The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1922-03-08
May SUSPEND
RULES TO PASS
SOLDIER BONUS
Suspension Would Shut Out
Amendments and Limit De-
bate to 40 Minutes-Two-
Thirds Vote Necessary.
STAND PAT ON PLAN
(By Associated Press)

can leaders disclosed today that they
were considering plan to put the sol
dier bonus bill through the house un-
der suspension of the rules which
would shut out amendments of any
kind and limit debate to 40 minutes.
Under this plan a two-thirds vote
would be necessary to pass the meas
rue, but leaders believe on the basis
of present sentiment among members
that this majority could be obtained,
with votes to spare.
Monday, March 20, will be the next
rule suspension day
The army appropriation bill will be
taken up before the bonus measure,
it was said, probably on next Tues
day.
Will Stand Pat
After weeks of work and worry the
house ways and means committee ma
jority has evolved a soldiers bonus
bill on which it apparently intends to
stand pat.
Despite some criticism of the meas
ure in and out of congress, Chairman
Fordney and his co-workers believe
it will encounter only comparatively
feeble opposition in the House unless
there is an unexpected reaction among
the great majority of members who
| have been insistent that some sort of
, bonus legislation be enacted at this
| session.
| Just what will happen to the bill in
the Senate appears at this time to be
more or less problematical. There the
| measure will be open to amendment
and also to unlimited debate and it is
| regarded as more than probable that it
| will be subjected to change in some
| important particulars. Since President
| Harding advised the House committee
to pay the bonus with sales tax or
| postpone the legislation 1t is expected
that sales tax proponents in the Sen
ate will renew their fight for that kind
i of levy.
! Look to Harding
1 Among the house members generally
| there was more discussion today as to
how the president viewed the bill than
| there was about its probable fate after
| it left the House on it's second start
for the statute books. Framers of the
measure appeared to be fairly confid
| ent that 1t would not meet with The
executives disapproval because it re-
| moved what they said was the fund.
amental objection to the cash bonus
plan-an immediate drain on the Fed
eral treasury.
Some opponents of the measure in
the House predicted that the bill will
be unsatisfactory to both the country
and the service men. They contend
that it would not enable the men to gel
as much cash in three years as they
would have received under the orig
inal cash plan and that the proposed
advances by the banks, if made, would
initiate credits to the extent of a hall
billion or more dollars over the period
of the bank loans, thus increasing liv
ing costs.
Proponents View.
Proponents of the bank loan plar
argue that through this provision the
men could Immediately obtain a fal
larger sum than they would have re
ceived uader the cash installmen,
payment plan originally proposed, ant
this without the imposition of any ad
ditional taxes on the country. The!
contend also that when the treasury
would have to begin paying out money
!. it could reasonably be assumed thai
! there would be funds to meet the pay
ments through reduced government
, expenses and receipts from the re
funded foreign loan
While discussion for and agains
, the bill were continued in cloak room!
, and corridors, members generally be
gan study of the full provisions o
the measure which appeared today il
print for the first time. They thu
prepared not only for house considera
: tion of the bill, but also for answerin,
the many inquiries which they hay'
:. received from constituents.
!, The time of the calling of the BIZ
; in the house will not be definitel.
+ fixed until Chairman Fordney return
! to Washington from trip to the mid
, die west on which he started yestel
t day. 1t could be taken up Monda.
. under a suspension of the rules, whicl
would preclude amendment, and if no
taken up then a special rule could b
brought out for its consideration unde
parliamentary situation which woul
permit of only such changes as til
l committee might desire to make.