Evening star., 1922-03-15
Senior Body Expected to
Heed Economic Warning of
Secretary Mellon.
PRESIDENT WOULD VETO
MEASURE AS IT STANDS
Representatives Consider Fall
Elections and Pass on Re-
sponsibility for Issue.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


The House will pass bonus bill and
the Senate will shelve it for this ses-
sion at least.
fhat is the outlook now that the
House ways and means committee
has received and ignored the advice
OF the Secretary of the Treasury. the
"rntro1ar OF the currency and the
governor of the Federal Reserve
Board to the effect that the bonus
bill in the form proposed would be
bad thing for the economic condi-
ton Of the country.
1t does not happen often that q
committee SO important as the ways
and means summons Secretary OF
the Treasury Of its own political af-
fliation and after listening to his ex-
position of the Treasurys condition
goes ahead in exactly the opposite
direction.
1t does not happen often that repu-
diation of the Secretary of the Treasury
is voiced by a whole body in Congress.
but that is what Is coming now. In
parliamentary form of government IL
would mean the resignation of Mr..
Mellon, but the House of Representa-
tives has passed many a bill that died
in the Senate, and designations never
are in order here unless the Presi-
dent himself fails to stand by cab
met officer In this instance, the
President is squarely behind Mr.. Mel
lon. and if the Senate should follow
the House a veto is certain for the
bonus bill.
Maneuver for Delay.
But the Senate will not ignore Mr..
Melons advice. Over in the cloak
rooms of the upper house the word
bonus" is rarely spoken. 1t hangs
over the Senate like impending doom.
Just how the senior body will handle
the question is not yet determined.
but a tacit understanding seems to
prevail that by one parliamentary
maneuver or another something viii
delay passage OF the bonus
It was the Senate, which last sum-
mer blocked the bonus bill. and prob
ably upon more words OF warning
from the White House the measure
will be set aside until the finances OF
ton. AS for the issue itself. it is ex-
pected to bob up again in 1924 when
the next presidential primaries are
under way. BY that time. however,
some republican leaCerS nope 10 re-
wise the entire revenue program and
to make special provision for fund
to pa- the bonus. This revision will
be attempted by means OF a sales tax,
which Mr.. Harding now openly favors
for the soldier bonus. This commit
ment to the principle Of the sales tax
comes at a time when revenue laws
are not being revised, but, just the
same, it has brought deep satisfaction
to the proponents Of such tax who
would have been greatly assisted =
few months ago when they tried to
get a presidential declaration on the
subject to help them substitute a
sales tax for all the other kinds OF
taxes which finally found their way
into the 1921 revenue law.
Fordney Shuns Advice.
There is a significant bit OF infor-
nation. incidentally. in the statement
of Representative Fordney. chairman
of the House ways and means COM
| mittee, that he did not expect Speaker
Gillett, who is now in Florida with
! the Chief Executive. to bring back an
informal message to the House on the
bonus question. Mr.. Fordney knows
the Presidents views, and would pre-
fer not to have them at this time.
He could have had them when he
visited Mr.. Harding just before the
latter left for Florida. The President
told callers afterward that the bonus
question was discussed only incl
dentally. and that he did not outline
his views to MIR. Fordney because
they were already well known.
This incident. together with Mr..
Fordney's declaration that he is not
expecting word from the President.
is generally taken to mean that the
chairman OF the House ways and
means committee believed it impor-
tant for the success of the republican
party this fall to go ahead and pass
a bonus bill in the House, where 435
members of both parties are up for
reelection.
Too strong opposition from the
President might hinder the passage
of the bonus bill in the House and
spoil the record Of the party there,
at least. where 1t is ever so much
more important than in the Senate,
where only one-third of the member
ship changes in the fall elections.
and of that number certain mem
bers will be reelected irrespective
of how they vote on the bonus ques-
ton. The politics of the situation
is to permit the House to express
itself and thereby place upon the
Senate and the executive the re-
sponsibi.ity for postponement of the
cash bonus.
Iconrripht 1QoSl