NEW LIFE IN U.S.A.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 232, 2 October 1933, Page 8

NEW LIFE IN U.S.A.

ROOSEVELT'S RULE.

"DEMOCRACY FUNCTIONING."

MR. F. MILNER'S CONCLUSIONS

"The N.R.A. economists are of opinion that individual acquisitiveness has gone for ever, and that the paramount consideration of the future is community advantage. They hold that this is not nn isolated incident, but is something indicative of the revolution in social order."' This statement was made by Mr. Frank Milner, ' C.M.Gv, rector of the "Waltald Boys' High School, who returned by the Monowai from Vancouver this morning after representing New Zealand Rotarians at the international Rotary convention at Boston. Ml - , Milner also attended the conference, at Banff, of tho Institute of Pacilic Relations, and afterwards engaged in a lecturing tour throughout the United States, on behalf of Rotary. '•'America," said Mr. Milner, "has always been regarded as the great stronghold of rugged individualism, but a dramatic change is being witnessed in the regimentation of the people. They are voluntarily allowing themselves to be disciplined, because they 'believe that President Roosevelt represents honest leadership. It was necessary to create confidence once again in the country, and cr.o of the first acts in tho new administration was to put a stop to hoarding and to thaw out the frozen stores of money resources. It has reaJly been an example of how democracy can function in a crisis, in the form of a benevolent despotism with proper constitutional safeguards. America is showing by Mr. Roosevelt's scheme that democracy can Tjo preserved in toto by a system of paternal legislation. "Most Extraordinary." "In the past tho United States have teen most tenacious of individual rights and resentful of any form of dictation; • ibut under the N.R.A. the people have cheerfully agreed to stipulated hours of wcyk and rates of pay-prescribed under this new form of Government. It is the. most extraordinary spectacle the world las yet viewed. It is a via media between Fascism and Communism, and it shows that the democratic form of government can weather the storm, and its operation in America to-day proves that there is no foundation in the statement so often made that democracy is incapable of acting in a crisis. "No monarch Jn tlie world to-day lias such unlimited powers as the President of the United States. To find a parallel one has to go back to the times of the Caesars. He has tho power—if he thought it necessary to use it—to issue three thousand billions of dollars, or to depreciate the value of the- gold dollar foy talf. Such powers were willingly given to the President, and the measures he has taken were swiftly enacted. The people appear to be amply satisfied with what is being done, and it can be strictly eald that it is the will of the people. Democracy is believed in as much as ever in .the United States, to-day, and there appears to be no room for Fascism or Communism." . Five Millions Re-employed , . Mr. Milner said he had. the opportunity during his tour of meeting all classes of people, and he remarked that nothing had been so discredited as ""big business." When, the President took office, the unemployed numbered approximately 15,000,000, or roughly about one-third of the total working: population of the country. "When Mr. Milner left for New Zealand a bout 5,000,000 had been re-absorbed into industry, and it was estimated that by February next ai:->ther 4,000,000 or 5,000,COO would have been re-employed. Economists" Debate. Mr. Milner said that the most dramatic incident at the Banff Conference was the staging of a full-dress debate, which lasted for two evenings, on the subject of the N.R.A. between British and American economists. Professor T. E. Gregory, of the London University, made ia scathing attack on the American economic experiment, and stated that it •was absolutely impossible for America or any other country to increase' wages «nd reduce working hours and at the eame time even maintain profits, quite apart from increasing them. He said 'that he had given careful study to what he- termed this "reckless scheme," and •was satisfied that it must end in pernicious inflation, which would not only ruin America but through its repercuspions undermine the economic stability of the world. He was supported by Sir Andrew McFadgean, who had represented Great Britain at the League of Nations Assembly. The latter was an international authority as an economist find publicist. The defenders of the N.R.A. for the United States were Professor Horace Moulton, Professor Lorvin and Dr. Alsberg. They contended that the drastic action taken by President' Roosevelt was urgently necessary to restore confidence and/rehabilitate industry.,

"After listening to the details and canvassing the subject from every angle," paid Mr. Milner, "I came to the conclusion that the British economists had failed, to attach the proper valuation to lihe dominant human or psychological factors .in the position. After travelling , extensively through the United States and meeting the really representative cross-sections of thepublic I was deeply •impressed with what may be termed thp unanimity of the people, in their cndorr-.tiit of this vast scheme of economic rehabilitation. I found that Ihe people of all sections were entirely •with the President, and that a spirit of T.uoyancy and general confidence had liecn born and was developing. Magnetic Leadership. "It must bo remembered that the American public had incurred such a stunning and paralysing shock, through the impact of the' world cataclysm and •the sudden termination of their long continuity of economic prosperity that above everything else it was necessar.y to re-establish confidence and a sense of social security. It was impossible to face another- winter with an army of ]~>,0Q0.000 -unemployed. It was generally recognised that lawlessness was imperilling the security of the nation, consequently the establishment of conJidence, through the magnetic leadership of the President, produced immediately jiositivo and beneficial results. It was direct]v responsible for the cessation of jhoafding, for increased consumption by ihe purchasing of more goods, for added Telocity of currency and for increased factory production with reduced overlead expenses. The. thawing out and freeing of credits was an important factor which gave t:.e people a buoyancy of outlook that was the one great tonic •whi :li the nation needed.

Canada Watching. "I am not saying that the methods adopted are applicable to all other countries, but as I was leaving Canada there was evidence that the scheme is being very carefully watched. Frequent suggestions were being made that Canada' should" adopt a similar experiment instead of operating on a lower and more restricted economic plane." Economics and Reality. Speaking of economic science, Mr. Milner said that at the Banff conference Professor MiUikan, the brilliant physicist, who recently won the Nobel Prize, had made reference to the many dogmatic deliveries of economists, which made the general public doubtful as to whether tlie conflicting interpretations could be reconciled. There was no coherent body of doctrines endorsed by all economists, as in other sciences. They were what might be called "on the fringe," and were to a large extent speculative. Physics, for instance, had accepted authoritative data, but in economics there was no agreement in fundamentals. Mr. Roosevelt refused to have his hands tied by economic theory or pedantry. He found that much of the advice given to nim l>y experts had been nullified by contrary opinions, and so he decided to trust to his own common sense, and to establish confidence through the medium of the N.R.A. "When I left America early in September," concluded ZSIr. Milner, "the unqualified enthusiasm o£ the people for the N.R.A. scheme was most pronounced, and I camo to the conclusion that the scheme must go through."