Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-02

desired that form of compensation
but it is certainly the one tina
would have returned the best divi
dends to those who will pay til.
bonus.
Senator Smoot tried to insert il
the bill another option in the form
of paid up insurance in lieu of the
cash payment. 1t was voted dowr
in the committee. That amendment
also commends itself to US. In ef'
feet it would amount to an old age
pension to the ex-service man, anc
the money would come when he
needed it most, when his bodily
vigor was declining. 1t would also
postpone payment on the part OF
the treasury until it was in better
shape to bear it. However that
also failed to get by the committee
There is still no indication Of
what President Harding will do il
the bonus bill as passed in the house
and proposed in the senate comes
before him for his signature. II
carries no provision for raising OF
revenue to meet the requirements
These will not be very heavy fol-
| two years to come because the bill
| postpones payment Of practically
all cash payments under its terms
for several years, assuming that
the recipients of due bills can Dor
row money on them from private
bankers under stipulated terms and
the agreement Of the government to
take up these banks loans in three
years time. Not many banks are
going to loan money on these GER
tificates of bonus due because in
the first place the stipulated inter
est is rather small, and in the next
place their money would be tied
up for three years. Most banks in
the country have been and still are
striving to thaw out and liquidate
their frozen loans" as they call
them, and will not care to add to
them. especially at a rate of inter
est rather lower than the going
interest rate on short time loans
that are LIQUID. The bill if it passes
the house and senate will violate
every condition which President
Harding laid down as necessary to
his approval, and will put him up
against a very hard situation. 1t
would not be hard for some of our
ex-presidents who had firm con-
victions and courage to act on them.
but it will be hard for President
Harding who hates a row, and al
ways wants to compromise. If he
vetoes the bill he will slap his
party in the face. If he does not
he will lose respect and be accused
of bluffing and lack of courage to
call for a show down.
And this leads us t O contemplate
a third possibility, and that is that
the bill will never get to him at
all at this session, but will 60 over
until after election. That would
suit the president all right we are
sure. but it would leave congress in
a horribly bad position before the
ex-service men, because they did
that very trick once before. post
poning bonus legislation until after
election through failure to pass the
bill in the senate. To repeat the
trick would enrage the ex-service
men more than it would to defeat
the bill in the open, either by vot-
ing it down in the senate or by a
presidential veto. 1t seems hardly
possible that such political strategy
is contemplated just before cleo
ton in which one-third of the
senate and all of the house of rep
resentatives must seek approval at
the hands of their constituents.
The president and Senator Nc
Cumber of the senate finance COM
mittee have had frequent confer
ences at the White House Of late,
presumably over this bill, and
doubtless the republican leaders of
the senate know just what he will
do or not do with the bonus bill
if it comes to him, but if so they
are preserving a very discreet
silence, and a like silence prevails
at the White House. Meantime
the bonus bill is ready to come be-
fore the senate if it can at any
time displace the tariff bill that
has the right of way, and is making
progress like a snail. much TO the