ROOSEVELTS TASK

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 20 June 1936, Page 8

ROOSEVELTS TASK

1 W.E.A. LECTURE

CONDITIONS IN AMERICA REVIEWED

At the meeting of the Nelson branch of the Workers’ Educational Association this week an address on “President Roosevelt and the United States” was given by Mr W. T. Conibear.

The speaker said that before one approached the period when Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President of the United States one must turn back and glance briefly over the past history of the United States. The first question was, what kind of republic was it that grew out of the British North American colonies, and was moulded by George Washington and his colleagues? In 1776 the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed and in 1783 the peace was made with Britain and the new republic launched. In the Declaration of Independence was the following: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and moreover that Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” There was a great difference between the men of Virginia and the men of New York, but a nation of nerly 4,000,000 was formed. By 1828 the 13 states were somewhat divided and the rift becanf’ wider until 1861 when Civil War broke out between the Northern States and the Southern States. The country lost 1,000,000 men. The South was ruined and did not begin to recover until 1886. Chattel slavery was ended. Then the United States began to expand. Great immigration schemes were started and by the beginning of the Great War the United States received nearly 1,000,000 immigrants in one year, until, in 1929, the year of the depression, there were over 120,000,000 population. Up to 1928 the so-called prosperity of some industries was enormous and when President Hoover stood for Presidency his election slogan was, “Vote for Hoover and four more years of prosperity.” That slogan sounded to-day a bitter joke to many. In 1929 the prosperity bubble broke, with suchrapidity that it caught 17,500,000 of its inhabitants gambling on stocks and shares. Working men had been boasting week by week on their cleverness and what stocks they had bought with their wages. Over 4,000,000 cars were left on the motor industry’s hands, and industry tumbled down and down until there were at least 17.000,000 unemployed. President Hoover and many others had conferences to form a plan and suggested dividing into seven departments of control, four of which Roosevelt adopted when elected. Hoover proposed that one way of getting out of the depression was to increase the population by 20,000,000 in the next 20 years, to build 4,000,000 homes, i thousands of city buildings and factories, to install 25,000,000 electrical horse power, and to lift the standard of living for the whole of the people. Others thought that production could be controlled voluntarily. Roosevelt’s ideas were similar. He elected his own cabinet from outside of the elected politicians. He stated that he was on the way but did not know where he was going. The speaker stated that it was his personal opinion that Roosevelt still had not found the way. Roosevelt, he believed, was an honest Liberal and tried to do something. He was a confirmed individualist and in his book “Looking Forward” he writes “We do not want government in business.” And again: “I believe we must accept the restriction as needful, so to hamper individualism, but to protect it.” Roosevelt believed that after the experience of 1929, 1930, 1931, the average citizen would rather receive a smaller income, and yet by the latest monthly report of May 1936 the increase of profits in monopoly corporations has been higher than ever before. Roosevelt thought that there could be a proper balance between urban and rural life. He advocated the establishment of small industrial plants in areas which are now given over to farming.

The main point in Roosevelt’s increased expenditure was that someone, namely the consumer, had to pay the interest, and still the national debt was leaping in fact it looked as if the sky was the limit. The “British Economist” of 28th October, 1933 records “A precipitous decline in the prices of agricultural commodities. A lot has been paid with no result. Bounties have been given for crop reduction. Six million figs have been destroyed.” Francis Perkins, United States Labour Secretary, stated: “Do not let us fool ourselves that child labour has been abolished. The N.R.A. in six months put 300,000 small business men out of business.” One writer stated that the N.R.A. hurried on the development of the monopoly stage of American capitalism. The recent judgments against the N.R.A. had made things worse. The codes were legally loopholed. Men who only earned three days per week did not come under it, hence increased rationing of hours. Mechanics were put off and re-engaged as improvers at a much lower rate of wages. In fact the Roosevelt work policy became only a share-your-work not an increase of work. The total amount of wages rose very little but the total amount of profits to the corporations lose far more, and wc find that Labour is not much better off and that there are still at least 12,000,000 unemployed. Monopoly capitalism, said the speaker had proved itself too strong for Mr Roosevelt’s voluntary methods.