Salt Lake Telegram | 1939-03-21 | Page 6 | Not Yet, but not No

Not Yet, But Not No TVTHAT w do not relish ia th sangfroid or Y nonchalance or offhand complacency that stood out In the letter sent to congress by President Pres-ident Roosevelt Monday. With the agility of an expert magician he tossed in with remarks, that otherwise would have been manifestly consoling, consol-ing, a tew well-chosen words that somehow seem to lack terminal facilities. He said, tor Instance, that he saw "no present pres-ent necessity" to increase the legal limitation for the public debt beyond the statutory $43,000.-000,000. $43,000.-000,000. Then there was that about there being indicated no "immediate" necessity tor doing so. It is all so Indefinite and Inconclusive. It he - had said, for example, "There will be no necessity neces-sity until after 1940," that would have been something, "Present" and "immediate" are only relative measures ot time. The national debt is crawling up on the legal limit As ot St Patrick's dsy, it stood at $39,-948,993,124, $39,-948,993,124, which is so close to $40,000,000.-000 $40,000,000.-000 as to make it uncomfortable. There's only (5,000,000,000 for elbow room. But there is no "present" or "immediate" necessity for upping , th limit Those who watch such things will be unable to get more than a few crumb of comfort out of the White House assurances. But even more' disconcerting is the president's presi-dent's recommendation that the $30,000,000,000 limit on bonded indebtedness be increased. That has th odor -of more deficit financing, , though it is to be supposed that the government would convert a lot of short-term indebtedness . Into longer commitments, which is something like fudging to keep the debt on any given day in the status ot an optical illusion, seeming what lt isnt Then there is the matter ot taxes. There has been an implied promise that something will be done about mending "business deterrents in the present tax structure. The implication it none too strong as lt is. But In the next breath, or paragraph, of the special messes story it said, "Mr. .Roosevelt has taken th position that any tax revision mutt carry positive provision for increases in