The Northern Advocate Dally FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1935. THE PRESIDENTS PROBLEM

Northern Advocate, 31 May 1935, Page 6

The Northern Advocate Dally

FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1935. THE PRESIDENTS PROBLEM

Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper.

It is difficult for those .who are not resident in the United States ■ to form a well reasoned opinion I upon the gigantic attempt made 1 by President Roosevelt to coni' ■ bat the economic blizzard which 1 has ravaged the big Republic. It is clear, however, that the President, assuming dictatorial powers to an unprecedented extent, introduced a New Deal which was revolutionary lit character. Its ramifications are most extensive, the National Recovery Act, ox N.R.A., as it is commonly known, touching all phases of industrial and economic activity. By a stroke of the pen, the President granted financial assistance on a huge scale to the farming community, thus saving it from the extinction which threatneed it. He gave workers the right to combine, raised salaries and wages, prohibited price-cutting, stopped child labour, and, generally speaking, transformed the conditions of" the workers. This autocratic policy—for though the President had an overwhelming majority in the Legislature to support him, it was he who initiated the movements under the N.R.A. —did not receive universal approval. It was felt, however, that a time of national crisis called for drastic remedies. Consequently, restrictions,- prohibitions and other interferences with what had been regarded as constitutional rights were tolerated by those who otherwise would have made protest. Evidence of resentment has been observable during recent months, and President Roosevelt has come up against obstructive tactics. He has had several critical encounters with the Legislature. Now the. Supreme Court has ruled that the N.R.A. is to a large extent unconstitutional, and that the President has no ‘power to enforce obedience to the various ordinances which constitute the New Deal. This ruling has been given, as the outcome of a case which certain poultry con- j corns brought to test the validity of the N.R.A. as affecting their industry. Consternation has been caused* by the Supreme Court’s ruling, and a state of confusion exists. The President and his advisers are busily engaged in a search for a way out of the impasse that has occurred, for it is feared, and with good reason, that reversion to the conditions of payment and work existing prior to the New Deal will lead to an industrial upheaval. which is the last thing wanted at a time when the country is beginning to emerge from the worst features of the depression. The coalminers have already called a nationwide strike', j affecting 450,000 men, as a result of the owners having indicated that the old conditions are

ito be restored. Mining, of course, is a key industry, and a nationwide strike would paralyse a large number of trades and big industrial .undertakings. Large firms and industrial associations continue to indicate their intention to make no change in the standards of wages, hours and prices, pending a clarification of the situation, but the President has declared that voluntary action by industry to safeguard wages, hours of work and fair trading, would not suffice to ensure maximum observance. Pie believes that, this voluntary effort, will have to be fortified by some legal enactment; in other words, he contends that those who would stand by the principles of the New Deal, though not' legally forced to do so, must be protected against those who would abuse the liberty which the Supreme Court’s decision has granted to fhem. The problem with which the President is confronted _ resolves itself into one of conciliation versus compulsory arbitration, such as is the subject of discussion in New Zealand at the present time. It may be confidently expected that the President will discover and means by which to achieve the end he believes to be fessential to the welfare of the United States.