THE H.B. TRIBUNE FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 1933 ROOSEVELT’S RUSH.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 75, 10 March 1933, Page 6

THE H.B. TRIBUNE FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 1933 ROOSEVELT’S RUSH.

When, at the beginning of last week, discussing here President Roosevelt’s inaugural speech it was suggested that, in painting his picture of the difficulties he had to face he seemed to be giving it an unnecessarily vivid colouring. Even now, with all the alarmist news we have been receiving in the interval, there is perhaps no great need for withdrawing that suggestion. We may perhaps hope that Mr. Roosevelt will prove himself something of a statesman, in both the national and international acceptance of the term. There can be no doubt whatever that he is at the same time a very astute and experienced politician, as he needs to be in his country if he is to give himself a chance of proving himself to be also a statesman. It may therefore with fair justification be assumed that he is not exerting himself overmuch in the way of minimising the troubles that beset him at the out set “of his presidential career. It is quite evident, of course, that some such crisis as has now arrived was bound to come sooner or later. But it may also be recognised that it was greatly to the new President’s political advantage to precipitate it at once and also to put the worst face possible upon it. If this were really his purpose, then it may be said that he has started out with a very pronounced success, for a financial panic has been created that can scarcely be said to have had a parallel even in the history of the United States.

It is not, of course, the first time that Mr. Roosevelt has assumed the role of a drastic reformer. In his capacity as Governor of New York State, he set himself with a strong hand to eradicating the system of political corruption that hai become firmly rooted in both State and municipal affairs. In this task his efforts were crowned with a very great measure of success. On the other hand, it has been charged against him by his opponents that he weakened in his activities against Tammany Hall as soon as his presidential ambitions took definite shape and he realised that he would require the support of that powerful organisation in order to carry them through. Be that as it may, there can be no doubt that he effected a great deal of cleaning-up in the political life of the Empire State and its chief city. He would now seem to be entering upon a kindred but even greater labow of Hercules in the way o’f ref owning the banking and, indeed, the general financial system of the whole Republic. In order to enable him to initiate this he is asking to be invested with exceptional powers, and manifestly the

best way to secure this is to demonstrate in the most impressive way the urgent need for immediate and effective action. So we have it that no endeavour is being made to modify the blackness of the outlook unless strong* ( measures are at once taken. It will be of great interest, therefore, to note whether Congress, generally so on curbing presidential authority, will find itself carried off its feet by the vehemence o f his appeal. In this respect Air. Roosevelt has an advantage, that was denied to Mr. Hoove;.-, inasmuch as the recent elections have given him in each o/ the two legislative chambers. a decisive majority of his own party following. It will probably be all to the good, not only for his own country but also for the world at large, if they stand solidly behind him. An emergency session of Congress was set to open yesterday, so that within the next few days we should have fairly definite word as to the response made to his call. So far as can be judged at this distance, it seems likely that it will be in an emphatic affirmative. And we may hope that this may be so, for congressional obstruction and its consequent delays have been the undoing of many a competent and wellmeaning President. So far as the outside world is concerned, and it is deeply concerned, the sooner the new President gets domestic affairs placed upon some reasonably satisfactory footing the sooner he will be able to give some attention to international problems of even greater moment,