The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-02-16

ident Will Sign Bonus BlH III III
Passes-Hopes ID Will Not Pass Now.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
! tSneciaI Disnatch to The Reformer.
Copyright 1922.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.-President
Harding has just made two brave deci-
sions. which. irrespective of anything else
that may happen to his political fortunes
stand out as milcstones in his career.
To turn down his personal friend and
political associate. Senator Henry Cabot
Lodge on matter that meant much to-
the chances of Mr.. Lodge for reelection
this fall was to do something which few
presidents have had the courage to do.
To turn down the almost unanimous de-
mand of his party associates in congress
for either a bond issue or a series of di-
rect taxes TO raise money for a soldier
bonus was also no simple matter.
Both decisions have been based upon
what Mr.. Harding himself admits were
the inexorable laws of business and sound
! finance as against the will of politics and
special favor.
Briefly, Senator Lodge was put in an
embarrassing position by some voters in
his constituency who saw no reason why
the Boston navy yard with $500 workers
should not get the benefit of the work to
be done in rccOnditioning the former Ger
man liner Leviathan. Mr.. Lodge was
persuaded to introduce an amendment to
a pending appropriation bill which
would have compelled the United States
shipping board TO let the contracts to
navy yards and to disregard the bids al
ready made for the work by private firms
hn III ID m ~ NM EgPF
President Harding listened To the obiec-
tiOnS of Chairman Lacker of the shipping
board. who declared that several firms
had already spent many thousands of
dollars in making surveys to determine
how much to bid and that sound business
principles dictated the necessity of Civ
ing the work to the lowest bidder.
President Stands by DENLY.
Mr.. Harding was similarly advised by
Secretary DENLY of the navy department.
1t was hard. however. to say to Mr..
Lodge that the amendment adopted by
the senate must be ignored. Its true the
amendment wasn't law and isn't law Yet.
But a word from the President would
have caused the shipping board to defer
To Senator Lodge The President has the
utmost confidence in Chairman LaSker
and he showed it in signal way by fol
lowing the iatterS recommendation in
stead of the pleadingS of Il political bosom
friend. Yesterday. therefore, the ship
ping board awarded the contract to the
Newport News Shipbuilding Co, and so
lar as politics are concerned 4 Democratic
constituency in Virginia viii get the bene-
fit of the work and there win he no polit-
zeal advantage to the administration ex-
ccpt insofar as following a business in
stead of political principle is broadly
good thing. Mr.. Harding explained to
friends afterwards that the government
I 4
ing work of this kind, and while he did
not mention Senator Lodge by name he
suggested that to follow the wish of the
Massachusetts constituency might cost
the government many millions of dollars
more. As for the bonus, Mr.. Harding's
attitude was stated substantially as fol-
lows at the White House:
White House Statement
Under the pressure of wars response
bilities and the spirit of patriotism and
the readiness to do or die, the government
can raise almost any sum of money. 1t
did during the war. But in times of
peace there is not the same sweep of de-
termination to do things. For this rea-
son, the President doubts whether il
would be possible to raise the necessary
sum for the bonus under a bond issue
without largely advancing current inter-
est rates and thus disturbing the financial
=
in order to help the business world. Mr.
Harding feels that he has been entirely
consistent in his attitude this time as
compared with last summer. He makes
frank confession of the fact that in the
primary campaign which preceded the
Chicago convention of 1920, he came out
for a soldier bonus. Things were said by
him and sundFy other candidates for the
political nomination which he admits
were not as sound in Judgment as he finds
things to be upon entering executive re-
SpOnSibility. But faithful to his prOmise
insisting that he never failed to keep a
promise publicly made, Mr.. Harding does
notf now say that the bonus is wrong in
principle but he stands by it and will
sign a bonus bill. Fortunately for him
he did not promise an exact date or specify
generally the time when payment would
be made. His position, therefore. today
Is what it was last Summer-the time Is
not ripe for bonus. Maybe it will never
be during his administration, but so far
as the outlook at the moment is con-
cerned Mr.. Harding reluctantly concludes
that the bonus payments must be aban-
doned temporarily.
Inclined Toward Sales Tax.
The sales tax is looked upon with more
favor by Mr.. Harding than any other
special taxes suggested for paying the
bonus. But the executive is inclined to
wait until the whole taxation program is
again revised so that the sales tax may
absorb the present taxes as well as tue
I new taxes required to pay the bonus
Political pressure for the bonus has
been intense. 1t has been met lately by
strong pressure from business interests
who also have political influence and
who are depended upon for campaign con-
tributloHs- In the face of conflicting pO-
litical currents. Mr. Harding has decided
to give first consideration 70 the condition
of the United States treasury which he is
caY,y-iOca1 viii mt stov1 ftrrfJo,. Two