New-York tribune., 1920-09-29

ment Of the United States offers 5%
and per cent for money. the effect is
to drive higher and higher the interest
rates on industrial and business loans,
and thereby to increase the cost Of
doing business and consequently the
cost Of living.
"By Offering these rates, with tax
free privileges attached thereto. the
government is not only drawing out Of
the banks of the country large sums
which otherwise would serve to supply
also contributing to the already alarm
ing depreciation of its own Liberty
bonds purchased at par by patriotic
people for the winning of the war.
industrial reports from one end Of
the country to the other indicate
falling off in business, an increase
in the interest rate charged to business
men for legitimate commercial and in
| dustrial loans, a stringency In the
money market, q breath in building,
while many in the country find it inn
possible to get; homes suitable for
their accommodation.
Democrats Without Workable Plan
These conditions are due, either
directly or indirectly, to the gigantic
failure Of &he present Democratic Ad-
ministration to function as q business
organization. 1t has drawn the very
life blood from the channels of bust
| ness to keep itself alive-a process
which, if continued, will inevitably
produce collapse Of our INDUSTRIAL
system.
"The reason for this is simple. The
Administration went into the World
War without any workable plan of
finance. 1t came out of the war with
out, such q plan. 1t still is without
such q plan. Only last June, through
its directing head, the President of
the United States, it rejected such
plan when Congress sought to furnish
it with one.
1T was to bring order out of this
confusion that the Republican House
and the Republican Senate appointed
special committees to consider the
need and the creation Of a national
budget system--a system which at one
stroke would give us sound plan of
fiscal administration and provide for
real audit of our governmental ex-
penditures each year.
The two committees, after months
OF earnest work, formulated bill to
give our government a real business
system. Their work done, the measure
drawn, they submitted it to the two
Eouses OF Congress- which, after amend
ment and conference, approved it with
out single dissenting vote and sent it
TO the White House. There it lay for
days-until The closing hours of the
session of Congress-when it came
back with the Presidential veto-a
veto which did not relate to its great
constructive features, but to a. small
detail of partisan politics.
I'm the short time left for them to
hof
committees revised the bill in this
slight particular, submitted it to their
respective houses, only to have it killed
in the Senate by filibuster conducted
by three Democratic Senator's
1--WE have heard during the last few
days from the Democratic Admnistra-
tion at Washington that it needs
money, more money, always more
money, to maintain the government for
the current year.
And during these same days we
Save heard from Democratic candi-
date, who has announced himself to be
| in entire accord with the head of this
Democratic Administration, that if he
is elected to the Pres dency he will give
to the people of this country budget
system such as the present President,
with whom he says he is in accord, re-
jected only last June.
Let me speak tor moment Of the
years which are just behind u.s. Until
the World War came it was easy for
the government to make IA good show
ing-a good financial statement,
should say-though those in charge
gave little attention to the way money
was raised and even less to the way it
was spent. Our country was rich, cur
| people were generous. They did not
object to taxation. In fact, the great
majority hardly knew they were being
taxed at all, because of our Republican
methods of indirect taxation 1t was
difficult to get officials in Washington
or the people generally to heed the
trend of the times.
When | say it was difficult to get
the officials in Washington to take no