The Topeka state journal., 1921-11-07
FOREIGN DEBTS
TOO UNCERTAIN
FOR VET BONUS
Senate 80 to 20 Defeats New
Compensation Attempt.
Lodge Declares Ex-SOldiers
Must Get Real Money.
REED AMENDMENT beaten
Walsh Says "Big Business" Con-
spires to Withhold Reward.
Try to Clear Away Amendments
to Tax Bill.
REED AMENDMENT BEATEN
Try to Clear Away Amendments
to Tax Bill.

Washington, Nov. Another ef-
fort to write the soldiers bonus bill
into the tax revision measure failed
today, the senate rejecting, AZ to 29,
the Simmons amendment proposing to
pay the bonus out of the interest on
the foreign debt.
Six Republicans supported the Sim
mons amendment and one Democrat,
Myers Montana, voted against it. The
Republicans were Capper, Johnson
KENYON. Ladd, La Toilette and Norris.
NIcKelIar Amendment Beaten.
The bonus fight was renewed i'm
mediately, Senator Mckellar, Demo-
crat, Tennessee, offering his amend
ment authorizing the secretary of the
treasury to convert the foreign depI
into long time obligations and proVld-
ing for the use of S2,00O,0OO,OOO OF
these obligations as trust fund 1or SOL
diers bonus.
The debate on the Simmons amend
ment consumed so much time that
there appeared to be only little pros
pect that a final vote on the tax bill
would be reached tonight. The Nc
KelIar amendment was rejected, A
to %.
TWO Republicans, LaFollette and
Norris, supported it, and two Demo-
Gratis. King and Williams, voted
against it.
Foreign Interest Too Uncertain.
The status of the -billion-dollar
Indebtedness of foreign governments
to the United States is $50 uncertain
that no one can tell when we will ever
get the interest on it." Senator Lodge,
Massa chusetts Republican leader. de-
clared in the senate today.
we cannot collect these great for
eign credits by force" Lodge said,
"and nobody wants to go to war over
them To undertake to pay the SOL
diers' bonus from them is to wrap the
entire question of compensation in an
atmosphere of uncertainty"
Must Get Real Money.
Lodges declaration was made when
he opposed the amendment to the
pending tax bill of Senators Simmons,
North Carolina, and Walsh Massachu-
sets proposing payment of the SOL
diets' nus from interest collected on
the foreign indebtedness.
'Whenever payment of the soldiers
bonus is made, and it undoubtedly will
be made, we shall certainly want to
give our former soldiers real money"
Lodge said. "They themselves will
want to get real money and not have
to depend upon an indefinite note in
hand on credits we hope to collect,
but which We can only hope we will
be able to collect at some future
time"
Senator McKe.lar, of Tennessee,
author of proposal to convert
$4,000 100000 of the foreign indebted
ness into bonds to compensate eX-
service men, signalized his fight for
its adoption as an amendment to the
pending tax bill with statement:
Cannot Cancel Debts.
The American people will never
stand for a cancellation, in whole or
part, of the billions owed us by foreign
countries, some of which will be rep
resented at the conference, and 1 sin
cerely hope those participating in it
will have wisdom and foresight enough
not to try to inject what is a purely
business proposition into it"
The other Democrat proposal spon-
sored by Senator Simmons. of North
Carolina, and Walsh, of ssachusetts
would pay the soldiers bonus from
interest collected on foreign indebted
ness.
Is Harding's View.
In urging his amendment Senator
Simmons said he believed it was the
intention of President Harding to pay
the soldiers bonus out of the interest
on the foreign debt This view also
was taken by Senator McCumber of
North Dakota, one of those in charge
of the tax bill. Senator Lodge of
Massachusetts, the Republican leader,
took the position that the bonus
should not be contingent upon so un-
certain a proposition.
Whenever we pay the bonus, as
we undoubtedly shall" said Senator
Lodge, Il want the payment to be a
real payment. This proposition under
the pretense Of-giying a bonus. gives
only an uncertainty. None can tell
when we will begin to get the interest
on the credits given to the foreign
countries. We certainly are not going
to use force to collect it. The promise
that we will provide the bonus from
this interest is practically giving the
soldiers nothing"
Senator simmons told the senate
that he regarded as absurd the pro-
posal to pay the bonus by means of
a sales tax He declared the business
of the country would not endorse that
proposition and that the Republicans
would not willingly enact legislation
that the big business interests did not
want
COnfine Bonus to Fighters.
Opposing the bonus. Senator Nelson.
Republican, Minnesota, a Civil war
veteran, said he would like to see
everything possible done for the
wounded and for the men who fought
overseas but that he had no sympathy
with the claims of the 100000 men
who remained in this country. He
compared their experience with those
OF the soldiers in the Civil war and
CONTINUED on Page Two.I
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