Show weekly week I 1 v news analysis wage earners may carry load in ht new U S taxation program Pr J by joseph W la ila EDITORS NOTE KOTE when opinions are rt n in these columns they are re tho those ot of th bews analyst sad nd set dot of till the newspaper taxation recent federal taxation policies have been based on the theory that business should bear the brunt for this or some other reason business has operated at a loss laid off workers and precipitated economic depression this year as the U S treasury charts its course for the 1939 40 fiscal year there are signs that business will breathe easier EDSEL FORD ile he offered an incentive that government will look instead to the small wage earner for its new monetary requirements even as auto manufacturer edsel ford was telling a senate sub com cittee that a general tax reduction would be as good a business incentive as any three outstanding forecasts could be sifted from the financial gymnastics of budget mak ing treasury experts economy although federal reserve chairman marriner S eccles has plumped publicly against premature reduction in federal expenditures treasury secretary henry is essentially economy minded in this policy he has the support of his new tax adviser undersecretary der secretary john W hanes a recent recruit from wall street who believes budget balancing would while not expecting a balance between income and outgo next year because of the proposed national defense program mr can take heart from president roose belts latest pronouncement pay As you go the billion dollar rearmament plan which is due for strenuous congressional opposition will not be bb allowed to increase the federal deficit though the president has not indicated what new taxation method he will use to finance the project there is guarded admission that a 10 per cent tax will be placed on present income taxes if you now pay 25 a year pay extra but this special revenue measure would only pay for armaments and would not eliminate increased deficits caused by relief expenses to fill this need many congressmen favor lower bracket income taxes married men are now allowed 2500 exemption which might be decreased to 2000 or even 1800 exemptions empt ions for single persons now 1000 would be dropped to or while this would boost revenue by only it would place bigger wage earners in higher surtax brackets and bring the treasury an additional since large incomes are already subjected to huge taxes the proposal can expect justified opposition outside of relief costs the biggest need need for new tax money will be to finance the proposed federal state health program for insurance hospitalize hospit aliza tion tion clinics and expansion of the U S health service europe europe is drilling drifting into mar a war which no nation wants but against every nation is preparing unless there is a complete change in the outlook within the next month or two international tension will reach the breaking point next springs spring this summation is the detached viewpoint of oswald pirow defense minister of the union of south africa after a two month european tour in which he sought means of appeasing adolf hillers Hit lers colonial appetite it came the same day german foreign minister joachim von visited paris to sign a pathetically insincere pact with france as fuehrer hitler consequently prepared to delete french attacks from the next edition of mein kampf as italy germanys germanas Germ anys closest ally continued clamoring for the french territories of tunisia corsica and nice with great britain shoved temporarily into the european background france finds herself holding a gilded bombshell in the german treaty her government is now forced to accept fascist activity on two european fronts or risk complete overthrow germany france must give hitler a free hand in eastern europe refusing to intervene even if germany threatens frances ally russia within 48 hours after the fran co german pact was signed berlin opened a noisy propaganda campaign against manias Ru king carol who has been actively purging nazi partisans from his government at the same tirrie time in memel under lithuanian sovereignty german residents began an autonomy campaign that undoubtedly had inspiration in berlin satisfied so long as hitler keeps himself busy in ir eastern europe france will vill not protest these activities italy france must permit fulfillment fill ment of italis vital aspirations in the mediterranean or incur the wrath of adolf hitler italis friend though foreign minister von declined to answer immediately the french question of what germany would do in a mediterranean crisis provoked by italian demands germanys germanas Germ anys course hardly needs clarification the franco german pact specifically le ie serves particular relations with third powers for both signatories signa tories most observers expect french capitulation to italian demands next month when british prime minister neville chamberlain makes make s his well adver tided appeasement visit to rome labor both the american federation of labor and the congress of industrial organizations insist the national labor relations act must not be changed but A F of L hurls constant criticism at the board president roosevelt has appointed to interpret that act one bit of criticism centered around the labor boards order to new yorks consolidated edison company forcing abrogation of a bargaining contract with A F of L the boards reasoning that the contract resulted from unfair labor practices and was inteli intended ded to discourage membership in a rival C 1 0 organization when A F of L president william green heard the U S supreme court had voided this NLRB order his joy was unbounded this knocks the props out from under the boards arbitrary prejudicial and grossly unfair position but keen observers who read further into the courts decision found cause for speculation about something more important although consolidated edison operates chiefly in new york the court ruled its labor relations were still subject to NLRB regulation thus was the scope of federal regulation under the interstate commerce clause given broad extension paving the way for legislation which could make the potent wagner act seem mere childs play predicted as a subject for congressional debate is extension of the highly satisfactory railway labor act to include all industry if such leg A F OF L S WILLIAM GREEN llis his victory brought a prediction isolation could be so successful as the railway act neither labor nor capital would have much cause for complaint the record since 1926 there has been only one minor four day railroad strike the reason either carrier or labor can carry its grievances to the national mediation board and if this group fails to bring peace the president appoints a fact finding commission no strike may take place until 30 days after this group reports that some such regulation will eventually guide all capital labor relations is quite likely though this will not emerge from the next congress 1939 will positively bring wagner act amendments in the general direction miscellany motorists bound for Pasa denas rose bowl football game next month will be guided by aerial traffic policemen whose broadcasts can be picked up by any car radio 0 three acres added to bedlock island home of the statue of liberty have created a problem for congress under a treaty in 1834 the island was given to new york but all land around it went to new jersey the extra three acres apparently patently ly belong to new jersey part pan america before they left to attend the eighth pan american conference at lima U S delegates spoke optimistically misti cally of efforts to unite the western hemisphere into a solid bloc opposing european aggressors but the picture looked vastly different from below the equator at lima they found representatives of 20 other american na nation aloris s who exhibited justified coolness toward the colossus of the north whose pre president sl has taken the lead in what might be another attempt at yankee imperialism they discovered that south american nations have their cultural centers in rome paris and madrid that despite any U S ambitions to the contrary pan america will insist on maintaining its trade relations with europe with the conference still expected to run several weeks it becomes clear that what support secretary of state cordell hull gains for president Roosevel ts hemispheric defense plan will be in principle only merely a resolution of endorsement counting noses mr hull found his strongest friend in brazil his most powerful enemy was argentina din disgruntled over U S attempts to ii invade her export wheat market not invited but nevertheless present were envoys from nazi germany who sought to smash mr hulls hopes for concrete measures against political and cultural invasion from europe business last spring the new york legislature passed a bill which potentially effects every citizen in the U S reducing from 6 to 5 per cent the interest which life insurance coin comy com y parties panics may charge on policy lo 10 loans S I 1 the piper obrien bill has lecessi necessitated nationwide nation wide revision of interest rates because insurance companies cannot charge different rates in different states upshot is that most companies are boosting their premium charges from 10 to 20 per cent on policies written after january 1 although many firms made the change december 1 policies in effect b before e the readjustment will not be affected but in addition to lower interest rate and higher premiums the following additional revisions will be made on most new policies 1 reduction of guaranteed interest rates to beneficiaries 2 lower interest rates on dividends left with companies 3 increased pre i on endowment annuity policies 4 withdrawal or substantial change in certain types of contracts by reducing policy loan interest charges from 6 to 5 per cent insurance firms will lose annual revenue totaling other factors necessitating higher pr premiums include the difficulty of finding satisfactory is capital markets and the small amount of new financing now being done politics it is plausible that november election gains by the liberalized republican party should give strength to old line republicans who have taken a back seat in party affairs since the disastrous defeat of 1936 this very thing happened at the recent fent national conference condei ance in in washington where confident liberals found themselves confronted with an unexpectedly strong faction of hoover dupont and liberty league republicans A still more important shift is that liberal G 0 P strength which originated in the rural areas has moved to metropolitan cities and has been supplanted in the small towns by a stronger conservative element having appointed a conservative ex sen daniel 0 hastings of delaware and a liberal harvey jewett of south dakota to fill two executive committee vacancies the party now finds itself deadlocked on a future course though much talk is heard of potential 1940 candidates it is believed the party must first decide which way its course shall be set to liberalism as evidenced since 1936 or to conservatism people the name of masaryk famous in czechoslovakian history since thomas G masaryk founded the nati nation on 20 years ago will leave that nations officialdom forever on january i 1 jan masaryk son of the czech father and minister to great britain for 14 years has announced his retirement ti in protest over his coun arys capitulation to germany after visiting the U S he will live in england |