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Show National Topics Interpreted L J? by William Bruckart KSSM Katlonal Press Building Washington. D. C. .gCSyrEuTTHr" Washington. Out of President Roosevelt's elght-billion-dollar budget budg-et Is developing a Budget Starts very real contro- Controversy versv whlch runs to the heart of the New DeaL True, this controversy contro-versy like nearly all of the others will not result in changing the President's Pres-ident's plans, but it seems to me to be a matter which justifies consideration consid-eration even though the Roosevelt will in the end must prevail. Included In the budget was provision pro-vision for an appropriation of four billion dollars and, as stated by the President, to be supplied "in one sura, subject to allocation by the Executive principally for giving work to those unemployed on the relief rolls." Beyond that, there was no exposition of its intended use nor has there been any detailed statement of the plan. As a result, re-sult, there is a considerable body of opinion in the halls of congress which is saying in effect that Mr. Roosevelt ought to define his work relief program. He has not done so, and the best information I can obtain is that no explanation may be expected In the near future; he Intends to proceed as he has In the past by developing a program piecemeal piece-meal and using the funds as the occasion oc-casion requires. In the critical days of 1933 when Mr. Roosevelt took office, I believe it was generally conceded that the emergency was so serious as to warrant war-rant delegation by congress of almost al-most any power even remotely desired de-sired by the President, He used that power during 1933 and 1934. Now, many members of the house and senate believe that the time has arrived for congress to become more inquisitive about the expenditure of taxpayers' money and to avoid following fol-lowing in blind trust however the President may direct. While It is probable that congress will not be told how the President intends to use the money and while it Is also probable that the requested appropriation appro-priation of four billion dollars will be rubber stamped, the fact remains that at no time during the New Deal has there been such a buzz of discontent dis-content in the President's own list of wheel-horses. Senator Byrnes, the South Carolina Democrat who has been looked upon consistently as Mr. Roosevelt's spokesman on financial affairs in the senate, has informed that body that It Is impossible impos-sible "to be more specific at this time" on the work relief program. Senator Byrnes will go no further. He has given no interviews respecting respect-ing his own thoughts on the matter and apparently has elected to wait at bat until the President tosses him the ball. Nevertheless, there are some senators who think they detect de-tect Just a trace of concern in the attitude of this administration spokesman and they are wondering how long he will continue to repress re-press his own energies. Presentation of the budget was expected -In many quarters to disclose dis-close the means Critics Chide by which the Pres-President Pres-President ident hoped to get employment going go-ing again in private industry. It showed nothing tangible in this direction. di-rection. Consequently, critics of the administration who have had opportunity oppor-tunity to speak In the house and senate have begun to chide the administration ad-ministration on its third experiment experi-ment In three years. Representative Representa-tive Snell of New York, Republican leader in the house, has called attention at-tention to the situation something In this manner: The President tried out one plan in 1933 ; he tried out a second plan In 1934, and now he Is trying a third experiment. The first two were found to be all wet, and the Republicans, it seems, are convinced con-vinced that the current effort has two strikes on it before It gets started. They are predicting failure for it in every way except the success suc-cess that Is assured in getting rid of money which the treasury is borrowing. bor-rowing. Their conversations all have the same theme song, namely that the country Is seeing activity, but they are not predicting how long this action can continue until the nation goes broke. Whether the business leaders who met at White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., a month ago were right or wrong in proposing the use of a dole instead of the more expensive work relief plan, or whether they were correct in any of the other recommendations rec-ommendations they made, the truth is the administration has rejected without comment every single one of the recommendations made by that group. Mr. Roosevelt made no mention in his budget message or in his annual message to congress of plans for balancing the budget, and this fact at last has sunk in. The result Is additional fear on the part of many business leaders who can see in the future only inflation and economic chaos for the country. Privately, I have heard many expressions ex-pressions indicating that men of wealth are putting their money into tangible property something that will not dry up and blow away. That is always the refuge of Individuals Indi-viduals who fear that th currency which their government controls li losing Its worth. These men will be criticized for that course, naturally nat-urally enough, by blind followers of Inflation plans. From ail of the signs now visible and from the undercurrent of mumbling mum-bling that I hear, it certainly Is made to appear that Mr. Roosevelt is confronted with a necessity for some definite outline of his plans and an assurance that he will adhere ad-here to those plans. Without such, the situation assuredly Is that he will not have the confidence of the business structure. It seems Illogical Il-logical even to suppose that he can gain the co-operation of business In expanding its activities, thereby reemploying re-employing workers, unless he takes a different tack than his pronouncements pronounce-ments thus far indicate. At least, such is the conclusion1 of a vast number of thinking people. I heard a visitor to Washington say the other day that he would like to ride atr-Night atr-Night planes, "but the Flying confounded things fly most of their schedules at night." The individual is a man of great wealth and his time Is of great value. He lnlsted he was sincere In his statement that he would much rather save time by (lying If the planes were on daylight schedule. sched-ule. The statement aroused my curiosity cu-riosity to the extent that I conducted conduct-ed some inquiry Into the situation. I found the night schedules of the air lines to be due to the fact that they are fixed by the Post Office Of-fice department If a line desires to carry mail it has to subject itself it-self to the dictates of "Big Jim" Farley, the postmaster general. His office can and does say to an air line that it will fly a ship leaving New York at 9 p. m. or else It does not get the mail contract. The result re-sult is that the plane leaves New York at 9 p. m. or It leaves Chicago Chi-cago or Washington or any other city on a time stated by the Post Office department. Many persons feel that such a policy is taking undue advantage of private Industry. It Is true that the Post Office department is paying pay-ing for carrying the mails at a rate probably well above the rate It receives In postage on that mail. It Is, therefore, a subsidy. But this government has for years maintained main-tained a policy of subsidizing new Industries and that course is responsible re-sponsible for the success attained by the development of the transportation trans-portation systems of this country. The President's special commission commis-sion named to study the airplane problems of this country and to make recommendations heard much testimony and received much data showing that the airplane industry in the United States had placed this country In the number one position in the air among nations. The administration is determined deter-mined to control oil production. If It cannot do so The Oil by Executive or-Case or-Case der and the Supreme Su-preme Court ftof the United States has decreed it cannot do so In that manner there will be laws predicated upon the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution which will permit the executive branch of the government govern-ment to keep its hand on the valve of oil wells. President Roosevelt apparently was not much concerned over the Supreme court decision which Invalidated In-validated that part of the recovery act, giving the Chief Executive authority au-thority to allow or prohibit interstate inter-state movement of oil as It decided best. The President appeared to feel, In responding to questions by news correspondents, that the rebuff re-buff was only temporary. He announced an-nounced at that time a determination determina-tion to control oil production in one way or another to avoid what he describes as a criminal waste of a great natural resource. The oil case, the Supreme court decided, had its origin In regulations regula-tions and executive orders Issued under what the administration believed be-lieved to be authority accorded by the recovery act. Those regulations and orders prescribed quotas allowed al-lowed to be shipped from each of the several producing states. The motivating spirit was a desire to avoid accumulation of a vast surplus sur-plus of crude oil with the consequent conse-quent depressing of prices until crude oil was worth little or nothing. noth-ing. But, like many other prohibitory prohib-itory laws and rules of conduct, individuals resent being told they could not do a certain thing and Immediately Im-mediately began to devise ways by which it could be done a characteristic charac-teristic that was developed to its fullest during the bootleg days of national prohibition. The oil that was' moved surreptitiously came to be known as "hot oil," and the controversy con-troversy over the validity of the regulations and executive order consequently con-sequently was called the "hot oil" case. & Western Newspaper Union, |