| Show 0 national topics interpreted y by william bruckart national press building Build BuIl lne dinu D C washington president roosevelt has very neatly called the bluff of his critics hot potato that he Is wast for congress in ing billions from the treasury and doing nothing to cepl replace ace it with much less ballyhoo than ordinarily precedes the presentation of tax legislation to congress the president d ent sent a message to the capitol calling for new tax levies at ap a billion dollars in y yield beld and in so doing dropped into the laps of the house and senate critics one of the hottest potatoes they have ever been called upon to handle it one were to characterize the play in the language of baseball since spring Is here I 1 bell believe eve one could say that congress either roust play ball or let the runners score it was the greatest tax bill ever submitted in pence peace time whether the proposals the president has made are economically sound or whether the levies he thinks advisable will do the job ob he expects of them of course remains to tie tic seen but the fact cannot be dodged that mr roosevelt has bus figuratively settled down around the ears of those who have constantly chat challenged the waste inherent in his vast reform and recovery program with a straight from the shoulder demand upon congress that it vote new taxes it Is a most interesting situation politically in nearly a score of years of washington reportorial experience I 1 cannot recall having seen so much squirming and wriggling as well as fretting and mumbling among representatives and senators it Is only natural that they do not wish to go into a campaign for reelection election re when there Is the certainty certainly that here there and everywhere they will be confronted with heckling as to their vote for new taxes assuming they will vote ote terrifically heavy levies as tile the president has suggested and as present indications seem to assure they have no heart for a tax increase at this time but to repeat they are faced with a situation in which they must either vote for new and heavier taxes or else they villi w be forced to swallow manyvong many long lon winded speeches in condemnation of the presidents PresideD ts course 0 0 0 1 whatever the merits of the roosevelt proposals may be there Is no course open for force hands his opponents ex of opponents c e p t to support him in the gen eral move to pay as you go unless they support these new tax levied nal 61 H MLP hp and shouting and tumult about a re redu al um tion in the treasury deficit becomes just so much belly wash opponents may differ with the president ns as to the details of his tax plan but the situation he be has created for them compels that they stand with him to do othe otherwise r avise would be not only inconsistent but rather dumb frank kent the able news commentator men summarized one phase of this situation the other day by saying it makes no difference that the situation which compels the imposition of new and heavy taxes is largely mr Roosevel ts fault and it makes no difference that the move is forced by the exigencies of ills campaign n for reelection election re and Is designed to spike the most damaging charge against him that tant lie has piled tile debt mountain hibb and by terrific expenditures menaced the national solvency all true but for the republicans and ills his nonpolitical non political critics who have been assailing sir mr Roo roosevelt levelt for months because of his failure to balance the budget to either obstruct or hold back now that the ryes president ident urges congress to provide by taxation the money to pay tor for the vast gifts it has voted would be beyond the limit in political insincerity and hypocrisy in other words there nearly Is no alternative for opponents of the presidents policies they must show their sincerity by going through him in the laying of new taxes I 1 do not mean by that statement that it Is necessary for them to accept without argument the exact levies which lie he has proposed if they were not in accord with the taxes he proposes they would not be serving their constituencies onsol tuen cies cles unless they so stated but it if they object to the levies be his has offered let them bring aln forward substitute proposals that vill nill produce a revenue yield in a like amount they cannot afford to cr criticize and then refuse to offer constructive propositions in turn on the other hand it seems to be the consensus among washington servers oo orl t that it a t blames air M r roosevelt high court ought i not dot to be b allowed t to ci g get e t away bilth anith one declaration which lie he made in submitting g his tax proposals to congress ne said that the necessity for these new taxes a I 1 arose from the supreme court de caslon invalidating the processing taxes upon which the agricultural adjustment administration and its subsidies to agriculture was predicated of course that way may be true at the moment but as one frequently hears pointed out in washington conversation the president used the bounties to tanners farmers and the AAA itself as one of his keystone policies the fact that it was unconstitutional surely cannot be said to be the fault of the supreme court and yet that was the implication in the presidents message likewise the president hinted that a part of the taxes was due to congressional action in passing the bonus which he vetoed and congress made operative over that veto again I 1 hear it questioned that congress Is actually to blame it la Is being said with great frequency that had sir mr roosevelt made thee the fight against payment of the bonus this year that he did a year ago it Is almost inconceivable that congress would have passed it over his veto it Is being said in this connection that it if mr air roosevelt really had desired to kill the cash payment of the bonus his stalwart leaders in the house and add senate could hardly have afforded to refuse ills his request to vote against it instead of that situation the record shows that such recognized spokesmen as senator robinson of arkansas the democratic leader in the senate serial senator or harrison of mississippi senator byrnes of south carolina carolan a and senator radcliffe of maryland a personal friend all voted to pass the bonus over the presidents veto I 1 may not be thoroughly acquainted with the maneuvers of politicians but I 1 cannot believe the men would have turned their backs on the president in the bonus fight unless they entertained a feeling that he be did not seriously object so it simmers down that the men who a year ago and two years a ago voted the taxpayers dent almost limit the he goat less power and limitless funds to deal with an emergency are now compelled it if they intend ev ever e r to be statesmen to stick by vote the taves and take it on the chin if that Is to be the reaction from tile the voters after all it Is merely the taxpayers ho are the goats and as usual the taxpayers have not a great voice in their own defense As to the presidents tax as proposals themselves congress Is asked to levy an unprecedented type of tax on undistributed corporation profits new processing taxes to replace place those outlawed ts tue preme prenie C 0 ourt u ri ae i lilt designed to be constitutional are proposed and a tax tat which the president described as a windfall tax to recover a considerable part of the old processing taxes returned to taxpayers was suggested ile he asked also that leles be laid on dividends which are now exempt from normal tax on individual incomes the windfall tax Is designed to offset the action of the supreme court which ordered the return of the processing taxes as havin having been illegally collected in other words the administration Is attempting to get by one method what the supreme court sa said II 11 I 1 it could not get in the manner item it employ ed the tax on undistributed profits of corporations is the center of all kinds of controversy already opponents of this levy maln maintain tain that it if the government forces corporations to pay taxes on reserve funds they have laid aside for the proverbial rainy day such as we have experienced for the last six years none of them can stand the gaff of 0 another depression mr air roosevelt contended that his tax proposal in this direction which would take aly away ay approximately one third of such reserves was designed only to prevent the piling up of cash by corporations instead of distribution of those funds to stockholders there will be much hauling and filling marly many charges and counter charges much maneuvering and manipulation as congress mulls aulls over the new tax bill it wll wit pass some und kind of ne new taxes and citizens will begin early next year to pay off the deficits of the reform and recovery program some 75 years ago the government organized mail set service vice to inland points alth star siar route out railroad facil M mall a il service I 1 its t 1 C 9 calling this new dew service the star route tills this service has been continuously in operation in scores of communities and it Is continuing to operate exactly on the same basis as it did three quarters of a century ago so tills Is a plea in behalf of those who carry the mail dinall on the star routes and for better service for star route patrons there Is a bill in congress now which proposes to provide better service for those carriers and for patrons of those routes ad stern union |
