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GEORGE H. ALLEN Electrical Contractor PHONE 1 MWW* VIRGINIA Hf, cLcf Oj»Jl _O ^-LA^+t^JL co-t <r i ^ ^ ^ - G ^ ^ . GEORGE H. ALLEN Electrical Contractor P H O N E Ml £& ? J7 1 <Z\ ^ « VJJ^UUJ, ^O^JUXAA Jz. ~y^ i. A • d^X lAA_A ^f j J ry« 4. VU^* GU, *-©-*• January 30, 1939 Mr. George H. Allen 3222 Cliff Avenue Richmond, Virginia Dear Mr. Allen: Mr. Eccles has asked me to acknowledge and thank you for your letter of January 23 which he read with interest. It is noted that while you compliment Mr. Eccles for his answer to Senator Byrd you feel that in mentioning the World Twar as an example of our ability to spend for a national purpose, he did not make a happy selection. You feel this is so because "everyone now realizes that of all the fool things we as a nation are guilty of, our war experience takes the prize.11 I think it fair to say that Mr. Eccles was not holding up the Ifoorld %ar as an example of wise national decision, but rather as an example of the inherent ability of the government to carry out a national policy in the face of greater financial difficulties than we are facing today. In fact, the example is even more forceful from one standpoint. If the nation c^rr succei^sftiljr carrjr a tremendous bun^den for a wasteful purpose there would seem to be even more justificatiqn for its assuming a burden to improve the lot of our domestic population. Even with the allowances which must be made for the relative inefficiencies of WPA construction as against private construction, the spending does result in many tangible accomplishments which add to the social well-being of the country, such as improved highways, better schools, better water supply, better sanitation, better health facilities, better flood control and many other types of socially beneficial works. It is well also to remember that a great many of these things have a distinct commercial aspect also, such as improved highways. Perhaps you will get a better idea of Mr. Eccles1 philosophy respecting the functions of government as related to private investment and enterprise from the enclosed copy of his address before the New Jersey Bankers Association on May 13> 1938. Yours very truly, Lawrence Clayton Assistant to the Chairman enclosure LC/fgr
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