Lippmann Favors Roosevelt's Basic Policies In Belief That Economic Recovery Is Assured

"I am heartily in agreement with the President's fundamental policies," said Walter Lippmann '10 in an interview with the CRIMSON yesterday. "Under his leadership the two things which have made England successful in weathering the depression have been done in the United States, the currency has been put on something like a parity with the currencies of the rest of the world, and a strong and energetic government has been given us. Some of the details of his program do not appeal to me particularly, but there is every reason to think that we are on the road which leads us out of the depression. England, in common with the rest of the world, reached the bottom of the economic cycle in the summer of 1932, but in the United States the break did not come until the winter of 1933. The banking situation and the maintenance of the gold standard after the other countries had left it has held us up.

"The present enormous expansion of the governmental machine, like the wartime expansion, is not a permanent thing, nor does Roosevelt intend it to be so. The budget message proves that. Many have thought he was intending to establish a planned collectivism. In the light of the President's program for the remainder of his term there is no reason to think this. To me one of the most interesting aspects of the present economic confusion and one of the most inspiring, is the fact that although much has happened which has been fatal to other forms of government. American democracy as it now stands appears to be able to survive without much change in its fundamentals. Germany, under the economic stress which all governments have felt, has had to resort to the cheap and easy way out, a dictatorship; in Russia the Soviets are having their inning. It is most important to the world that an enormously complicated system like that under which we are now living be proved and made to work. It is also sometimes more difficult to get a highly organized system like ours to pune- tion than it is to create a new one.

"As long as all power and all direction do not come from Washington there need be no fear that we are falling into a collectivistic society. Such measures as the housing plan, the government control of the Tennessee Valley, the regulations concerning the minimum wage, and the control regulation of banks still leave individualism in all its essentials."

When asked about the situation in New York with regard to the demands for more power made by Mayor LaGuardia, Mr. Lippmann said, "There is some doubt in my mind as to the constitutionality of the bill La Guardia drew up, but in principle he is perfectly justified in his demands. He must retrench and balance the budget. He can not increase taxes because of the bankers' agreement, and he can not cut salaries because of the special legislation which binds his hands. The balancing of the budget will be impossible unless he is at liberty to change the character of the administrative service. A great many of the jobs for which the city of New York pays are controlled by special acts of the legislature at Albany, gained by the lobbies of the employees involved. It is only natural that he should seek control over these departments for which he is responsible and it is entirely right that he should have it. It is not setting up a dictatorship but merely restoring the balance of power between the executive and the legislature. Except for the lobbies the legislature would never have assumed this job, and never should have. Action from them is too slow so it would be difficult for La Guardia to gain his ends this way, and if he cut those salaries which are now under his control, he would be balancing the budget at the expense of certain departments while not touching others."

Concerning the farm situation, Mr. Lippmann was not very optimistic.WALTER LIPPMANN '10