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Show Washington Comment The Wiillkie-iMcNary Campaign club opened last week in the same city block as the scintillating Will-kie-for-President club, which had a slightly earlier inaugural. Nearly Near-ly 200 people crowded the new offices of-fices to hear the house minority leader and chairman of the" Republican Re-publican national committee, Representative Rep-resentative Joe Martin, make the opening address, calling for hardworking hard-working volunteers to help elect the Republican , nominee. The feminine element hereabouts is enormously intrigued to learn that though Mrs. Willkie usually votes the way her husband does, 1932 .was an exception; the lady didn't like the way Mr. Roosevelt left New York state in debt and voted her own convictions. This is a tense week in congress. con-gress. The legislative gentlemen have begun in earnest the debate on conscription, A bitter battle is expected. The typical Washington Washing-ton summer weather is doing nothing no-thing to alleviate the situation; tempers and temperatures are both running high at this time. In regard to the so-called "draft", officials of the justice department reveal that there were more than 300,000 "draft dodgers" in this country during the World war. A total of 337,640 persons were listed as draft deserters, but 163,-738 163,-738 of them were apprehended and dealt with before July 15, 1919. Grover Cleveland Bergdoll is the only one of them still in jail. Approximately only 160,000 men escaped from the conscription conscrip-tion machine entirely. There were 64,693 claims for noncombatant classification (55,368 made by members of religious bodies opposed op-posed to war) but only 56,830 were recognized. It looks as though congress would still be battling with the conscription pain-in-the-neck when frost comes, and if this is the case, those much-needed repairs to the roof above the house and senate chambers cham-bers will be indefinitely Held up. If last week is any criterion, delay de-lay is plain dangerous, because at any time, a sulphuric geyser of senate oratory is likely to blast a hole right through that glass skylight. The dark side" of the defense picture was sketched last week by Secretary of Treasury Morgen-thau Morgen-thau when he forecasted a $5,-700,000,000 $5,-700,000,000 federal deficit for this year, unless congress enacts an excess profits tax. The present $49,000,000,000 federal debt will eventually have to be increased about $9,000,000,000 next summer, it appears, unless new taxes are raised. Here are Secretary Mor-genthau's Mor-genthau's outlines for the United States fiscal outlook: estimated expenditures for current fiscal year ending June 30, $12,058,-000,000; $12,058,-000,000; estimated revenues (exclusive (ex-clusive of proposed new excess profits tax) $6,367,000,000; net deficit, $5,691,000,000; approved and pending appropriations and contract authorizations for army, $6,809,000,000, for navy, $7;893,- ( Continued on last page) Washington Comment (Continued from first page) 000,000; total national defense ! outlay so far voted by conirress, ! 514,702,000;000i estimated acftual cash defense costs this fiscal iyear, $5,000,000,000; present federal fed-eral debt, $43,803,190,540; esti-j esti-j mated debt next June 30 (exclu-I (exclu-I sive of proposed new tax) $48,-i $48,-i 700,000,000 I M |