The Washington herald., 1922-01-11
PRESIDENT WANTS
TOPAY VETERANS
FROM ALLIED DEBT
Seeks to Provide Bonuses
From Interest on
War Loans.

Cash bonuses for former soldiers
of the great war will be available
as soon as the 1900. 600. 900 allied
debt to the United States, or a part
of it, is refunded into long-term
obligations.
This is the administration plap
which Chairman Fordney outlined
to the House Committee on Ways
and Means yesterday. and in accord
with which the foreign debt refund
ing bill is to be pushed through
within the next month and followed
with bonus legislation.
War Loan Interest.
TIE program, which has been ap-
proved by President Harding, pro-
vides for the payment of the. bo-
muses. from the interest on. the war
leans, or, il such interest be not
sufficient. from the proceeds of the
sale to the general public of the
long-term securities into which the
foreign loans will be refundd
Under this plan it will be possible
to go ahead with soldiers bonus
legislation without knowing what
the terms of interest payments are
to be. Nothing should be done, how
ever, according to the view of the
President. until the refunding legis-
lation is passed and definite an
thority is vsted in a commission
to handle the refunding.
One of the features of the scheme
10 fha
be sold at not less than par and
shall be guaranteed by the United
states government.
Mr.. Fordney indicated to the
Ways and Means Committee that in
view of the approval of the scheme
by the administration he. would not
press his own plan for a sales tax
Wait on RefuRding Bill.
The administration refunding bill
is in the hands of the Senate
Finance Committee. That commit
tee a few weeks ago amended the
Dill as passed by the House by
adding restrictions which are dis
pleasing to the administration
President Harding and Secretary of
the Treasury Mellon are eager that
Objectionable restrictions and re-
port the bill to the Senate in the
same form in which it passed the
House. There has been a DISPOSE
tion not to press the matter while
the armament conference is in ses-
sion. but 1t is the intention not to
delay action much longer. The ad-
ministration hopes that the meas
ure can be enacted into law within
the next. three or four weeks and
then is willing that bonus legisla-
ton shall go ahead.
The bonus bill will start in the
House Ways and Means Committee.
the Senate Finance Committee. be-
ing too busy with tariff legislation
to give 1t any attention until after
II has passed the House.
sale OF Bonds.
1t is estimated that it will not
be necessary to sell as much as
$1,000, 100000 worth of the more
than S10,000.O00,000 worth of for
eign securities which the United
States will have. If funds derived
from the sale of these securities
are used for the soldiers bonus It
will mean that ultimately that
much additional money must be
raised by taxation or otherwise to
retire liberty bonds. The theory
presumably is that this method Of
fers way to obtain money in the
near future and that at later date
II may be less difficult to meet
liberty bond maturfties.
The suggestion that the foreign
securities be sold to the general
public is in line with a hope ex-
pressed by President Harding in an
address several months ago that
the foreign securities can be abb
sorbed by the people