The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-02-04

! BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
! Special Dispatch to The Reformer.)
| Copyright 1922.
| WASHINGTON, Feb. 4-There will
be soldier bonus this year. All doubt
on the subject was removed when Presi-
dent Harding yesterday agreed to meet
the membrs of the senate finance COM
mittee and the house ways and means
committee to determine the method of
raising the money.
| Chairman Fordney said after talking
with the President that the soldier bonus
bill would be passed by the house in two
weeks Senators at the White House.
said the senate would follow suit in fort
night
How will the money be raised? The
probabilities are by a sale of government
| bonds or treasury certificates.
Direct taxation has practically been
abandoned though Mr. For,lney was care
full to point out that there We're many
ways of raising the money and that con-
gress had varying opinions. He would
not favor a tax on gasoline He showed
suggestions made by Secretary Mellon
that money might be raised by taxes on
second class mali matter. tobacco and Gig
arets. Mr. Mellon had not made any
recommendations, but had listed the
ways by which money could be forced
out of the peoples pockets.
Entirely apart from the unfavorable
economic effects which might result from
more taxation. the politics of the Situa-
ton is against this method. The very
listing of possible sources of revenue by
Secretary Mellon sent political shivers
up ands down the spine of congress.
Swinging Towards Using Debts.
\
raising the money out of the proceeds of
the allied debt. Chairman Fordney,
who came to the White House really 70
talk about the bill empowering a commits
sion to negotiate with foreign govern
ments concerning the payment of inter-
est and principal on the war debt, made
il clear that the funding bill itself no
longer contained any reference to the sol
dicr bonus and would not carry any pro-
vision about it mt all.
But the bonus bin viii provide not only
five MAYS of government aid to the war
veterans but viii specify exact means by
which the funds viii be raised. Although
the treasury insists that the country can
not stand another bond issue without en-
harraSSiuG tue Tefunding operations
whereby msiey is being constantly bot'
r0Wcd from the American people to pay
the Victory bonds which shortly come
due. the Legislators on capitol hill insist
that the capacity of America to absorb
new securities has been greatly under
estimated aud that bonds given by the
government directly to the soldiers as
bonus should be collected by them or the
government could itself sell the new
bonds and give cash to the veterans with
out disturbing fiscal operations already in
process for the borrowing of sums to meet
interest and principal Of existing bond
issues
England Ready to Pay
Another idea which seems firmly inn
planted in the congressional mind Is that
Great Britain IS ready to pay interest on
the war debt and that sometime this
autumn the first payments can be conf
IDENTIFY expected. Those who feel that
British money will be forthcoming insist
that the American government can begin
paying the soldiers out of treasury re-
ceipts and can apply the funds received
from England toward the new indebted
ness. The treasury department takes Wig
orous exception to this view Secretary
Mellon has emphatically opposed this
scheme and said that any payments re-
ceiyed from the allied war debt should go
toward paying off existing Liberty and
Victory bonds.
The question will, therefore. soon arise
rs to whether the secretary Of the treas
1Iry viii be upheld or ovcrridcn by the
President. Once before when tho revc- /
nue. bill was first drafted, Mr. Mellon
pointed cut that a deficit would, occur .
unless Il certain scheme of taxation was
followed. Congress went ahead and wrote
its own bill with the consequent effect
that the predicted deficit is Undertaking
rapidly
Must Decide on Treasury Policy.
Mr.. Harding must decide whether the
Judgment of the treasury department is
right or wrong. Members of congress i
claim that the difference of opinion is a
matter of conjecture as towhat the Ameri- I
can people viii absorb in the way of Sc
curities and they claim that the treas
ury department is too conservative in its +
estimates and that unquestionably new
bond issue could be iioated without serious
embarrassment They point TO the float
Ing of new bond issues by private concerns
aud the rapid increase in investments
throughout the United States. One SEN
ator said that fully $1,000 100000 I'M
private credits had been advanced since I
the armistice by the American people in 1
bond issues.
The bonus is coming
Congress viii not take chances with
the political influence of the.SoltlicrS tbixt
autumn. President Harding bows TO the !.
inevitable and stands ready TO approve Il {
bin which provides the . money! The
White House is changing front. Whether !
this IS because the chief executive thinks f
the economic condition of Amreica has $
been vastly Improved since he opposed /
the bonus last SUMMER or because he is
beginning to believe the country viii lend
its money again for u patriotic purpose /
1T is too early to fell The fact is al hone