Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-01-24
BONUS DODS UP TO
PLAGUE u. s. SENATE
Adopted by House as Pre-Cam-
paign Thunder, II Refuses
to be SheIved.
Hpccial Diepntch, From Every Evening y
Washington Correspondent.

Special Dispatch, From Every. Evenings
Washington Correspondent
Washington, Jan. 24.--Mem bers of
the House and Senate nre >pIny,ied day
after day by the promises they made in
the campaign td vote in favor OF a gen
orous bonus for former service men
Scarcely a mail reaches legislator that
is not hlled with forceful reminders of
the pledges which were publicly given
ut time when votes were decided,
Men who were in uniform while the
war was on have renewed their drive Tor
n.easure of government largesse. They
were led TO belieye, while candidates were
eloetioneering adj the hustines resounded
with appeals for support, that no sooner
| had Congress reconvened than bonus
| bin would be brought to vote and
| would be- passed by overwhelming ma
| jorities.
But Congress has been in session for
| nearly two months and has but little
| more than month TO run, and there
| Ia not an indication that bonus bill
| will be PASSED No committee of the
| Senate has recommended IL and no group
| of leaders in that body has chmnpionec
| il. Hope of bonus check, therefore, II
| fading from before the eyes Of the boys
back home.
! The House bill, which passed with {
bang just before adjournment early II
the summer. il still alive. II will not
| die until the Sixty-sirth Congress- passc
out Of existence March A. II is the Sen
ate, therefore. which must do tho Job
il it is done by this pro-bonus mail, al
though the overflow is filling the files o
members Of tho House.
The bonus-eeeker may not underrtan'
that when the House on the eva of
national campaign, voted in favor Of
soldier bonus, that body was moved b,
political expectancy pure and simple
Not one in 10 who supported the legis
iaticn actually wanted ID to be enacted
Not ono in 20 entertained the notioi
that the Senate would concur In TN
action OF the House or that the presiden
would permit such an act 20 become !
sw even If Congress should pass II.
Tho bill was passed by The House be
cause virtually every member Of that body
was candidate for reelection and ever
one who was candidate felt that Il would
be dangerous 20 Hy I'm the face Of thc
solder vote A handful Of members were
bold enough to vote against H. and many
of them were defeated Others without
doubt profted by their support of the bill
But the situation now has changed
Legislators. returning 60 Washington
! realize that IL would he almost a crime &
paw cut an enormous sum of money m
the form Of bonus al time when
economy u demanded by the whole ma
ton: when taxation is weighing more
heavily upon The people than ever before
and when national readIustment torbid'
any raid upon the Federal treasury, no
matter bow appalling the cause
If bonus bill should he passed now
most leaders agree IL GOULD only be
financed by popular loan There Is no
conceivable WAY of taxing the country
for such = purpose without putting q
blight upon business already sorely dis
ulpted by falling markets And another
popular loan could only he tioated by
raising the rate OF interest 80 a point
which would depress the value of the
more than $50 GOO. 600 600 in war bond
stlll outstanding
The fact is. the Senate is lees inclined
if ANYTHING TO pass a bonus hill now tba
IL was last summer when tho House sen
the measure 10 il. Members who vii
come up for reelection two Years an'
four wears hence. had hoped that th
country would forget the bonus. that ;h
men who are demanding il would all hav
good Jobs and would not need the money
and that they would net he haTTied b.
constituents with an appetite for a govern
ment Appropriation. Instead OF diminish
ing, however. the demand for bonus legls
lation seems TO be increasing.
/