| OCR Text |
Show 1 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS BY JOSEPH W. LaBIiSE Battle to Raise National Debt Makes New Taxes Impossible; Touchy Topic in Election Year (EDITOR'S NOTE When opinions are expressed in the,se columns, they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.) . Released by Western Newspaper Union. I y Lt f i 'r I , f r -i ; t - r4 S t ; ' - 4 1 IIARRISON EARLY KING ". . . fine." His boss hopes ... "... great interest . . WHITE HOUSE: Budget Next spring the national debt will reach its $45,000,000,000 legal limit. To circumvent the issue or force an increase through a hostile congress during an election year will provide such a test of political etiquette that the New Deal will have little stomach stom-ach for a tax-boosting campaign. If anything, it will be smart politics to slash expenditures. There were signs in late November Novem-ber that such attempts might be made. One by one, administration spokesmen purred for the press: Said Mississippi's Pat Harrison, chairman of the senate finance committee: com-mittee: "Receipts are showing up fine. The way they are coming in gladdens our hearts. If . . . we can cut down expenses somewhat, some-what, we may get along without a tax bill." Said Utah's Sen. William King, fresh from a White House conference: confer-ence: "The President evinced great interest in a policy that would prevent pre-vent large deficits." , Next came White House Secretary Steve Early, who has been reborn lately as a "spokesman." While Budget Director Harold D. Smith nodded his assent, Steve Early pointed out that the President is considering sharp economies next year. Other leaders hoped to trim the deficit to between $2,000,000,000 and $2,500,000,000. (Last fiscal year's deficit: $3,500,000,000.) Aside from all-important political considerations, prevailing whether the President sought a third term or tried to name his successor, there were some honestly promising factors fac-tors in the picture. WPA rolls stood at 1,930,463 against 3,360,000 a year ago; business was better; tax income, in-come, if the present rate of increase is maintained, would be $1,000,000.-000 $1,000,000.-000 higher next year. But there was a less pleasant side to the picture. National defense, which last year cost $1,500,000,000, may easily reach $3,000,000,000 this year and would thus wipe out the boost in tax receipts. Relief costs are predicted at $1,000,000,000 against $1,400,000,000 this year, a comparatively small cut. Summed up, the budget will probably hit a rough $9,000,000,000, which still fails to reverse the spending trend. ASIA: Mr. Welles Complains Biggest actual news of Japan's war in China came from a suddenly developed front in southern Kwang-si Kwang-si province (see map), where 40,000 Nipponese staged a blitzkrieg to sever China's rail connections with French Indo-Chma. Thus Tokyo hoped to starve the Chungking government gov-ernment into submission, expecting no protests either from Britain or France. Both these nations had their hands full at home. Nannmg, where the supply route was to be cut, held out valiantly and hopelessly against the invader. Meanwhile Japan gloated over reports re-ports that her puppet Chinese government, gov-ernment, soon to be established under un-der former Chinese Premier Wang Chmg-wei, will be recognized by It- CHINA Chungking I CHINA'S NEW I V , 'LIFE LINES' V FROM SOUTH 'TV'' BRITISH Y-O Hn0'(5)' i'FN.-y!? BURMA FRENCH .r. r-S )- indo f, JAPS 73 ATTACK lA siam I 1 HERE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN The U. S. was harder to win. aly and Germany. Even Britain, trying to make friends m the Far East, was rumored about to capitulate. capitu-late. But Jap Premier Nobuyuki Abe realized Chinese resistance was not easily broken. Threatened he: "Japan "Ja-pan will keep troops there until China Chi-na is entirely free from the Communist Com-munist menace." Another menace was the U. S. At Washington, Undersecretary of State told his press conference that Americans Amer-icans in China especially at the Tientsin British concession are being be-ing molested by the Japs. He also emphasized that the U. S. still insists in-sists its citizens have every right to pursue their commercial enterprises enter-prises in China, regardless of Japan's Ja-pan's highly touted "new order." This looked bad for U. S.-Jap trade relations, which Tokyo hopes can be smoothed over before the present treaty is abrogated January 26. Although Premier Abe hoped these relations "could be adjusted" before the deadline, it hardly looked like Washington was in a mood to talk business. MISCELLANY: Eighth Wonder At Gillespie, 111., labor's rival C. I. O. and A. F. of L. staged an eighth wonder of the world by co-operating in a coal mine dispute. Said A. F. of L.'s David Reed, without precedent: prece-dent: "The time has ended when companies can play one labor organization or-ganization against the other . . ." Corn C Also at Washington, Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace announced an-nounced corn loans at 57 cents a bushel (70 per cent of estimated 82-cent 82-cent parity price). Forecast: That more than last year's 235,000,000 bushels will be placed under seal through the new program. |
