Show NA NATIONAL AFFAIRS Reviewed by CARTER FIELD President Roosevelt's ap ap- approval approval of the amortization f for or war profits taxes aids preparedness program Democratic leaders do cIo riot not seem to be ruffled by Re Re- Republicans Republicans publicans in cabinet jobs Bell Syndicate syndicate Service CHICAGO There There is astonishingly little soreness among the Democrat Democrat- Democratic ic is leaders le and followers because their President has so recently appointed ap ap- appointed appointed pointed two Republicans to his cabi cabi- cabinet cabinet I net or about the fact tact that as his original cabinet contained two for for- former former I mer mac Republicans It might be said now that there are four non Demo non Dema trots out of ten In the official fam tam ily fly Careful Inquiry reveals the reason reason- ing Nobody wanted the jobs That Thatis 71 is not quite true for forr r Louis Johnson not J only wanted the job 3 Roosevelt gave ave to fa sz t Frank Knox but has hass tf s insisted I on many oc oc- occasions r J u that he was promised it And f heaven knows that I i z Harry Barry Woodring did did- didn't didt nt want to give it I t up But Dut that's just a Frank Knox swallow In n the sum sum- summer summer mer mgr of the Democracy and the truth remains that nobody is particularly burned up because he didn't get the rho place place either either war or navy navy himself himself or because b cause he wanted it for some lieutenant Boies Penrose once told a President President dent that he didn't want any or jobs for his Pennsylvania Republicans Give that job to somebody from Ohio he is alleged to have said and give me five 1500 jobs Instead WHAT W AT UE DE WANTED WI It later developed that he wanted all the 1500 job holders to work in inor inor inor or near Pennsylvania so that they would keep on playing their part in inthe inthe inthe the organization Since that time a congressman's pay has jumped from to 10 10 and most other government sal saI- salaries aries arias in proportion so you have to double the figures to apply his ideas to present day politics But once this Is done there Is little doubt doub about the political wisdom involved Its It's not the big jobs that help in organization building Its It's the little jobs So very few of the big city bosses were annoyed when Roosevelt pu put Stimson and Knox In fn his cabinet They didn't have any candidates for foi forthe the jobs Most of the other men who would have liked the jobs fo for themselves had either been taken care of had become persona non grata at the White House Hoase or just jus obviously didn't fit CORRECTS TILE THE MORASS SS President Roosevelt has gone par part of the way to correct the morass into which the national defense program had bogged down This was in hi his endorsement of year five-year amortization amortization plan for computing war prof prof- profIts profIts profits Its which Is embodied in the new ne w legislation to be pushed through t to t wo o take the profit out of war wac The trouble was due chiefly to th the determination of Secretary Henry Henrj Henr Y bright young men t to 0 let no guilty tax dollar escape in inthe inthe the spending billions of for national defense Airplane motors are the best illus fUus- illustration illustration though this particular pa problem problem lem may be solved shortly But Bu with engines the admitted bottle bottle- neck and with skilled machinists machInist to make the tools and dies admitted a the chief lack Jack as realized long be fore President Roosevelt's promise e of planes weeks stretched d into months at the treasury without dt t action AN N ILLUSTRATION It It was like asking us to buy bonds not bonds not stock with witha a chance to tomake tomake tomake make a killing said one big manu manu- manufacturer manufacturer who gets along fine Me with Knudsen but bogs down at the treas treas- ury The trouble Is that these bonds may pay their Interest for forone forone forone one year maybe for far four tour but after that when the defense crisis passes the bonds will default We will have millions tied up in additions to plant which as Mr Roosevelt so graph graph- graphically put it in his acceptance speech at Chicago in 1932 will be standing stark and idle Its not a question of how much profit we wo make Its It's whether we have any chance at all to get out without a loss The amount of profit is not nearly so important as a guarantee of some sort against los los- losIng ing fag our shirts For example sup sup- suppose suppose pose a company makes net profit on a war order Of that under the existing tax law one fifth or would go to the th federal treasury anyhow under the corpora tion income tax Other federal taxes take a piece The new war profits tax will then take a big chunk of what is left J ft Finally the residue presumably will be paid out to the stockholders So what Percentages of those dividends running way up to nearly three quarters quarters according to the individual incomes of the re re- recipients recipients will be paid into the treas treas- treasury treasury ury under personal income tax lev lev- ies les J J |