NATIONAL RECOVERY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21853, 16 July 1934, Page 12

NATIONAL RECOVERY

OPINIONS IN AMERICA EFFECT OF DARROW REPORT RESULTS IN "STRAW POLLS" While there have been som<? who have questioned the competence of the noted criminal lawyer Mr. Clarenco Darrow to give expressions of opinion on matters of politics and industry, it remains that his report condemning the National Recovery Administration in tho United States, published at the end of May, has provoked widespread discussion and interest in and outsido America The circumstances leading to his report wero that some time ago ho' was appointed head of what was called the National Recovery Review Board and, after protracted hearings, ho reached conclusions against tho administration. Tho principal points in Mr. Darrow's opinions wero his declaration of tho N.R.A. to bo a complete failure, fostering monopoly and oppressing sipaller enterprises for the benefit of largo industrial combines, and a recommendation to the President, Mr. Roosevelt, to introduce socialisation and collective ownership and control of industry. It was to bo noted that at the time tho report was brought down, thero was resistance of Mr. Darrow's views from opposing circles. Comment on " New Deal " That was the position at the end of May in tho United States; tho Roosovolt administration, wnich has always been subject to critical examination while the people have displayed faitli in their President, was subject to even moro intensive review. More recent advices from America indicate that comment on the administration has in no way decreased.

Representative opinion on the subject is contained in the Juno number of the Literary Digest, which is noted for the striking accuracy of its "straw polls," on matters of national interest. The presidential elections and prohibition have been subjects on which the polls have served to throw light in advance. The June issue contains particulars of the fourth report of the publication's nation-wide poll to test national opinion on the "New Deal," and, assuming that Mr. Darrow's views represent a body of opinion, the results are of especial interest as far as the.Y have gone. More than half the Union is represented in the fourth tally, the 25 States which appear representing three-fourths of the country's popular vote, while the District of Columbia also appears. ' The voting shown to date is as follows: — For tho New Deal, 370,491; against the New Deal, 255,429. While it might be said that tho smallness of tho vote cannot be an accurate guide, it is necessary to remember that similar straw polls have been proved to be substantially correct. Industry and Agriculture Compared with the popular vote when Mr. Roosevelt was elected in 1932, the tally reveals that support for the President in Pennsylvania, Ohio and other great industrial States considerably outweights a rather marked decline from his 1932 records in lowa, Nebraska and other territories where there has been agricultural unrest. Reverting to the worth of tho Darrow Report, the survey by the Literary Digest in. representative cities is held to show both a vigorous denial of and assent to the charge that the small business man is oppressed under the N.R.A. The most emphatic of the accusations in tho report was that monopoly was fostered by the codes to the detriment of the small business man. It is considered that the small business man agrees in general with Mr. Darrow's criticism, but distrusts his political philosophy. The evidence assembled indicated that many agreed with the report in so far as monopolistic tendencies were concerned, but it has been noted that the reaction varied with the locality. Not the least interesting portion of the opinion obtained is the attitude indicated in voting at the Universities of Harvard and Yale. The results in the 1932 straw polls for the presidential elections were:—Harvard: For Hoover, 1741; for Roosevelt, 620. Yalo: For Hoover, 1416; for Roosevelt, 370. If the latest straw polls at these universities regarding Roosevelt's policies are any indication, there has been a striking reversal of student opinion. The results were: —Harvard: For Roosevelt's policies, 1083; against, 639. Yale: For, 973; against, 640.