservative...
...It is a "liberal" program —as "liberalism" is interpreted by the devotees of Walter Lippmann...
...Prof...
...They should read it carefully and ponder deeply on the immensity of the task they have set for themselves...
...Progressives who dream of "setting our own house in order" should not ignore this book and this point of view...
...Reviewed by William B. Hesseltine THE SOUTH is, by Presidential decree, "the nation's No...
...This conservative plan for the South is based upon an effort to define the scope of state and federal interference in Southern affairs...
...Instead, he welcomes industrialization, advocates a balanced economy for the South, and offers a program which should enlist the enthusiastic support of every Rotary club and Chamber of Commerce in Dixie Land...
...It is, in addition, a number one problem in politics, religion, and literature...
...Its past history, its present plight, and its future plans are the number one concern of some of the nation's ablest social scientists...
...1 economic problem...
...He proposes that a disproportionate share of federal expenditures be allotted to the South, but insists that such money be given to the states rather than be disbursed through federal agencies...
...Van Sickle writes from Nashville, but he does not adhere to the agrarian school of the "Young Confederates...
...from Nashville has emerged a well-rounded defense of the "Old South" and a well-founded assault upon advancing industrialism...
Vol. 7 • November 1943 • No. 45
