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Show Natidnal Topics interpreted ; by William Bruckart fiHHlIlls National Press Building Washington. D. C .rSOlII Washington. It is often the trick of political spokesmen to let their real feelings become known by a statement that Taxation makes no definite Problem reference to the broader policies in which they are interested. Such a statement was that made lately by Sen. Pat Harrison, Mississippi Democrat, Dem-ocrat, with reference to what the senate will do on the pending tax bill. At least, nearly all of the observers ob-servers here who know the lovable Pat Harrison were quite convinced that, when he said the senate would grant business relief from unfair taxes, he actually was proclaiming congressional independence of President Pres-ident Roosevelt. This question of taxation is one with which the New Dealers are gravely concerned; they are just as much concerned as is business and the country as a whole. But they are concerned for a different reason. Sane minds throughout the country long ago began to beg congress con-gress and the administration to 1 make changes in the tax laws to permit business to go forward with employment and production. New I Dealers attacked anyone who said that as an "economic royalist" or "tory" or some other one of the various va-rious things that the New Dealers profess to hate. After so long a time, however, the New Dealers conceded some changes were necessary neces-sary and then began the greatest face-saving maneuvers yet to be tried by the wishful thinkers. When word went to the house ways and means committee that it could make modifications in the two pet New Deal tax laws, the ageing '. Chairman Doughton, of that committee, com-mittee, followed instructions. Of course, there were seventeen Democrats Demo-crats and seven Republicans on the committee and that enabled the New Deal to carry out its plans for "modification" of tax laws and to save faces. Regular Democrats and Republicans in the committee membership mem-bership still were in the minority in the house of representatives, and the New Dealers had their way. The tax bill debate in the house nevertheless never-theless told of more slaps at the administration that lay ahead. At this point in the developments. Senator Harrison enters upon the stage. He is chairman of the senate sen-ate committee on finance. His statement, state-ment, therefore, that the 1938 tax bill is going to give some basis upon which business can break even, at least, can be taken as indicative of the final form of that law when it emerges from congress. The house, under the lash of White House lobbyists, lob-byists, managed to hold part of the ways and means committee draft in its original shape while losing other parts of it. Thus, when the senate has acted and the bill is sent to conference committees for adjustment ad-justment of the differences, it is rather plain to see how Democrats and Republicans are certain to override over-ride New Deal face-saving. I have written much in these columns col-umns about present tax policies heretofore. There Harrison is little need to re-Speaks re-Speaks Out Peat the facts which continue to be important factors in the development develop-ment of the Roosevelt depression. The assinine tax on undistributed earnings, fathered by the radical Prof. Herman Oliphant of the Treasury Treas-ury staff, has not allowed any corporation cor-poration to build up a reserve. It took all of the earnings of last year, a period in which some corporations did make money in a limited way. Now that the depression is on us again, corporations obviously are scared stiff. Wage cuts are cropping crop-ping up here, there and everywhere, and every time there is a wage cut the nation's buying power is reduced re-duced to that extent. But what is an employer going to do? Go broke, in order to keep his payrolls up? That is hardly human, it seems to me, since everyone desires to protect pro-tect whatever funds he may have, be it a dollar or a million. So, when Senator Harrison spoke out boldly that something was going go-ing to be done to eliminate some of the obstacles which wishful thinking New Dealers have built up in their experimentation, it means, I believe, be-lieve, that Senator Harrison proposes pro-poses to do just that. The politics of the situation is another an-other matter. That phase is equally important and significant. Senator Harrison would not have spoken out a few years ago, or even a year ago; as he has done lately. The house a year ago would never have rejected what has been called the "third basket" of taxation. (The so-called so-called third basket was a new type of tax that would have made the rates sky-hi'ch on corporations held by only a few stockholders, family-owned family-owned corporations like thousands hZ small companies usually ure.) No, the hou;;e would not have killed that a year alio, but it did this year. And, when Senator Harrison dared to say congress will do thus and so, Senator Harrison was simply voicing voic-ing a fact. He was s.iyini;, In effect, ef-fect, "Wheth'T you like It or not, Mr. President, we will write the tax law in the interest of the country as wo r.cc it." In the course of the tax bill debate de-bate in the house, there was a curious curi-ous disclosure, a rather biting piece of debate. Representative Tread-way, Tread-way, who would be chairman of the ways aud means committee if Republicans Re-publicans were in the majority instead in-stead of being only a handful, told the house that the father of the surplus sur-plus earnings tax had never come before the committee since the time he laid out the silly scheme which led to its enactment. Professor Pro-fessor Oliphant has been so silent about his sponsorship of the plan that it has become almost thunderous. thunder-ous. And Mr. Treadway thought it was unusual that a parent should shrink from acknowledgment of parenthood. He obtained no answer or explanation. The surplus earnings earn-ings tax, in a modified form, was still in the bill as reported to the house, however, and there was sufficient suf-ficient New Deal strength in the house to hold it there. It will be different in the senate, and the speech by Senator Harrison simply is an announcement in advance. It has been interesting to me to review these facts because I am inclining in-clining to the opin-Healthy opin-Healthy ion that the situa-Sign situa-Sign tin n congress is more or less a reflection re-flection of the opinion in the entire country. The November elections lie ahead. Mail from home is pouring pour-ing in, and the character of that mail is always closely studied by the politician seeking re-election. That is to say, the average house member or senator is keeping very close tab on what the feeling is back home. They were not put to that necessity during the first four years of Mr. Roosevelt's administration. All that was needed was for a member mem-ber to say that the President wants this or that, and vote that way. So clearly has all of this been made apparent that few who so desire de-sire are afraid any longer to assert themselves to say what they think even if that is in administration opposition. op-position. It is a healthy sign. It means that congress, while going along with Mr. Roosevelt many times, will put more and more checks on his proposals that have had their birth in the little red house, of Georgetown's section of Washington, where all of the New Dealers congregate. It means further fur-ther in the opinion of some of the real Democrats that the New Deal has played out. They are, therefore, there-fore, getting back into their harness as Democratic leaders. And, in this light, there has been another development that should not be overlooked. I refer to the collapse col-lapse of Robert H. Jackson's candidacy can-didacy for governor of New York. When Mr. Jackson, who lately was made solicitor general of the United States, was "going to town" as the expression is, left wing press agents had him all but elected In New York. A big banquet was tendered him in New York city. Mr. Roose velt was quite instrumental in that banquet plan. He lent aid in stirring stir-ring up attendance. It was notable, however, that the banquet created no excitement. That is, there was no excitement of importance, and just there the candidacy began to sag. I do not know what the real reason rea-son was for Mr. Jackson's subsequent subse-quent statement Ignores that he would not Farley seek the New York governorship. It is just possible, however, that the absence ab-sence of Postmaster General Farley from the banquet sponsorship had something to do with the flop for flop the dinner and candidacy surely sure-ly did. Now, everyone around Washington Wash-ington knows that Mr. Roosevelt no longer takes the Postmaster General Gen-eral into the executive confidence, even though Mr. Farley is chairman of the Democratic national committee. commit-tee. Indeed, it was printed in several sev-eral widely read columns that Mr. Roosevelt actually distrusted Mr. Farley. I would not be able to report re-port on that detail, but I can not overlook the fact that left wingers, especially the long-haired group, have been sniping at Mr. Farley for months. It is just possible, then, that they have persuaded Mr. Roosevelt to the point of conviction. He has listened to that group a very great deal and they may have made him feel that Mr. Farley is undermining under-mining the President. In any event, one may follow the tax pronouncement by Senator Harrison Har-rison right on through the significant signifi-cant silence of Mr. Farley. One may find how Mr. Farley has had numerous and sundry conferences, or chance meetings, with a good many powerful old-line Democrats. But to examine the thing from a congressional angle again, I am pleased by the defection, the establishment es-tablishment of the line of demarcation demarca-tion between Democrats and New Dealers. Not that I care who runs the government, or is charged with responsibility. My interest lies deeper. deep-er. I know from having watched the wheels go 'round that too great a majority of one parly in congress con-gress produces bad laws. It can not be avoided. u WcMen. Newnp;.pur Ui ton. |
