Show 0 national topics interpreted by william bruckart national Nat lonal press building washington D C washington eack back in 1910 1010 before the united states became involved in the world war public debt our government had mounts a national debt which was regarded as a 3 large at that time it was only 1 but that was sufficient in those days to cauce caure concern on the first of 0 july 1935 1035 the treasury started a now set of books this represented the beginning of a new financial year for the government one of the items it had to enter on those books was a public debt of about 23 we of today think that Is a huge debt and when it Is compared with the outstanding obligations of 0 the federal government a score of years ago its magnitude seems titanic when the treasury closed the fiscal year books on june 30 0 0 and counted the cost of the preceding 12 months month of government it was found that there had been expended roughly 7 1 in the same period it had collected through income and other forms of taxes including duties laid at the customs houses a total of approximately this means that in the last 12 months the government operated with a deficit of something over 3 5 in other words its operating costs were inere virtually double the amount of revenue it received this deficit together with the deficit that was created during the earlier months of the roosevelt administration added something like to the national debt president hooker while in office added about 4 to the national debt through uli deficits in the last two years of his Is administration so there are two outstanding phases in the financial affairs of the federal government as it starts the fiscal year of 1030 1930 which began july 1 there Is bred these questions now how long can the federal government continue to spend money like water and thus increase its public debt and how long will the american people continue to permit expenditures by theli their government in excess of the revenues it collects they are related questions neither can happen without the other but it seems to me that the time has come for taxpayers and voters generally to ta take ke note of the condition of the governments ov ern ments finances mr air roosevelt justifies these heavy outlays under the necessities of an emergency ile he contends that when prosperity returns and business Is normal citizens will pay their taxes without complaint and that these taxes will be sufficiently large in their total production to whittle down the gigantic outstanding debt hence there Is at this moment an urgent need for examination amin atlon of the whole tax structure this Is necessary to maintain the credit of the united states if people doubt or lose faith in government bonds the credit of the government can be said to be impaired no nation of self respecting people desires that thing to happen it has long been a recognized truism that it if a united states government bond was not worth its face value the money we have and the rights we exercise as citizens likewise become impaired in value and benefit careful analysis of government finances in the last 12 months shows that federal revenues finances were sufficient to analyzed cover what mr roosevelt characterizes as ordinary government costs ile ie means by that the expenses of the regular establishments of government and excludes all of the so called emergency ngen agencies cles of which there are now some sixty odd this condition reveals that federal taxes are about the only item in governmental affairs or in private business that have completely recovered front depression effects recovery has been sufficient to make the total revenues virtually the same its as those received under the hoover administration in the fiscal year of it shows also that mr roosevelt has not reduced the ost of ordinary running expenses of the government as he had planned when he became president I 1 mentioned earlier a comparison of the public debt now and in 1916 1010 let us take another date namely 1919 1019 at that time the he outstanding Irig debt was the annual interest harge barge on that debt was just short of one billion dollars today with a much larger outstanding debt the annual interest charge amounts to only per year this seems almost paradoxical but the answer lies iles in the interest rate the government Is paying in 1921 the average rate of interest calculated on all different types of government securities curi ties outstanding was ISI per cent at the present time it Is less leas than 3 per cent so credit must be accorded the treasury for its gradual reduction in interest rates ten years ago an effort was made to market securities ties at gradually lower interest rates it did not succeed fully because private business was demanding capital and private business was paying higher interest rates in the last five or six ox years private business has called for very little money government les ies and the law of supply and deni demandil anil operated ipe rated to allow the treasury to sell bell its bonds and notes at much reduced reduce dl Inte interest resL on the one hand therefore the tha roosevelt administration has run up the public debt by about but has succeeded in actually reducing the carrying carril ng charge of this great debt structure by more than per year that Is the situation as of 0 today restoration of business activity and the resultant demand for capital may change the market for treasur treasure y bonds almost overnight but the prospects for such business activity agrenot are not immediate one of the interesting things thing 3 that often occurs la in government affairs la Is the explosive effect starts of a single incident something or a single S by rin an important official it Is a characteristic of changing conditions and it Is a circumstance which causes washington observers to be on their toes continuously because they never can tell when such an incident will occur thus it was the other day that representative brewster republican of maine a former governor ot of that state arose la irk his place in the house of re presenta tires and charged that the roosevelt administration was threatening indeli enill I vidual members of the house who declined to support the view on a particular piece of legis lc gisla laJ tion mr brewster named one thomas thomaa corcoran as the administration eels sary and bearer of the threats ile he toll toli of details of the circumstance and informed the house that the legislation which the administration demanded ba ha should support was the so called death deat sentence provision in the bill to eiml nate utility holding companies suri isuf I 1 flee fice it to say that mr brewster did not yield the point of this incident however Is that immediately there came froni from many quarters in the house a demaria deman for an investigation of lobbying activities there had been many charges theretofore that the public utility conj cor po rations lons were overrunning over running the house housa with lobbyists hobbyists in their effort to defeat the death sentence section the real reason back of this sudden outburst however lies in dassa dissatisfaction its faction among many members of congress with tactics employed by the roosevelt administration they have taken orders constantly since march 4 1933 1033 but apparently patently ly they are no longer going to obey so the investigation of lobbying Is to be started by a house committee and it will be broader than just the public utility lobbyist it if the undercurrent of information proves to be correct administration representatives w who h 0 have frequented the house chambers during consideration of the holding company bill will be placed on th the witness stand to tell their story in the meantime and maybe as a result of the excitement over the drew ster charge senator look into black an alabama lobbying democrat started fireworks in the senate lie ile is prepared to create investigating machinery in that end of the tha capitol to determine what influence the utility lobbyists hobbyists have exerted that investigation also will go beyond the utility lobbyist phase itis it Is scheduled to dig clig up dirt on lobbyists hobbyists for other legislation thus far there has been little mention of administration activities around the seriate senate but as in the case of the house investigation vesti gation it appears now that the tha senate investigation has a double purpose it will be recalled reFal recalled led that Seri senator ator black fostered a bill requiring all lobbyists hobbyists in washington to register at the capitol to show their connection to show what salaries or other compensation pensa pens tion atlon they receive and to make public certain types of correspondence passing between them and the people whom they represent the gossip la Is that the senators bill although it P passed assed the senate without difficulty will have hard sledding la in the house senator black appears to be proceeding on the theory that the investigation will create additional atmosphere and public demand for passage of the lobbyist registration measure actually I 1 believe that the investigation will do no more than ruin reputations of some few people such an inquiry will not stop lobbying it will not even curb or reduce lobbying As long as individuals have property the value of which may be affected one ona way or the other by federal legislation just so long will individuals seek to influence their representatives and senators in congress it seems to me to be a perfectly natural and normal thing and without defending the slimy filmy type of lobbying and the raw or crooked deals that may come from lobbying the voters have a right to express thelt theft views to their representatives the irony of the present situation Is that undoubtedly there will be no reference in either investigation dinv inv to the tremendous activity carried on by the american federation or of labor lobby ests or the lobbyists hobbyists for the american legion or the lobbyists hobbyists for certain groups such as the pacifists paci fists or the radical supporters of russian types ot of government nor Is it likely that the tha correct picture of administration pressure upon the last two sessions of con coa ress vill he disclosed st 0 tt 11 tern lining N |