Show 0 V national topics interpreted by william bruckart w washington 1 C national Nt lonal press bu bolg before bc dack back in ILI washington involved vol states b became amen united the staler in amendol the world war public debt eur governa government ent had at debt which mounts M rt a national as was regarded large at that time it was ts only OD 1 but that wits was sufficient clent in those days to cause concern on the first of 0 july 1935 1035 the trea sury started a new set of books this fh represented the beginning of a new financial year for the government govern mentOne one of the items it had to enter ente r on those books was a public debt of 0 about VS 3 we of tod today ny think that and when nhen it Is com is a huge debt lya pared with the outstanding obligations obligating federal government a s score core ot of 0 of the years ago its magnitude seems tit titanic anle when the treasury closed the fiscal year books on june 30 and counted the cost of the preceding 12 ma ills ot of government it was found that there had been expended roughly in the same period it had collected through income and other forms of 0 taxes including duties laid at the customs houses a total of approximately this means mea ns that in the last 12 months the government operated with a deficit of something over in other words its operating costs were 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 hoover while in office added about 4 to the national debt through deficits in the last two years of his administration so there are two outstanding phases in the financial affairs of the federal government as it starts the fiscal year of 1030 which began july L there Is bred these questions how long can the federal government continue to spend money like wata water and thus increase its public debt and and how long will the american people continue to permit expenditures by their government in excess of the revenues it collects they are related questions neither can happen without the other cut but it seems to me that the time has come for taxpayers and voters generally to take note of the condition of the governments ern ments finances mr roosevelt justifies these heavy outlays outlaid under the necessities of an emergency lie 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 of the whole tax structure this Is necessary to maintain the credit of the united states it if people doubt or lose faith in government bonds the credit of tile 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 a united states government bond was not worth tta its face value the money we have and the rf rights ats we exercise as citizens likewise become become impaired in value and benefit careful analysis of government finances in the last 12 months shows that federal revenues finances were sufficient clent to analyzed cover what mr roosevelt c h a r a c brizes as ordinary government costs ile ie means by that the expenses of 0 the regular establishments of government and excludes all of the so called emergency agencies of which there arenow are now some sixty odd this condition reveals reveal that federal taxes are about the only item in governmental affairs or in private business that have completely recovered from depression effects recovery has been sufficient to make the total revenues virtually the same as those received under the hoover administration in the fiscal year of 1030 it shows also that mr roosevelt has not reduced the cost of ordinary running expenses of the government as he had planned when he became president I 1 mendo mentioned ned earlier a comparison of the public debt now and in let us take another date namely 1919 at that time the outstanding debt was the annual interest charge on that debt was just short of one billion dollars today with a much larger outstanding debt the annual interest charge amounts to only y per year this seems almost paradoxical but the answer lies iles in the interest rate the government Is paying in 1 1991 1021 the average rate of inhere interest S t calculated all different t types apes of on government curi ties r securities eg outstanding was 43 1 per cent at the present time it Is less than 3 per cent so credit must be accorded the he treasury for its bradu gradual at reduction in interest rates ten as years ago an effort was made to market at t securities r a gradually lower I 1 interest rates it did not dot succeed fully because business private vate was demanding capital and n private business as paying interest paying aher rates in the last five years private business has or sv six called very f little money government for ties and the law of supply and demand operated to allow the treasury y its bonds and notes at much reduce interest on the one hand therefore th roosevelt administration has run nn tile the P public bublic debt by ab about but has succeeded in FIC actually 11 Kuliu cl the carrying charge of 0 this great deh debb structure by more than pen year that Is the situation as aa 0 of today restoration of 0 business actie and the resultant denu demand ier for capita may change the market for treasury bon bonds ds almost overnight but the prose pro 1 peels for such business activity areno arenoa immediate one of the he interesting things that thai often occurs in government govern L affairs 1111 airs is the explosive effee effect starts of a single incident something hing or a single ge rem remark at by an important 0 01 ficiala it Is a characteristic of chang 1 ing conditions and it Is a circumstance which causes washington observers to t be on their toes continuously li bei cruse cause they never can tell when such an incident will occur thus it wa wu the other day that Represent atly brewster republican of maine a fon foil mer governor of that state arose it iiii his place in the house of represents represent tives and charged that the roosevelt roosevel administration was threatening andl vidual members of the house who del dd dined to support the administration view on a particular piece of tion mr brewster named one thomas thomai corcoran as the administration calls sary gary and bearer of the threats he told of details of the circumstance and informed the house that the le legislation Islat iod which the administration demanded h be should support was the so called death sentence provision in the bill to eliminate utility holding companies suffice it to say that sir mr brewster did not yield the point of this incident however Is that immediately there came from many quarters in the house a demand for an investigation of lobbying acrivi I ties there had bad been many charges theretofore that the public utility corporations po rations were overrunning over running the house with lobbyists hobbyists in their effort to defeat the death sentence section the real reason back of tills sudden out outburst burs however lies in dissatisfaction among many members of congress with tactics employed by the roosevelt administration they have taken orders constantly since march 4 1033 but apparently patently ly they are no longer going to obey so the investigation of lobbying Is VS OF be started by a house committee aal an it will be broader than just the public nubile utility lobbyist it if the undercurrent of information proves to be correct administration representatives wh who have frequented the house chambers cham beri during consideration of the holding company bill will be placed on the witness stand to tell their story a 0 in the meantime and maybe as a result of the excitement over the crew ster charge senator look into black an alabama lobbying democrat started fireworks to in the senate lie ile Is prepared to create investigating machinery in that end of the capitol to determine what influence the utility lobbyists hobbyists have exerted that investigation also will go beyond the utility lobbyist phase it Is scheduled to dig up dirt on lobbyists hobbyists for or other legislation thus far there has hai been little mention of administration activities around the senate but as in the case of the house investigation vesti gation it appears now nov that the senate investigation has a double purpose it will be recalled that perlor black fostered a bill requiring all hobbyists lobbyists in washington to register at t the capitol to show their connection to show what salaries sal arles or other compensation pensa tion they receive and to arta r ko I 1 public certain types of passing between them and the acl whom they represent the gossip li Is that the senators bill although it passed the senate without will have hard sledding in tile the hou house houe e senator black appears to be proceeding on the theory that the Invest la tion alon will create additional atmosphere and public demand for passage of tm the lobbyist registration measure actually i believe that the investigation will do no more than ruin reputations of some few people such an 80 inquiry ft aali ill not stop lobbying it will not lot even curb or reduce lob lobbins bInl ai ion long as individuals haya hava proper property ty the value of which may be affected one V way ay or the other by federal legislation just so long iong wl will 11 individuals seek to influence their representatives and senators in congress it seems to me to 10 be a perfectly natural and normal thin thing and without defending the type of lobbying and the raw or crooked deals that may come from the voters have a right to espre express Ss their the views to their representatives tile the irony of the presents present situate situ illation Is that undoubtedly there will be t reference in either investigation to tit fil tremendous by the 1 activity carried on american federation of labor lobby lot isle or the lobbyists hobbyists for the Am America erICSO 0 legion or the lobbyists hobbyists tor for cert bertil til groups such as it the ie pacifists paci fists or I 1 the rid ra leal lea of 1 I supporters of russian types t he lt government nor Is it likely that correct picture of administration po r sure upon the last tv t 0 sessions ot of oil gress will be disclosed az B W etem atam coant No anT enla dalf |