The Tomahawk., 1921-07-28
Treasury-LOOting Plan.

1921 Railroad Financie1
Treasury-Looting Plan.
WASHINGTON, D. C.-1n an ad-
dress before the senate on July IL
President Harding devoted almost his
entire time to an attack on the plan
for a federal bonus for the returned
soldiers.
This action, in the opinion of OBJ
servers here, makes the passage of
such bill practically impossible until
different set of congressman is elect
ed. Such steps are taken only after
consultation Of party leaders. !
Senator Penrose had been chosen to
rise to his feet and move that the bill
be recommitted to the commit ee
which reported it out as soon as the
president had finished.
Stripped of it's involved and high
sounding phrases the presidents mes
sage means that, in his opinion, this
country is too poor to pay any bonus
and that terrible things would happen
if an attempt were made. Perhaps if
he had explained why Canada and
Australia had been able to pay such
a bonus while we can not, the ex-sol-
der would find the speech more con-
vincing. $780,
Another thing which arouses the
soldiers is that while the Republicans
idded them along during election
time and since and while the president
asked congress to defer action only,
his argument was against any bonus
at any time.
Forced at last to be definite one way
or the other, the president made the
hardest speech of his career. And this
action will undoubtedly stimulate
progressiveness in the country, for the
soldiers have the advantage Of a great
lesson in politics worth more to them
in fact than bonus would be. 4
That lesson is: Progressive legis-
lation for the common people does not
grow on, reactionary bushes even if
the bushes are labeled 100-per-cent
American" .-~
Strong issue will probably be taken
with the president by the progressive
press for his statements as to how
well the disabled had been taken care
of: The neglect of large groups of
these men for the past three years has
been notorious.
In the last minute Of his speech the
president asked congress to hurry tax
matters and revision of tariff sched-
ules.,
: ( : NATION ATTACKS LEGION
The Nation, a weekly published in
New York City, is the first paper of
the country outside of the ranks of
radical papers to make an attack on
the American Legion.
In series of articles under the
title, ''The Truth About the American
Legion" the Nation holds forth the
: view that the Legion is creation of
reactionary politicians and represents
only one-eighth of our ex-service men
at the most. ~. ".@.,.
"In Europe" says the Nation, ''the
ex-soldiers are found generally with
the progressive, not to say, radical
forces. Our army, of course, had a
unique experience. Half of those mob,
ilized did not get to Europe and only,
a part of those who did engaged in
actual fighting. None knew the pro-
longed physical hardships or spiritual
=. torment that so many went through
in the European armies. Still, our
youth is our most progressive and
hopeful element, and our former serv-
ice men are fairly representative of
p it. How, then, explain the American
Legion? Simply on the ground that
it never was-and> now less than
ever-representativ of our former
service men" + . .'''
The Nation then goes on to give a
large number of specific cases of Eat
tempting to perpetuate the war psy-.
chology as its contribution to peace"
That is of mob violence, threatened
mob violence and the championing of
=, repressive measures against free
speech and free political action. r.,
It will be interesting to see what
reply the Legion makes to these in
dictments., It is unfortunately true
* that some Legion leaders have been
guilty. of the things charged by the
? Nation. The issue to be determined
is whether these are representative of
the Legion or not, and to get at that
, we have to hear both SIDES. q -.
OTTO KAHN's NEW PROPAGANDA
Otto H. Kahn Of Kuhn, Loeb & Co.,
a financiering syndicate second only
to the Morgan group, has made one Of
his alleged serious studies against the
exemption Of government bonds from
taxation. Kahn1s afraid wealthy per-
sons are making too much money by
the exemptions. -. II.
This arises through the fact that it
1 enables some Of the wealthy to escape
paying income taxes on revenue from
such securities. He bemoans the fact
that the wealthy are buying these
bonds instead Of lending money to
farmers. -