The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-02-28
VETS BONUS
IS HEADED FOR
ROCKS, BELIEF
Many Republicans Would
Gladly Drop the Measure
Payment Out of Foreign
Returns Would Mean Little.
THREE POSSIBILITIES
ny MARK Sullivan

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2S-The bonus
IS pretty thoroughly on the rocks
There are three possibilities, ID To
leave it where it is now and not pass
any measure. (2) To pass it through
the house in some undesirable FORM
and let it die in the senate or be We
toed by Harding. (3) To pass the
bonus bill with vague clause to the
effect that the money shall be paid
out of any moneys or securities that
may be received from foreign debtors
This would not amount to anything
and would be in good faith, because
no well informed person expects to
get from our debtors in the near fu-
ture any such sum of money as would
make an impression on the amount
needed for the soldiers bonus.
If the soldiers who want the bonus
are to wait until the money from our
foreign debtors is actually in our gov
ernments till. they will wait lohS
time. If President Harding sticks to
the position he has held in the past,
ne would veto bonus bill with the
foreign debt clause attached, on the
ground that it would not provide the
money directly. and would be in the
nature of doubtful good faith to the
soldiers
Would Like to Drop It,
If the bulk of the Republican leaders
could have their way, probably they
would like to drop the bonus bill and
forget it. 1T has now ceased to have
any political value to the party. The
opposition that has been stirred up is
more potent now than the advocacy
of it. Those among the ex-soldiers;
and others who want the bonus have
been placed in a position where they
will have to fight for it.
If the bonus should come now, it
would come not in the spirit of gen
erous gift; it would come, rather, in
the spirit of something forced out OF
an unwilling party.
Everybody knows that a gift which
is not a gift at all in spirit, but is
forced out of the giver unwillingly.
does not give rise to emotions of
gratitude, but rather to those of re-
sentiment. Most of the Republican
leaders realize this, and know that
there is not any political advantage
TO be derived from passing the bonus
now.
Look to Political Record
But against this is the fact that a
good many individual members, espe-
cially of the house, who are coming
up for reelection this summer, have
made political pledges in their COM
munities to vote for the bonus. Hav-
ing made the promise, these members
are eager for a chance to make good
by getting ON the record with a favor
able vote. If the Republican party
leaders could manage it, they probably
would be glad of solution which
would enable these individual mem
bers to go on record, but would not
lead to the ultimate passage of the
bill
AS it stands now, from point of
view of politics. the thing for the Re
publican leaders to do would be to
refuse to pass the bonus and take a
chance at the coming elections. II
thereafter the Republicans are re.
turned to power they could then say
that their course had been approved
Could Pass the Buck
On the other hand, if the Republi
cans are not returned to power they
could then, after the election and in
the interval before the new congress
meets, pass the bonus as a party
measure and thus put it up to the
Democrats.
If the leaders who look on the sub
ject from a purely political point OF
view could have their way, this is
probably what would happen. i
would not be surprising to see ar
actual good faith vote on the bonus
deferred until after the November
elections.
Harding's position on the bonus Is
believed to be one of standing firm
on what he has formerly said, namely
that there should be no bonus mea
suro which does not carry as an inte
grail part of the bill specific taxes fol
raising the money.
The signs are that Mr.. Harding
seems to be in mood to resist the
somewhat too forceful pressure
against him which some of the bonu;
advocates have been giving out pub
licly
Gets Pretty Stubborn
Harding is a man whose tempera
ment looks TO compromise and har
mony. but at the same time, he is {
man who develops pretty stubborn
powers of resistance when an attemp
Some of the Republican leaders thinl
that Harding has not handled thi:
matter with the greatest politica
skill They say he should have stood
pat on the position of opposition t,
the bonus which he took with SO mucl
courage and directness last July.
They claim that most of their diff
ficulties arise from the fact tina
Harding let the friends of the bonus
begin to think during the late fall tina
he had receded from his former posi-
ton. The whole bonus situation ha
thrown the Republican party leader
into a state of chaos worse, If possible
than they were before.
(Copyright 1922 by the New Yorl
Evening Post.)
BANDITS BOARD CAR
AND ROB TWO CLERKS