NATIONAL RECOVERY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 260, 16 October 1933, Page 9

NATIONAL RECOVERY

GENERAL JOHNSON'S CLAIM “BIG ADVANCE EVERYWHERE.” PLEA FOR MORE CONFIDENCE. In a speech in New York on September 17, General Hugh S. Johnson, administrator of the N.R.A. campaign, pleaded for a return of confidence in the United States’ ability to overcome economic difficulties and said that signs of a “broad advance are everywhere.” He declared that every economic index had “moved substantially upward since those dark days of March.” General Johnson, his suit showing the wrinkles of a busy day in Washington and an aeroplane ride from the capital, said the nation had lifted itself “a quarter of the way out of the March depths since Mr Roosevelt became President,” The crowd, estimated by- police at nearly 10,000, heard a message from Mr Roosevelt to the meeting:—“l am grateful to the foreign-born citizens of this country who on this night meet to pledge their support and assistance to the national recovery programme.” General Johnson interpreted the N.R.A. movement as a vast effort to bring capital and labour on a common plane of understanding and as a means of ending the “old system of enforced non-co-operation in industry. “If ever a great public measure was conceived in faith in the institutions and the people of a great nation, this is that measure,” General Johnson said “The greatest element of recovery is recovery of confidence. It is faith that makes prices go up. factory wtieels turn, causes merchants to stock their shelves, and-the people to buy the products of industry.”

“NOT A COMPULSION PLAN.” General Johnson said the N.R.A. administration invited criticism, but added he felt ho should defend the Recovery Act against charges that it meant “dictatorship,” because the President’s programme called for “co-opera-tion, and not compulsion.” He said he saw stirrings of some opposition to the N.R.A. programme, but added that such opposition emanated from “discredited leadership.” “It is wrong,” he said, “to say that industry is being shackled or put into a straight jacket. The fact is that industry is being freed.” Supplementing its recent offer to expand credit and help N.R.A. industries through low interest-bearing loans to banks for relending to merchants and manufacturers, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation announced in Washington on September 17 a plan for furthering the flow of cash and credit by agreeing to lend 150,000,000 dollars (£30,000,000 at par) to help refinance farm mortgages. “As a means of assisting and cooperating with the farm credit administration programme for the refinancing of farm mortgages,” Mr Jesse H. Jones, chairman of the corporation, said, “the Reconstruction Finance Corporation has agreed to lend 150,000,000 dollars to Federal Land banks to be secured by consolidated Federal Fann Loan 4 per cent, bonds.” The sum mentioned includes 35,000.000 dollars and 10,000,000 dollars which the corporation previously agreed to advance for the same purpose to the Federal Land banks of St. Paul and Omaha, respectively.

GOOD STORY CONCERNING N.R.A. A story concerning N.R.A. is told by Oswald Garrison Villard, in writing about the present great adventure ot the President and people of the United States for the readers of a British weekly review. It is going the rounds, says Mr Villard, that an American industrial magnate said to Mr Roosevelt: “Mr President if you succeed in this recovery effort, you will be regarded as the greatest President in American history If you fail, you will be called the worst.”' The story goes that the President replied: “No, but if I succeed, I shall be called the greatest President; if I fail, I shall be the last President.” Commenting on this story, the Vancouver “Daily Province” remarks:— “Probably it isn’t true, but it is a good story. It is a good story in the sense that the drama of history is conveyed in such stories —in the sense that whether or not any industrial magnate ever said any such thing to President Roosevelt, and whether or not he made that retort, the ascription of these sayings does very vividly describe and explain a certain widespread state of mind. “It is, that is to say, a story that makes mighty good propaganda for N.R.A It is a good story to tell people who are getting in the way of N.R.A. and obstructing N.R.A., and who seem to believe that a hopeful alternative to N.R.A. is to do nothing and to trust to the operation of natural law under the crowning mercies of laissez faire.”

BAN ON NEW DAHLIAS. The San Francisco “Chronicle” says: —“General Johnson seems to he haying trouble with United States dahlia growers, who have been giving the name Nira to their new creations. From his office lately word went forth to the superintendent of Public Works of Englewood, New Jersey, that Nira, or N.R.A., is distinctly a Governmental insignia and that it cannot be used as the name or trade mark of any private enterprise of any nature whatever. And that goes for names of dahlias, too. “The Dahlias Societv of Southern California was luckier. It sent two new varieties of blossoms, one called ‘Nira’ and the other ‘New Deal,’ to White House. They appear to have been welcomed, in spite of the titles that now offend General Johnson. Maybe ‘N.R.A.'s’ very excellent administrator will soften a bit and remove the ban from the dahlias ”

VIEWS OF N.Z. VISITOR PEOPLE’S GREAT OPTIMISM. FAITH IN PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT Impressions of the many schemes being put into operation by President Roosevelt for the relief of unemployment and the raising of the standard of living in America were given to a “Tribune” interviewer by Air H. J. Kelliher, managing director of the “Mirror” Publishing Co., yesterday afternoon. Mr Kelliher has jvnt roturued to New Zealand from America.

where he had ample opportunities of studying economic conditions and the results so far to be seen from the application of the National Recovery Act. A business man coining to the Dominion from America must be struck, ho said, with the feebleness of the attempts of the Government of New Zealand in coping with unemployment. Admittedly the expenditure of moneys on productive works was a good thing, but unless the workers were paid a standard wage the cost of living could never be expected to rise, unemployment eotild never be hoped to be decreased, and, in short, the economic condition of the Dominion must get worse instead of better. One of President Roosevelt’s aims was to increase tho wages and decrease the hours of the working man.. Even to a visitor the beneficial effects of this policy were most noticeable. In every city visited by Mr Kelliher he could not help but be agreeably surprised by the cheerful optimism of the people, who showed the utmost confidence in their leader’s schemes. In America the man in the street seemed most anxious to impress visitors that he was behind Mr Roosevelt in his many schemes to pull the United States out of its quagmire.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST UNEMPLOY- . MENT. Guided by their leader, went on Mr Kelliher, the Americans had started a vigorous offensive against unemployment, and already the nation had mot with a deal of success. Since Mr Roosevelt came into office, some 4,000,000 of unemployed had been placed in work of a productive nature and at standard rates of pay. In Los Angeles alone 250,000 workless are now removed from the ranks of the unemployed. “The putting into operation of Mr Roosevelt’s many schemes under the N.R.A. is showing a splendid psychological effect on the people as a whole,” said Mr Kelliher. “Everywhere I went I was struck by the cheerfulness, the optimism and the absolute faith in their leader shown by tho people of America. “Having seen for myself ju»t what is being done in the United States to relieve unemployment, I am the more convinced that the men working on productive jobs in New Zealand should be paid standard wages. As things are at present, the Government’s action in paying them at relief rates is nothing but a contributory factor in lowering the standard of living all round. “Even in Honolulu, the average wage of the 450,000 Japanese working in the many fruit canning factories is £3 per week. Those people are enthusiastic supporters of Mr Roosevelt’s National Recovery Administration schemes.” The symbol, of the National Recovery Administration was to be seen everywhere in the cities of the United States, That symbol was a blue eagle with outstretched wings, above which appeared the initials “N.R.A.” and below the eagle the words “We do our part.” Badges were to be seen on taxis, on shop windows and, indeed, everywhere where men were employed. The symbol itself was typical of the national desire to assist President Roosevelt in his endeavours to bring his many scheme to fruition.