The New York herald., 1922-07-04

SpeciGl Dispatch to THE New YORK HERALD.
ra New York Herald Bureau.
Washington, ID. C.. July 3.
Independence Day has not brought
the comfort expected by the Congress
sional promoters of the s5,00o000, 900
bonus raid on the public treasury.
Every scheme for financing that
political enterprise has contemplated
the use of payments by foreign gov
ernments on account of the war debts
despite the fact the law directs the
application of such payments to the
retirement of Liberty and Victory
bonds.
For some unaccountable reason Con-
gressional supporters of the bonus raid
who want to annex the purchasable
soldier vote have insisted that repay
ments of foreign loans would begin on
July and be sufficient to take care
OF the bonus obligation without i'm
position of further taxes. Up to to-
night the Treasury Department had
not received a cent on account Of the
foreign debt
Officials of the department replied
to inquiries by saying they had not
been authoritatively advised that any
immediate payments of the foreign
accounts were to be expected in July
or even August. The sole information
bearing on the point in the possession
of the department is in the form of
speculative newspaper dispatches from
London asserting that the British Gov
ernment hopes to begin returning the
money borrowed from this country
within a reasonable time"
No Money Available.
The French Government has indi-
Gated its purpose to request delay Of
two years in initiating refunding op-
erations on its obligation. Consequent
ly Treasury officials are at a loss to
understand the Congressional view
that money for the. bonus would be
available on July 1, or even in the next
two or three months. They frankly
admit they do not know whether any
of the foreign governments will be in
position to make payments on the
war debt accounts in the present
year.
Senatorial supporters of the bonus
into whose calculations the foreign
debts have occupied a prominent place
have displayed a tendency in the last
two or three days to eliminate it from
their plans. They do not now even
pretend to suggest other sources of
revenue. which President Harding has
declared must be provided to meet the
requirements set up by him.
The explosion of the foreign debt
fallacy, therefore, has dealt another
blow to the hopes of the bonus ad-
vocates. Coupled with the defeat of
Senator McCumber, arch apostle of
the bonus. for denomination, it has
compelled a drastic revision of the
plans of the supporters of the enter
prise.
Bonus Senator's themselves admit a
r great deal of the enthusiasm for the
bonus has evaporated since the rejec-
ton of Mr.. McCumber by the people
of his State. They further concede the
claim made by Senators opposed to the
bonus of a discouraging increase in the
number of Senators who are now
against it unless a more acceptable
measure than that which bears Mr..
I McCumber's name is produced without
delay.
Senators Change Views.
A canvass of the Senate has re-
vealed that from ten to fourteen Re-
puhlicans who would have voted for
the bonus month ago virtually have
served an ultimatum on the bonus pro-
moters which indicates their final op-
position to the McCumber project. The
conditions set up as the price Of their
!. support by these Senators are that the
McCumber plan be abandoned and a
more acceptable scheme devised to
meet the objections of the President
Secretary Mellon and public sentiment
The ultimatum delivered by the
spokesman Of this group of Senators
who have held a neutral position or
the bonus was this:
Drop the McCumber foolishness and
propose something that we can sup
port and that will stand a chance OF
obtaining the approval of the Presi-
dent II you cannot find such a plan
drop the whole business
This is admitted to be a rather large