The New York herald., 1922-05-03
BONUS RAIDERS Will
TEST HARDING TODAY.
WITHTENTATIvEBILL.
1t. Is DoctOred House Ger
tificate Loan Plan, APP
proved by Legion.
REJECTION EXPECTED
Lacks Provision for Raising
Revenue and Extends
Raid for 43 Years.
NEGOTIABLE IN BANKS
Continuing Amendments May
NEGOTIABLE IN BANKS
Continuing Amendments May
Cost Government Is to 20
Billion Dollars.
BY LOUIS sEIBoLp.


Special Dispatch to THE NEW York HnaAun.
New York Herald Bureau,
Washington, ID. c., May g.
Having hoodwinked ex-service men
into taking promissory notes instead of
cash down. the Senatorial promoters
of the bonus raid will try their luck
with President Harding.
The tentative draft of the bill which
the experts Of the Senate Finance
Committee are reducing to legislative
form tonight, will be taken to the
White House tomorrow for accept
ance or rejection.
Acceptance would cause a greater
sensation than any other incident in
the stormy career of the bonus propo-
sition. Efforts to induce the President
to accept the bill were described by
one of the anti-bonus Senators tonight
as IAN attempt to sell a gold brick to
a man who knows one when he sees it. /"
The latest edition of the bonus raid.
which a majority Of the Republican
members of the Finance Committee
tentatively agreed to to-day" will diff
fer in no essential particular from
the misflt certificate loan plan passed
by the House in complete defiance Of
the wishes OF the President and Secre-
tary Mellon.
Committal to Longer Term.
IT, rc,t ;~ <ho lata.x vort,,ro ~ III.
bonus raiders has been modelled on tho
lines of the House measure. 1t will, II
anything. commit the Government to
the perpetuation OF the bonus raid for
the next forty-three years, instead Of
twenty, as proposed In the House bill.
BY continuing amendments the Gov
eminent could be made to provide bill
lions of dollars beyond the estimates
of the finance experts until the total
might approximate three or four times
the $4,000, ,000,0 which every system
of computation indicates would be re-
quired.
To make it las attractive as pos
sible" the bill that the finance Repub-
licans will take to the White House
will call for very lite money at the
start" But in the end the total pre-
sented by sponsors of the measure will
be $3.S45, ,000, 900 by 1866. Administra-
tion,. interest and carrying charges
will, ii is estimated by impartial ex-
perts, swing it up to the same old total
of $4,000, ,000, 900.
The attractive features" which Mr..
,McCumber and his associates will
point out to the President are many
and varied. One is that the Govern
ment would have to provide only $77,-
10000 the first year. $92.00o.ooo the
second year. s75,0Oo.Oo0 the third and
S3T0. 900. 900 the fourth. After that
period the estimates on an annual
basis run from $1oo.0oo.ooo to $780,
O00,o00
These figures were furnished by
Actuary Mccoy Of the Treasury De-
partment. to whom Mr.. McCumber
is being followed in the construction
Of his bill. Mr.. Mccoy estimated that
the McCumber plan would cost the
Government s1,136.000.000 by 1943 and
s3.s45, 200. 900 by 1865.
The scheme of extending the life Of
the certificates from 1913, as provided
in the House measure. to 1866. was
prompted by the belief that by
spreading out the payments" the prin-
cipal objections raised by the execu-
tive branch of the Government would
be met.
- Svxl.
The year 1866 was agreed upon as
the date of maturity because Mr.. Nc
Cumber and his bonus allies are con-
fdent that most service men will de-
lay making application for benefits and
thereby reduce TO a minimum the i'm
mediate demands on the Treasury
during the Harding Administration" :"
The provision in the House bill maxi
ing the proposed certificates negotiable
in banks for so per cent. OF their face
value for the first three years is con-
tinued. The American Legion fatty
refused to agree to the Finance Com
mittee proposal to limit the borrowing
value at banks to 25 per cent.
AS the bonus bill admittedly is con-
structed to satisfy the American Legion
and other bonus claimants there was
nothing for the committee to do but
sanction the maximum figure. At the
end of three years. OF course, the
Treasury will be required TO take over
the certificates from banks that elect
to freeze" their resources with such
obligations and to increase the bor-
rowing value Of the bonus paper to 80
per cent. of the total.
Where the Government is going to
raise the money to take up the GER
tificates Is another matter. The bill
now being prepared does not propose
any method for raising revenue. and in