Founded on sound economic principle, Garrett's predictions were often on-the-money. He saw the New Deal not so much as a prescription for economic and social disaster, but as an affront to constitutional liberty. He railed at unauthorized powers assumed by Congress, granted to the President, or shirked by the Supreme Court. And he was right to be upset. During the New Deal business owners, and anyone with a savings account had reason to think that their property would be devoured in a wealth distribution scheme unequaled since the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Garrett understood that the right to property was an underpinning of American freedom in general, for the ability to guide and marshal personal economic resources is the key to individualism. Take away a person's right to guide the destiny of his real estate, his automobile, his very bread and butter and what is there left of freedom? He noted in an essay entitled "Washington Miscellany" that the government had taken upon itself to regulate everything to such a degree that there were even laws governing the manufacture and application of buttons.

Yet Garrett was far more than a social commentator. As an economist, he had an eye for what programs would work and what would not work. The New Deal was driven by a demagogic idea that there was too much profit making going on and most, if not all of these profits should be transferred to the workers. Such notions were the foundation for the creation of the NLRB and strengthening unions to the point where "closed shops" became the order of the day. The thought was that prosperity would return if only workers were paid more and worked less, completely ignoring the principle that the real wealth of the nation was in what it produced. The government policies would only lower production and, in the end, drag the economy down further.

There has never been a depression that went on as long as the "Great Depression". In the rest of American History the longest depression lasted for less than five years. This was because, given time, and the normal cycles of economics and mass psychology, the economy would right itself. This was not allowed to happed under the Roosevelt Administration, where such severe tinkering went on that the economy was unable to correct. Garrett has a penchant for finding examples that clearly illustrate the havoc wreaked by the New Deal. His recounting of the famous Kohler strike in Sheboygan, Wisconsin clearly illustrates the evil that erupted from Roosevelt's policies. It is also a great exposition on human nature and its susceptibility to the type of economic demagoguery that goes on being practiced by the left.

Especially entertaining is Garrett's story about 1939 Seattle, where Dave Beck ran the Teamster's Union and consequently ran the whole city. This was a man who was virtual dictator because of his control of organized labor and his backing by Federal Policies. He reigned benevolently, but the very fact of his existence stifled innovation and advancement in the Emerald City.

The style of Garrett's articles can only be described as leisurely. In our modern age we are used to sound bytes and internet blurbs. Garrett had several pages of a magazine within which to express his ideas. Thus, his notions tend to be well developed and convincingly expounded. When he tells a story we get the satisfying and essential details that would be left out by a modern journalist.

Each essay by Garrett in "Salvos Against the New Deal" is bracketed by the notes of Bruce Ramsey. He provides some necessary and interesting background on the stories along with some analysis on Garrett's articles.

"Salvos Against the New Deal" is fascinating reading for anyone wishing to understand the ebb and flow of politics as it faces economic extremity. It is amazing how issues fought out on the floor of the Senate or in the Supreme Court in the 1930s are still being fought over today. A thorough reading of Garrett helps us to understand how the once ascendant policies of the New Deal would eventually fail, but always come back to the political consciousness because of their demagogic appeal.

Salvos Against the New Deal can be purchased at Amazon.com.