MR ROOSEVELT AND LABOUR

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22262, 29 November 1937, Page 11

MR ROOSEVELT AND LABOUR

WORK FOR AVERAGE MAN PRAISED LACK OF LEADERSHIP IN NEW DEAL (united raEsa association—corvniGirr.) (Received November 23, 9.30 p.m.) j NEW YORK, November 27. The attitude of American radical Labour towards President Roosevelt at present was indicated by Mr J. L. Lewis (chairman of the Committee for Industrial Organisation), who said: "When the history of President Roosevelt's administration is written it will go down as one of the most idealistic of all times, and as the one which tried to do most for the average man. For this I gave President Roosevelt my support, and he still has it. But the greatest tragedy of the New Deal is that although it waged such heroic battles, and won the victory in such agonising struggles, it nevertheless has declined in prestige because of just one thing—the lack of competent and co-ordinated leadership." Mr Lewis expressed great perturbation at reports that President Roosevelt was planning a tremendous naval building programme. He dismissed the idea that any good might accrue therefrom to Labour. "I cannot help wondering why all thus rush is going on about war," he said. "If enough people in high places adopt a war psychology, eventually we are going to get the country thinking that way. This is something that concerns me very much, because if there is war it is Labour that has to do most of the dying."