| Show bruckart Bruc Bru kars charts washington digest theory of spending ourselves out of depression seen unwise course evidence in congress of definite determination to cut down on oil appropriations sound sense seme of american people always finds An answers to our problems by WILLIAM BRUCKART service national press washington D 0 washington it always has been my conviction that the amerl can people will find a sound answer to every national problem it if they the are given the facts and the time to tc figure out what those facts acts mean they may bo be swayed temporarily they may bo be led or herded or threatened and these conditions may put pul them in a wrong spot temporarily but I 1 repent repeat that it if they are given time the national conclusion the collective thinking will be along sound lines they are demonstrating these things as aa a 0 fact again there Is no doubt about it for five or six years a considerable majority of the nations citizenry was following the theory of spending ourselves out of the depression it was an un tin sound course obviously but money was made to do a lot of talking as money in billions of dollars will talk lately however hardy amei american thinking has been carrying the majority back to normal understanding and the influence of spending by the federal government Is sagging distinctly notwithstanding the statements frequently heard from republican sources that you cant beat santa claus or the variation that you cant bent beat 11 there Is plenty of evidence to show that there Is quite a definite determination to quit that sort of thing that Is there Is a determination in most places outside of the so called inner circle of new dealers especially is this true in the halls balls of congress where unless thero there Is an earthquake many important steps will be taken by senators and representatives senta tives in the direction of sounder government finance the old and familiar american traits of initiative of saving of living within ones income are coining to the surface very rapidly and the tha restoration antion of these traits to places of respectability in american life Is being reflected on capitol hill in washington opposition to philosophy of spending breaks loose it will be recalled how the opponents of president Roosevel ts philosophy of spending showed their mettle in the house of representatives when that body voted to cut off of tho the deficiency relief relict appropriation mr roosevelt asked for the cut was accomplished despite some hair raising stories from sources in the administration that ellmina tion of any of the requested funds would mean suffering mayl maybe e starvation maybe quick death tor for many thousands of persons persona well the house members or a majority of them did not believe those stories and thus they made a start at cutting governmental spending they gave an indication at the same time that there must be i a general revision of the federal governments machinery for relief of the unemployed during the debate and in the corridors one heard frequent expressions that congress had appropriated last year the funds the administration thought necessary to maintain relief until the end of next june but profligate spending had used up the money and the professional relievers had returned tor for more some of the debate was quite acrimonious and various charges were hurled that the relief officials had tried again to buy the election that being why the funds ran short immediately after the house was through with the relief bill the opponents of spending in the senate started after the appropriation there were many in that body who wanted to appropriate only for two months proposing that in the meantime there should be a brand new relief setup devised but the majority sentiment was swayed by the general argument that whatever the shortcomings of the harry hopkins relief methods poor people should not be made the goats it was no fault of the unemployed who needed help that mr hopkins now the secretary of commerce had made a mess of the relief program beginning begioni ng only foretaste of what Is coming while it seems that a cut of which is about one fifth the amount asked represents something substantial this beginning is only a foretaste of what Is coming the spenders ha e c had their innings tor for five or six years or since mr Roosevel ts economy act of 1933 was abandoned as a pattern of government they have used various names and descriptions such as pump priming and spending to restore prosperity etc it appears now however that their days are numbered I 1 do not mean that everything in the way of government ern cash GOP cop Is going to be thrown eurof out of the window vt at once I 1 believe I 1 can see however that curtailment of federal waste has begun that the national belt Is going to be pulled tighter by a couple of notches and that sooner or later oven even the beneficiaries of tho the federal cash will noto note the stigma and slacken their demands ono of the leaders in this direction has been sen harry byrd the virginia democrat who is just as hard boiled in preserving a sound national government as his senior ill tho redoubtable carter glass through thick and thin senator byrd has been attacking the spending policies calling attention to the dangers of an increasing national debt and tho the certainty that the country ns as a whole must bear the burdon burden of added taxation lie he did this the while administration sharpshooters were firing one broadside after another at tits his head or hide the other night senator byrd got on the radio and told the country again what was happening ile he had some new facts and figures about the situation the tha virginian asked some rather pertinent questions too about the situation in england ile he pointed out that england has not been running deficit after deficit and that as a matter of cold fact while tho the united states was adding more than to its notional national debt england was balancing its budget and making some head headway way in reducing its national debt states take heed and start cutting expenses due largely the senator thought to tho the fact that england had tried to live within its income as an individual would do that nation had a national income in 1037 that was per cent of its income in 1029 1929 which is to say that it was more prosperous than in 1929 1029 senator byrd pointed out that this had hap bened while our government was running from froin a billion or so to five or six billions into debt each year lie he suggested moreover that it if the united states had done os as well this count rys national income would now be instead of the which was estimated tor for 1038 1033 tho the thought was then advanced that england had not tried to harry and frighten business which was employing people who wanted work not charity there arc other things happening besides the byrd attacks and the congressional action on relief appropriations to indicate the growing strength of those who believe spending borrowed money has been and Is unwise word has come through to washington of the action of several governors who are insisting that their states ovoid avoid getting into the hole governor cochran of nebraska a democrat and governor bricker of ohio a republican each has put th their air respective state legislatures on notice that expenditures c s are ara to be pared to the bone there are others who could be named but f from rom the information we have here in washington governors cochran and bricker are the outstanding examples it might be said that these refer only to states and not to na national dional policies very well no state executive could got get away with such a program unless he had the backing of a majority of his own people if they believe that way about state affairs there is no reason to think they will take a contrary view concerning the national treasury and funds which it must borrow to spend pump priming gifts to st states ates force them to borrow further ther nearly all of the federal appropriations for pump priming when granted to states or lesser jurisdictions are offered on condition that the state or city or county must put up an equal amount in hundreds of cases in the last six years this oils policy has res resulted bulted in states or lesser subdivisions 0 of f government being forced to borrow on its own bonds in order to get hold of the federal cash the result new debt it becomes clear therefore that it if the state executives insist on reduced expenditures they are unlikely to accept these federal gifts because ot of the probable added debt burden another thing likely to happen in some of the states is added taxes the state legislatures are due for an awakening as to the actual condition of their state finances some may dodge it this year but fact will have to be faced when new taxes come what a howl there will bol bel that howl will be heard in congress too both concerning state and county nd ad city taxis on the one hani hand and national taxes on the die other hand it appears to me that taxes will prove to be the best antidote for the poison of borrowing to spend that can be found 0 western newspaper union |
