OPINION: Businessmen’s Poll

FORTUNE’S Management Poll last week probed the opinion of business executives on how future depressions can be checked. Some significant answers:

Allowing for a period of reconversion, do you believe reasonably full employment after the war can be maintained by private business?

Yes 73.7 %

No 22.4

In the event of a new depression what one or several of these means would you advocate to alleviate it?

Economy by government departments 77.3%

Lower corporate taxes 61.9

A cooperative credit and employment

effort on the part of business 53.6

A huge public-works program 27.1

Do you think that, as compared with 1939, business in the U.S. after the war needs:

About the same amount of competition within business 76.2%

More competition 19.2

Less competition 4.6

After the war, would you in general favor:

Lowered tariffs 39.3% *

Continuance of present U.S. tariff structures 38.5

A policy of free trade 15.5 *

Increased tariffs 6.7

A reduction in which of the following elements in the tax structure would in your opinion do the most to stimulate business expansion after the war?

Excess profits 81.5 %

Corporate income 78.7

Personal income 65.6

Capital gains 58.1

*A striking total of 54.8% of executives for downward revision of the tariff.