| Show Merry Round Trad Mark MarkBy By Sy DREW PEARSON EARSON end ROBERT ALLEN W WASHINGTON Behind WASHINGTON Behind the uncertainty that has las marked the administrations administration's course on the forth forthcoming oming tax program is a twisting brain-twisting riddie riddle ridle rid- rid die dle le that only the theU U U. S. S supreme court can cai answer answer It Itis t is a one billion dollar enigma During the two and a half years' years existence of pf the he late AAA this amount was collected in processing taxes taxes almost almost entirely from the pockets of f consumers consumers and and went into the pockets pockets' of farmers farm farm- ers rs in the form of ot crop benefit payments This billion dollars is in an entirely different category from the recently ordered returned to proc processors sors by the supreme court The had not been passed on to the growers It was held in escrow escrow pending the courts court's decision on the AAA suits Its return will willbe willbe wille be e a bad blow to presidents president's the budget plans andall and arid win all necessitate raising of new funds to make up the loss but it itis is a tangible and md con concrete rete problem The billion dollar dilemma however is not In n preparing rate schedules for forthe the new t tax x bill administration master minds dont don't know what to todo top do p whether to figure on means of paying th the billion illion or to disregard the huge potential liability S Inner council l legalists differ widely as to the governments government's accountability for the sum Some believe ve on the basis baSis' of the supreme courts court's order that hat the be returned that the government government gov- gov must eventually refund the billion Others dispute this But Hut on one thing all are agreed agreed- hat that only the he nine justices can settle the 1 question Disastrous Delay DeJay Meanwhile the administration cannot delay m ch longer in bringing out a tax taic plan Th The neVi new farm arm bill has been started on oI its way through congress congress congress con- con gress and nd steps must be taken to finance it Also p provision must be made ade to raise the till still owing farmers under the AAA Inside word is that the tax plan lan will sidestep the he billion dollar doUar riddle and call only for funds to o pay for the new farm program I pl plus pius s the the- theun unpaid unpaid unpaid un un- un- un paid debt This v. v will come to a tot total 1 of f about While ducking the question of providing for fora a possible refund of the billion dollars the administration administration ad ad- ministration will not let the issue go wh wholly lly un- un touched The plan is to write into the new tax bill ill language that will wiil undertake t to validate the disputed sum Whether su such h retroactive retroactive legislation n will withstand withstand with- with stand tand court scrutiny no one knows But Butas as as' one presidential residential adviser observed There is no h harm harmin rm in n trying The government can cant can't t lose all the time ime King Cotton Johnston Oscar Johnston Johnsto has just been put in the he positiOn ti ion tiOn n. n of controlling mo more e cotton than any other man in the worlds world's history In the government cotton pool pooi there are 1500 bales Under the control of f the Commodity Credit corporation there are bales For some time Oscar Johnston has been manag manager manager man man- man man- ag ager r of the cotton pool More recently due to illness ss of Commodity Credits Credit's President Lynn P P. Talley Johnston has become pr president of that at corporation as well Thus the total number of f bales under his thumb is j I The other day an excited cotton broker hearing hearing hear- hear ing ng that the government was was going to dispose of I I some of its cotton cattani called Johnston on the phone What I wa want t to know he said is this Is th there here re mu much h danger that these two government agencies each Cach trying to sell cotton will interfere with one another The manager of both agencies assured him they would not Sol Sot Bloom Sol Bloom New Yorks York's iconoclastic congressman congress congress- man would like to rewrite the school books and throw throw out four cherished myths of ot American i his history 1 That Paul Revero Revere made his his' famous ride I From Boston to Concord and Lexington Sol says he tie didn't do it and couldn't have done it and nobody supposed he did it until Longfellow with poetic license invented the tale 2 Th That t George Washington was born on FebrUary February Feb Feb- mary 22 22 1732 1132 Sol says Washington was born Fe February 11 1732 1132 and nd th that t when the change was made from the Julian to the Gregorian Gregoria calendar in 1752 Washington lost his rightful birth date 3 3 That Washington personally met Betsy Ross and asked her to make a flag fo for the n new w Union Sol says No show show- me any proof that these two ever ver met 4 That hat Washington threw a dollar across the Potomac river Sol says says Its a physical He would have had to throw four times time farther than Babe Ruth ever batted a a. ball Four It on Him Virginias Virginia's Representative Clifton A. A Woodrum was making a fiery attack on Al AI Smiths Smith's Liberty league speech Suddenly he was interrupted by bya a loud blow of ot the gaveL The gentleman's time has e expired ro roared red North Carolinas Carolina's bald Representative ve Bob Doughton Dough- Dough ton at at that mo moment ent presiding ing over t the e h house use Will the gentleman yield me another five minutes min min- nun nun- utes b begged Woodrum of Acting Floor Leader Edward Taylor year old an I II 1 yield th the gentleman ten additional minutes The gentleman from Virginia boomed is additional additional additional ad ad- Doughton firmly recognized for fifteen minutes Both Republicans t ins and nd Jem Democrats cr ts j joined ined in the laughter 1036 by bj United tun Syndicate Inc |
