| Show II I I A Iw 3 y I err C 1 c eras c 4 1 Washington It If ever eter there were a n time other than when the nation was at war when Money money dominated Dominates Dominate the situation at nt Washington It assuredly as as- Is Js now One can go where he chooses about the government departments to the White House Douse or orto orto orto to Capitol nil Dill and the subject tinder un un- under under der discussion Is or soon will be money A year or so ago we heard beard a n great deal about money We heard beard of ot It In connection with an appropriation approprIation appropriation of the greatest single le time pence voting of ot money In our history And likewise likewise likewise like like- wise we heard money discussed when the President used his power to devaluate de the dollar In Its relation rein rela tion to gol gold Now however howe the subject of money Is discussed se In a slightly different different dif dlf ferent vein The question that Is paramount Is how o can th the government govern govern- government overn I ment get the money It needs In Int t- t other words we are no now getting around to the question of or taxation and It Is a question that neither r the President nor his lieutenants In congress like to face It Is an election election election elec elec- tion year and n a tax Increase In Inele ele election year Is not what the poli poll politIcians politicians would call smoothing g the highway of a campal campaign n. n I Passage of the legislation pr providing provid ing Immediate pa payment ment of at the veterans veterans veterans' veterans veterans' vet vet- erans' erans bonus brought ht con conditions toa toa to toa a hea head The President vetoed the bonus bill and congress promptly overrode that veto eto So the President President President dent promptly told con congress ress that something had to be done about It that the only funds the treasury could muster would be by hy borrowIng borrowIng borrowIng borrow- borrow Ing and amI that hat since congress had yielded to the vocal minority represented represented sen t d by the gren greatest test lobby ever er everto certo everto to populate the Capitol It thereby captured for Itself a problem of raising the money Of course the lie President must assume assume as ns- sume some responsibility even en though h he vetoed the bonus boni for the reason that some of the funds which 1 must be raised will go go to pay the crop control benefits or bonus resulting resulting re re- from Invalidation of the processing taxes and the A Agricultural Agricultural tural turn I Adjustment act net The President President dent ns fiS well as ns the political lenders lenders Inders lend Ind ers In congress want to continue Clint pa payment ment and the they also want to pay farmers on commitments previously previously pre I made because they regard th thorn them m ns as moral obligations under the AAA contracts Yet the country Is likely meely to think In terms of oC the bonus banns for the war veterans nail pa pay little attention to fa the smaller amount scheduled to go o to the farmers and Indeed tike the veterans veterans' bonus Is almost six times that which the administration desires to pay to the farmers There was In this situation a de development de- de development to which I 1 believe attention atten tion tinn 5 should h 0 u I d be Its ll It s Up called Through h to Henry many years cons con- con gress s has b been eri an easy spender Through h the sa same me years dears It has Ims avoided at nt every turn laying taxes to offset the money It voted vote out nut of the treasury Under the Roosevelt elt administration the peak of e easy sy spending has lias been reached and congress has gone one along with vociferous a nye aye on every spending proposal sent to the from the White House Clouse The congressional nr attitude to which I have e referred came up tip In bulk hulk atthe nt at the time of the bonus vote Every time n bonus honus opponent Inquired where the government o would get et the money to pay the two and one- one half billion to the veterans the nn an saver from th the hones bonus supporters was In effect Its up tip to Henry I can recall a familiar slogan sloan current when I was n a boy that was used always when wIlen some one desired to shift rt responsibility to ty-to ty to pass th the buck It was let George Geore do It It In Inthe Inthe Inthe the bonus honus controversy ersy Senator Democrat of Alabama was the first member of con congress ress whom I heard say Its up to Henry Hnry He ne meant that the Job Joh of or raising the Uw mon money belonged to Henry secretary of the trens ury but hut Senator spoke more thorn his own feelings s when he hr mall made the statement mc He Ile put Into words WOT n a thought which permeated the minds of or a vast majority of or unthinking un un- thinking representatives and sen sen- Perhaps I should not say unthinkIng unthinking ing because those men were In truth thinking er very deeply Their thoughts Instead of turning to son song In tn the spring were turning to votes In November No That was the reason for III passage ae of the bonus Senators rs anti and representatives seeking reelection reelection re elec I tion were afraid to go Into the battle battle bat hat i tle tie for fur nomination and re-election re this summer and have war veterans drag Irn out nut the lie skeleton of n a vote tote In opposition to Immediate payment of thin tho bonus It will he a lon long time before those who lIle voted l for fur tin the hones bonus can cnn live II It down down- downA A keen k political maneuver J tins has something In It that calls for l hut hot an nn obvious political nl maneuver such as was the passage of the bonus did not give any reason reason rea ren son for commendation except perhaps per per- haps the justification that If It the Roosevelt administration was committed committed committed com com- to passing out hundreds of ot millions of dollars on boon and other more or less useless projects projects projects then lien the war veterans were en en- entitled titled to he be paid now the sums which con congress ress promised them would be paid In 1017 1917 That really Is a powerful argument but If It Roosevelt supporters make that argument argument ar nr they are at the same time damning the New Deal spending pol pol- polIcies policies so I fancy that such an nn argument argument ar nr- will be rarely advanced nd It Is entirely probable that there will be no DO tax bill this year unless t the h e Presidents President's May Be No letter to Speaker Tax Bill B y r n D s pointing out the necessity for tor raising revenue causes an unheard unheard un un- heard of number of ot senators an and representatives to do a n Hip flop No imagination Is required to see that thata a representative or senator Is In a tough spot when he goes back home borne asking the suffrage of his constituents constituents and must tell them at the same time that he ad added ed to the tax burden burden burden bur bur- den which they must pay Well If It that be true how bow Is Henry going to get the mone money It will have hae to be borrowed and It will have to be borrowed on government bonds which add up into an Increasing increasing ing government go deficit It means that Instead of a n deficit of around three billions In the next fiscal year the treasury will be confronted with witha a deficit of more than five Ote billions and antl the public debt In the lie meantime meantime meantime mean mean- time will have ha been correspondingly corresponding corresponding- ly Increased It means In addition I that th the banks of the country will have to pile more government bonds bons on top of ot the government bonds they have thus far absorbed In financing a policy of spending our way out of the depression The tra tragedy edy of the situation In Incon con congress that brou brought ht about Senator Senator Senator Sena Sena- SenaI I tor Bankhead's remark of its up i ito to Henry Is that It Indicates that congress has hns been hen looking upon the treasury as ns a n source of ot revenue ItIs It ItIs Itis Is not ot and It never ne has hns been heen Government Government Government Gov Gov- Is non It can cnn get et funds lIs only by taxation by taking taking tak tak- In ing them away from the people people- or by borrowing and If It borrows I It has to pa pay back The newspapers throughout the I country have e been full of reports concerning the Campaign early start of at the Starts Early political c cam a m- m The A Al I 1 Smith speech coming from the man who made It brought about a sudden expansion In the political fire It really opened up the fight and henceforth we are due to be surfeited surfeited surfeited sur sur- with this claim or that this charge and that denial or countercharge countercharge counter counter- charge as the v various rious leaders marshal marshal mar mar- their forces Thus far In addition to President Roosevelt's Hoose Jackson day speech t to the plate a r diners and Mr Smiths Smith's Liberty lea league ue dinner outburst outburst outburst out out- burst we have hn had active cam cam- campaigning by former President resident Hoover Hoover Hoover Hoo Hoo- ver by Governor Talmadge of ot Georgia by Senator Borah the Idaho Idaho Idaho Ida Ida- ho Republican by Governor Landon Landon Lanon Lan- Lan don on the Kansas Republican and by Senator Robinson of Arkansas the Democratic leader lender In the senate senate senate sen sen- ate who spoke In reply to Mr Smith Others are In the oiling offing for the lie Rep Republican and Democratic national nation nation- al committees are arc engaging radio times In a big way As speeches and statements Increase increase In in- crease In number and as fanfare grows louder I find m myself getting i in a n bit callous to them all nil I have been wondering whether the American Ameri ArnerI- i can people have hn lost their sense of humor humo completely because the situation situation situ situ- nUon really has a humorous side Unless the peoples people's sense of humor has hns been dreadfully seared It seems to me they y ou ought ht to be hl highly amused over ridiculous statements now being made on one side of oC the the fence or on the other Take false for or instance Mr Roosevelt's Hoose handwritten ten bonus veto m message It presented presented presented pre pre- something a n bit unusual because because be be- because cause In my time In Washington ton It happened only once before that n a President vetoed a bill with a a handwritten handwritten hand hand- written n message to congress Of Ot course It was Intended to be dramatic dra draa matic and md and It was But ut the point Is A year ago no when congress passed parsed d the bonus the tike President nude mide a personal appearance In the halls of congress and amI rear read his own veto message e He lIe made malle his hits vigor igor vigorous Ou ous tIght light and he rallied milled his supporters supporters' support support- ers ers' In line to sustain his veto There has hns been heen so 50 much talk around Washington since the handwritten mr message went to con congress ss r that the Pr President nt really was not vl vigorously opposing ln pm passage of the hill bill over his Ills veto that I am coming to he he- lIe leave that was true In other words word he thought ht that Immediate payment payment pay pay- ment of th the tho bonus was t wrong but hut buthe buthe he had n a weather P rye eye out ont for the forthcoming campaign and the votes totes the floe bonus honus night might bring f O tJ Western Union |
