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Show NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS . , Written for The Telegram By Ray Tucker By IRA BENNETT Vic llay Tucker WASHINGTON Heads of departments de-partments and special agencies have obeyed the president by putting put-ting in "reserve" 10 per cent of the appropriations allotted to them, but? conditions make It Impossible Im-possible to save all that money. It amounts to f400.000.000 or more. Already the hint goes out that the "reserve" will be drawn upon to meet routine requirements, but only wLvi the approval of the budget director. Since the law requires re-quires operations and congress has furnished the money for them, the operations will go on. But. aside from this. It Is contrary con-trary to federal nature to turn unused un-used money back to the treasury. Officials fear loss of their jobs unless they can prove that the jobs are necessary. This can be done only by energetic action and expansion and so saving goes out the window. Here and there a show of economy econ-omy will be made, totaling a few millions, but new spending vastly offsets this tiny trimming. Occasionally a voice on the majority ma-jority side remonstrates against Increasing the debt and deficit, but congress as a whole seems to have abandoned hope of holding down appropriations. Items like the t2fl.000.000 for beginning the tS26.000.000 housing program help to boost t.ils year's totals to more than (8.000.000.000. The treasury deficit Increased 1 100.000.000 in the first 40 days of the new fiscal year from July 1 to August 9. Proposed Increased appropriations appropria-tions and authorizations during tha remaining days of the session relate mostly to crop loans. De-spit's De-spit's disagreement as to details, members of both parties favor protection of farmers against disastrous dis-astrous price slumps, regardless of thj drain upon the treasury- One of the objections raised against tha wages and hours bill is that It will set up another expensive ex-pensive bureaucracy. If passed during this session, an Item may be included in the mopplng-up deficiency de-ficiency bill to provide for first year's operations of the labor standards board and its staff. Members of congress committees commit-tees have a sort of "committee loyalty" that gives them driving force, even when they represent ' majority and minority parties. ' Both houses are inclined to follow fol-low the leadership of their committees. com-mittees. Chairmen of committees acquire special influence on the floor. When committees clash the sparks fly. In the house the rules committee serves as a great flywheel, fly-wheel, or governor, to prevent committee collisions. When the rules committee la stymied the legislative machine stalls. That's what happened when a majority of the rules members voted down a move to report out the wages and hours bill. The opposition represented two forces one that stood against the bill and another that blocked the legislation in order to force consideration con-sideration of a farm bill. But Chairman Jones of rhe agriculture agricul-ture committee told members that a farm bill can't be ready before next session. So the blockers of the wages and hours bill lost strength. At one rritiral stage It appeared that rhe blockadera would succeed In shelving the wages and hours bill until next session. Administration Adminis-tration pressure was Immediately applied. It was exerted In various forms not visible to the naked eye. But Charlie West, Whits House lobbyist, was distinctly visible vis-ible as he (lilted in and out of important offices. Members privately agreed that the nomination of Senator Black intensified opposition efforts to block the wages and hours bill. All that had been said about packing pack-ing the supreme court with men who place new deal laws above the constitution was said over again. Southern members fearful of federal regulation of labor conditions con-ditions In that section were most active in trying to tie up the regulatory regu-latory measure. One of the biggest Items of expenditure ex-penditure is that providing for army and navy preparedness. The total for the two services will run above $1,000,000,000 for this session. ses-sion. Counting authorizations and contingent obligations, the total will be nearer J1.500.0O0.0O0. Eloquent speeches are made by a small minority In each house against these expenditures, but the overwhelming majority favor them, without regard to partisanship. partisan-ship. A sense of possible early need of both army and navy per- ' vades congress. Qui fa a number of World war veterans are In congress, con-gress, and almost without exception excep-tion they are strong for adequate national defense. President Roosevelt himself Is a World war veteran, if service in, naval preparation and operation opera-tion during the war makes one a veteran. His support of bills to s.'.-engthen the army and navy haa been unfailing. The navy, particularly, particu-larly, feels the stimulus of his interest in-terest and sympathy. Naval officers are not In a po- 1 sitlon to become familiar with politico-economic questions, and, even if they were, they are barred from politics, but to a man they applaud F. D. R. for his support of the navy. Latin American envoys buzzed like angry bees over the remarkable remark-able offer of Secretary Hull to lease American torpedo boats to Brazil. His willingness to treat any other good neighbor the same way didn't appease the diplomats. Boms of them think rhey see deep and dark discriminations in the good neighbor policy. The senate has recently ratified Pan-American treaties which call for. cooperation in peace moves, nonintervention, consultation in case of outside aggression, and so on. Some of the Latin Americans, notably rhe Argentine spokesmen, regard the torpedo boat move as a contradiction of these treaties. They also suggest that tha building build-ing up of Brazil's naval force, slight as It may be. is likely to stir neighboring countries to strengthen strength-en their forces. They ask how far the United States intends to go in promoting the armament of Latin America. Members of the senate foreign relations committee wonder what is behind Secretary Hull's move.. More may be heard of it despite the "postponement" brought about by the Argentinian protest Notes: At one time the supreme court had a Brown, White and Gray sitting as judges, but not a Black. Experts on the far east are shivering over the danger of the United States becoming involved in-volved In trying to protect its citizens. . . . Asiatic squadron is feeble compared with Japan's fleet . . . Reclamation projects get an additional t20.000.000. (Copyright, 1937, for The Telegram) |
