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Having received the Roper Council's protestations of allegiance, President Roosevelt briskly dismissed the Chamber's criticism as something to be expected when social reforms were taking shape. He said he had run into the same thing when pushing social legislation as a Senator in the New York Legislature. As then, he now believes that the majority of businessmen actually favor his measures. Trade organizations seldom voice the real opinion of the businessmen they are supposed to represent, he declared, and he was sure that by & large Business is with him. What interested him about the Chamber speeches was that none considered the human side of current conditions, notably old age and unemployment factors.
As a final dig at the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, the President warmly welcomed a group of his oldtime bad boys, the bankers. At its annual convention last autumn the American Bankers Association kept its rebellious members under iron control, with the result that an official peace treaty was signed with the President. Last week, although the ABA officials served notice that they intended to fight the Banking Bill, endorsed in his fireside broadcast only last fortnight, President Roosevelt cheerfully told them that his mind was still open.