Evening star., 1922-03-02
Nothing for the Bonus.

The cheerful optimism of the pa
thetic creature who. if he had some
ham. would have some ham ana
eggs if he had some. eggs. seems
to have come Immediately and simul-
taneously to a dozen or more edl-
torial minds when they grasped the
full significance of the PRESIDENTS
letter to the chairman of the house
ways and means committee on
financing the soldier bonus. Irans-
latine a bit, the Baltimore News Cn-
dependent) puts it thus: III 1t were
possible to devise some suitapie
taxes we would have the bonus-h
we had any money to pay the taAes
after they were devised.
Judging by editorial comment.
President Harding's attitude. that IL
there was to be a soldier oohus ~
should be met by sales TAX. sa,s
aid and comfort to the opponents
Of thH bonus, without noticeably en-
thusi,.,; the advocates of the saies ss
tax There are a few writers VINO
strongly support both. more VINO
feel that If we must nave poiu5 h5
of raising the money. and many WIZ
are unalterably opposed both 10 'ne
honus and the proposed means Oh
paying it. u .ha New
York Post (ndependento cans .s
combination OF bonus anu i;fa on its
incapable of sustaining NE on aifs
own account, either twin has al o'l-
erent times been called upon 10 Trails
fusa vitality into the other Ihas
Harding has certainly not Ieiiesu
the situation in Congress py ms po
IN
observers, and the anxious doubt as
To whether or not he will veto
bonus measure which PROVIDES the
revenue from some source other than
the sales tax leaves congressman
fioundering, the indianapoals I"oasz,ne meIe te
the Brooklyn Eagle Gndependent
democratic), they are frankly afraid
of the sales tax; "it is liable to pro.
duce a magnificent explosion. ana
"iust now they are busy figuring out
whether they will lose more votes by
being for a bonus to be paid by
sales tax than they would lose II they
stand against the sales tax and let
the bonus policy slide into the dis
card"
Popular sentiment against the bonus
is coming out more sharply in reply
to American Legion Commander Mac
Nider's demand for immediate bonus
legislation, in which. as the New
York Tribune (republican) sees 1t. ne
''brandishes a pair of pistols; one ne
points at Congress and the other az
President Harding" There is little
sympathy in the press with Mac
Nider's stand. AS the Rochester Her.
aid (independent) asserts, the le-
gion does not include and so cannos
represent half the total number or
veterans. and the demand for the
bonus is not the demand Of the en-
tire legion membership" The Char
iotte IN. c. ws-(democratic) sums
mn the general attitude when 1t says
that eff the people Of America could
be made to believe that this bonus
BILE and the final test Of their sense OF
gratitude to their soldiers. we don't
believe they would count the cost"
"The assumption that the United
States is financially and economically
unable to finance the bonus Is false, false
pendent republican,; 1--WE can and we
will finance IT." From the present
uproar zone might be led to the error
of thinking that an overwhelming
majority of the people were opposed
to the proposal" but the Manchester
Union independent republican, is
convinced that such is not the case.
So, faced with a definite public de-
mand for the soldier bonus" the San
Francisco Examiner independently. in
common Win Ill thS AACdI % PoPSA .,
holds that congress should turn it's
attention to the sensible simple Is feir eff
to all" the "honest way. the safest
way. and the only Iay VA. the s,hot Duluth
be taken, without imperiling the busi-
ness revival" The debt to the man
who fought 'fs not more a debt of
the rich than Of the poor" and it's
payment should be born by: every
body" a universe. assessment which
the Philadelphia Bulletin (indetend-
ent republican, thinks only a sales
tax can provide.
However, >as the Ell Paso Times
fdemocratic) emphasizes, "all cup
porters of the sales tax for the bonus
are not necessarily believers in the
wisdom of bonus legislation" and ac-
cordingly we find mass Of editorial
opinion which holds. with the Green
Bay (Wis) Press-Gazette (inde-
pendent), for instance, that the spro-s
posai is merely '.caterlng to the.
American Legion for votes, but SO
far As the best way of raising the.
money ~ concerned. ..tlle alss tax1