Surprise for Mr. Roosevelt

The tip-off came when the new president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce went to call on the President. Mr. Roosevelt said he would give his visitor five minutes. He liked him so much he kept him 20.

Then the new Chamber of Commerce president looked up Bill Green of the A. F. of L., suggested that it would be a refreshing change of pace if they could sit down together to look for areas of agreement. A little later he got hold of Phil Murray of C.I.O., had a long talk with him along the same lines.

Evidently something big was stirring in the Chamber of Commerce. But not until friday of last week did the something come out. That day 38 of the 44 directors heard young Eric A. Johnston outline his new program and demand "a change in the Chamber's attitude towards the Government and towards labor." When he finished, every one of the 38 rose to give him and his program a unanimous and applauding vote of confidence.

Next steps will probably be for Johnston to get together with the heads of C.I..O. and A.F. of L., in the hope that together they can work out a labor stabilization formula that all can approve. If they can, it will take a great load of dissension off the shoulders of the President.

The man responsible for this change of heart is no New Dealer. He is, in fact, a Republican. He heads two electrical businesses in Spokane and helps direct a dozen other enterprises. He is 45 years old, an ex-Marine captain, looks like the smart up-from-small-beginnings businessman he is. Alert, informal, friendly, Johnston differs from other executives primarily in having a keener sense of public relations, a clearer realization that business cannot talk its way back into public confidence, that the best kind of propaganda is the right kind of action.

The Freedoms. But Eric Johnston is no Miles Standish. He can speak effectively and often for himself. Some of his comments on business-and-Government:

"The people still want freedom and democracy; but they must also eat.

"The continuation of the American enterprise system and all it implies--freedom of the individual as well as freedom of enterprise--depends on business creating jobs.

"The key point of my program is that agriculture, labor, business and Government all have the same fundamental interests. The problems facing the country after the war will be so big that no one of them will be able to handle them alone."

To plan a better world after the war, Eric Johnston appointed a fact-finding committee last week, prepared to invite British business leaders over this fall to help with the blueprints.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.