The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-02-05
SENATOR BORAH
TRIES TOLINE Up
KID REPUBLICANS
Warns Them Against Failure
to Carry Out After the War
Economies They Promised
During Campaign of 1918.

WASHINGTON. ID. c., Feb. 5. (Spl) |
TAt last the political foresight Of the
politicians among the Republican ma
JoTity in congress seems TO be over
taking the kindergarten game of poll
tics that has been played by the new
tried leaders Of that body during the
nine months of Republican control So
loosely have they lived up TO their
pledges of 1918 that Senator Borah,
one or their number. has found II nee
essary to demand in the course of a
senate debate that his colleagues car
fy out the after the war economies they
laid so much stress on in the campaign
Of 1918 that placed them in power.
To date the Republican leaders have
tried to play both ends against the
middle and while promising economies
they have developed fantastic schemes
for spending money that would have put
CroesuS to shame. In addition to the
Republican military training bill which
minority report of the senate mill
tary affairs committee declares would
cost more than a billion dollars a year,
the senate majority recently attempted
to put through plan for the, creationi
OF new ministry Of air or Bureau Of
air service 1t was at this time that
Senator Borah baked ana took occa-
sion to read the riot act on the floor of
the senate to his colleagues on the
whole majority program to date
There are before the senate now
said Senator Borah, with reference to
war matters alone, increases Of eXpen-
ditures amounting to a billion and a
half dollars year We have a bill
upon the calendar, or introduced, which,
1t is estimated, win take from seven
hundred million to billion dollars to
take care of universal military training
We have a bin which will place upon
the treasury an increased burden of
$59,000,000 for increased pay We are
now creating a bureau (the air min
istry), and the amount which this bu
reau will call for no man assumes to
suggest or predict. We start out with
an estimate of something like S9S,000,-
900, but it is understood that that is
simply the beginning, and how far 1t
will carry us even the authors of the
bin do not pretend to say.
Talks Plain to Party.
Everybody promised that when the
war was over we would adopt policy
of curtailing public expenditures, and
the party of which | am humble mem
Der made special promise of that in
the last campaign, 1t was one of the
things upon which the election was
fought Now, | say to my friends upon
this side of the chamber that there is
not the slightest evidence in this con-
sress that we propose to carry out that
program"
After delivering these few remarks to
show his colleagues just what legs they
had left to stand on by way of keeping
promises the senator digressed to talk
of the new platform committee of III
members recently named by Chairman
Hays of the Republican organization,
and in spite of the fact that it was an
attempt to unite all Of the differing
elements of that party, he declared that
It would have little to do in the real
business of platform making which
function would naturally have to follow
the lines of the record the present Re-
publican congress makes.
We have created platform COM
mittee of III varieties" said Senator
Borah amid laughter from both sides
Of the house. This congress will make
the platform. This record here as our
beginning for the four years lease of
power we are going to- ask for, will be
the platform and the gifted gentlemen
who are to give us the platform will
not be able to convince the people
against the records which will be
made here. If we do not Keep
the promise made last fall the literary
production of this prodigious committee
on platform will not secure votes
Arguing for a real curtailment of eX-
penditures the Idaho senator declared
I'VE can postpone these expenditures
until we know more as to the ability
of the taxpayer to take care of the
budget which we must necessarily imN
pose upon them for the next year"