Show president harding to be praised for stand taken 0 president harding Is to be co corn mended tor for his stand with reference to the soldiers bonus bill which he vetoed he put forth a statement that thoroughly explains his action and our only regret is that we can not publish it in its entirety the president vetoed the measure b cause it tailed failed to provide the revenue to defray the enormous expense and because it established the very dangerous precedent of creating a treasury covenant to pay which pu a a burden variously estimated be tween four and five billions upon I 1 I 1 the american people not to als charge an obligation which the government always must pay but to bestow a bonus which the soldiers themselves while serving in the world war did not expect he further declared that a peace bestowal on the ex service men as though the supreme offering could be paid for with cash is a perversion of public funds a reversal of tha th policy which exalted patriotic service in the past and suggests that fatur defense is to be inspired by campen bation rather than consciousness ct cf duty to flag and country mr harding took occasion to call attention again to the money spent by the government on disabled i veterans which he said in the course of time will exceed 25 1 he predicted that in years to come congress would be called up ion on to appropriate money tor for pensions to world war veterans and added to that this would cost more billions ois ia than I 1 venture to suggest the governments ability to meet this prospective outlay would be serious ly impaired he argued it the bonus bill became a law I 1 the closing paragraph in prest dent harding hardings s statement regarding the measure follows I 1 confess a regret that I 1 must sound a note of disappointment to the many ex service men who hae haze had the impression that it is as 88 simple a matter for the government govern me ill to bestow billions in peace as it was to expend billions in war I 1 regret to stand between them and the pitiably small compensation propos ed I 1 dislike to be out of accord with the majority of congress which has his voted the bestowal the simple truth is that this bill proposes a government obligation of more than tour four billion dollars without a pro vision of funds tor for the extraordinary expenditure which the executive branch of the government must ti fl nance in the face of difficult financial problems and the complete defeat of our to effect economies I 1 wo ild rather appeal therefore to the candid reflection of congress and the country and to the ex service men in particular as to the course better suited to further the welfare of our country these ex soldiers who served so gallantly in war and who are to be so conspicuous in the progress of the republic in the half century before us must know th it lt nations can only survive where taxi tax tion is restrained from limits of op pres press slon fon where the public treasury Is locked against class legislation but ever open to public necessity and prepared to meet all essential obligations such a policy makes a better country tor for which to fight or to have fought and affords a surer abiding place in which to live an ani I 1 attain |