Evening star., 1922-02-15
DRECTJAX SEEN
FOR RAISING BONUS
Opinion Favors Securing
Funds in Method Felt as
q =.
e. Little as Possible.
BY N. o. MESSENGER.

The present status OF the question
Of soldiers adjusted compensation.
popularity characterized as the soldiers
bonus. is this: That there is DISPOSE
uoa on the part OF the adIninistra ton
to view the proposition fnvorably on
the plea of generosity, but to take
into-account the interests Of the gen.
efal public. the state of the national
finances and the responsibility of the
government to the rehabilitation OF
industry and business. In Congress
the same spirit is found.
It might be truthfully said that a
like .vI.pcrauleLl Is reflected by the
people. The outright opponents OF
the bonus are charging tnat political
considerations influence Congress.
That Is tor senators and representa-
tives to answer to theip own con-
science and to tneir constituents.
They have the privileges ot the moor
and the right TO eAtohSIvn OF tnelr
remarks in the Congressional Record.
The broader anu larger s.cw -
that the question Is no" being con-
sidered from the anHAe OF business,
taxation. cold nEures and the craciI-
cability of carrying into effect IeglS-
apparently fasors in principle. II
ID evident to the most casual thinker
that there could be no poIilical ad-
vantage in inviting the soldiers OF
the world war to q feast AND giving
them empty dishes--or something
that would later distress them ..nu
their families along with the waoie
country.
!, Must Consider Conditions.
President Harding has made it
Iiain that the administration is in
general terms still as favorably dis
posed toward the bonus as when that
suggestion was indorSed in the cam
paisn of 1920 and thereafter. In
the latest authentic ccommpnication OF
the attitude of the executive il was
likewise made clear that the goverE-
ment must take into account exist
ing conditions in finance. Industry
and the movement toward the res
toration of normal business condi-
tions of the country.
The responsibility of the executive
and the legislative branches. II is
held, is not confined to q class. how
ever deserving. but to the people and
the country at large. Desiring to
do the thing in view. the question Is
for Congress and the recommending
executive how to do it without In
fiicting hardship upon the mass of
the citizenship while benefting the
few.
The President, to whom the legis-
1ators appealed for advice and sug-
gestion, has ruled out two plans hith-
erto suggested for raising the funds
"a large bond issue and the imposi-
tion of some eight special forms of
taxation. in addition to the taxes
imposed by the latest legislation of
= -
official family. the cabinet. take the
ground that Congress should not
put the burden of deciding the pro-
cedure upon the executive. but the
congressman retort by saying that
the program finally agreed upon
should represent uniformity of view
between the legislative and the po-
tential veto power, and that co-or-
dination in advance is desirable.
Direct Tax Possible.
AS conditions stand today, the
President is expected to lay his views
before the ways and means committee
snd the Senate finance committee. by
way Of suggestion and comment. and
then leave with unconstitutional re-
venue-raising .hddX the method OF
perfecting a plan. Chairman Fordney
Of the House ways and means COM
mittee has declared his belief that a
bonus bill will eventually pass, and
the same opinion prevails in intiuen-
ial quarters in the Senate.
While at the moment no legislator
can foresee what form the prospective
raising of the funds will take. it is
the prevailing opinion that 1t must
take the form of a direct tax, appli-
cable to all, and not to specified in
dustries or classes, and be so widely
distributed as to minimize realization
Of its effect upon the individual