Voices at the White House

At the annual meeting of the National Association of Manufacturers last month, its chairman, Colby M. Chester asked rhetorical questions: "Will the Government sit down with Business and Labor? Will it invite this co-operation?" This modest suggestion made a great impression on George Harrison, head of A. F. of L.'s Brotherhood of Railway Clerks. Since Labor was sharing the brunt of Recession in layoffs and shortened hours, Laborman Harrison took it upon himself to bring Government and Business face to face. Soon he was scurrying back & forth between the President's son James and the better Manhattan clubs, and five men were selected to do the talking: Mr. Chester, Pennsylvania R. R.'s Martin W. Clement, Johns-Manville's Lewis H. Brown, General Motors' Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. and National Steel's Ernest Tener Weir.

Before going to the White House the five had lunch with Donald Richberg who represents the spirit of NRA which still flutters in the back of Franklin Roosevelt's mind. Mr. Richberg was supposed to precede the others to the White House to inform the President of their mood and current notions. Whether by accident or design, they kept Mr. Richberg talking until just before their 5 p. m. appointment. What went on when they entered the President's office was not disclosed. It appeared afterward that while there had been no criminations from either side, there was precious little in the way of concrete results. Acting as spokesman as the group emerged after an hour and a half, Mr. Sloan declared: "All of us agree we have a better understanding of each other's problems. . . ." Steelman Weir, who is terrified by reporters, avoided comment by saying over & over: "I want to go to Bermuda. I want to go to Bermuda."

This seemingly fruitless meeting was not, however, the beginning or the end of the President's conferences last week with and about Business. He also lunched with Bernard M. Baruch, also conferred with three utility executives, John Carpenter of Texas Power and Light, A. B. West of Nevada-California Electric, Daniel C. Green of Central & South West Utilities. But the most important conference of his week waited till one noon when two taxis pulled up at the White House spilling out as oddly-assorted a group of U. S. figures as ever called upon a President.

Most familiar in the group was the face of John L. Lewis. Hardly less conspicuous were the lanky figure of Owen D. Young and the wizened features of Morgan Partner Thomas W. Lamont. Accompanying these recognized spokesmen of Labor, Industry and Finance were two early New

Deal satellites, onetime braintruster Adolf Augustus Berle Jr.. President Charles Taussig of American Molasses Co. of New York (present employer of Rexford Guy Tugwell) and Philip Murray, able chairman of C.I.O.'s Steel Workers Organizing

Committee. Having previously caucused at Washington's hotel Mayflower, the group disappeared into President Roosevelt's office to talk about Recession. . . .

Chester, Weir & Co. went into the White House smiling and came out smiling. But Lewis, Lamont & Co. went in grim and came out grimmer. One of the conferees reported that he had never heard anyone talk to President Roosevelt face to face in the tone that those men used.

Self-constituted as a "private committee on national affairs," the Lewis-Lamont group had been brought together by Messrs Berle, Taussig & Tugwell. For once the President did most of the listening.

It appeared that the determined visitors devoted a good part of their hour to driving home the gravity of the business outlook, assuring the President that current troubles were not to be dismissed as a mere recession, that it would take more than temporary measures to set business back on the road to sound recovery. Avoiding fruitless arguments by avoiding specific recommendations they emphasized that what was needed was strong leadership and a coherent policy. That policy they left to the President, but pointed out in no uncertain terms that far from being helpful, Administration talk of lowering prices was downright harmful, led businessmen to postpone buying and building by nourishing their hope of getting bargains later. A successful drive to cut prices the visitors declared would probably lead in turn to attempts to cut wages, then to labor troubles. Finally they insisted that business was utterly confused by the Administration's attack on monopoly and bigness on the one hand, and on the other by continued talk of planned production and a revival of NRA. The one thought the visitors wanted to leave with the President was imperative need of a "crystallization" of policy.

Having delivered this broadside the group marched out with John Lewis, demonstrating the curiously opportunistic solidarity of Business and Labor.

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