The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-02-20
PLANS REGARDING
SOLDIERS BONUS
NOT AGREED UPON
Situation Is Still so Nebulous
That Republican House Leaders
Cannot Venture Wild Guess.
STORM RACES AROUND
HARDING'S SUGGESTION
Proposal That Legislation Be
Made General Charge Against
Treasury Is Supported.
(By The Associated Press,

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19-The soldiers
bonus situation continued today to be SO
nebulous that republican House leaders
still were unprepared to venture even a
guess as 20 what plan of financing ulti-
mately would be agreed upon. 1t was
understood to be their disposition to let
the question simmer a while longer in the
hope that sentiment would so shape itself
as to facilitate the. task of those who
will frame the measure.
1t developed today that beneath the
surface of the storm which has ragged
around President Hardings suggestion
that the bonus be financed by a sales tax
there has been a lot of quiet talk in sup
port of the proposal of some leaders last
week that the legislation be made a gen.
eral charge against the treasury with ex-
pected savings through cuts in regular
appropriation bills, relied upon for the
financing of portion of the initial cost.
When first suggested by Representative
Mondell. Of Wyoming, the majority house
leader, this proposal seemed to meet with
considerable favor among the rank and
file in the House. but the idea became
all but submerged by the wave of talk
that swept through cloakrooms and cor
tidctS dAlSI tHt IiSSIdSnbS ISLtet u
Chairman Fordney of the ways and
means committee had reached the capitol.
Irrespective of the bonus there appar-
emily was determination in the House
to reduce sharply the estimates for both
the navy and the army and that possibly
s20o.000,00o would he cut out of the supply
hills for those departments alone. Such
q sum, it was said. would go long way
toward meeting the first years cost OF
the cash payments to the former service
men.
Views of the majority members of the
ways and means committee on this plan
have not yet been publicly developed.
These members will meet tomorrow to go
into the whole bonus question. but an
immediate decision as to how the bonus
will be financed is not expected. Pro-
ponents of the sales tax. however. under
stood to be prepared to force their fight
in the committee at the earliest oppor-
tunity.
Some opponents OF the sales levy, con-
cede that there are sufficient votes among
the majority members of the committee
to report out such tax. but declare the
question of expediency must enter into
the final decision. The first considera-
ton. they said, is the probable effect of
such a tax on the minds Of the people
generally. and the second the known
effect that will be prodhcea among re-
publican members of the House.
II such tax is proposed to a party
conference, the opponents assert they
viii renew the fight which was waged
successfully in a similar conference in
1920 when the first bonus bill was pre-
sented with a sales tax attached. Fail
ing TO win in the caucus, they declare
their fight would be carried TO the foor
of the House with the expectation OF
almost soLd support from the democrats.
1t is understood to be the hope of lead
ers of the agricultural bloc that the COM
mittee viii report out bin without any
specific provision for raising the funds
as the Senate finance committee did last
year. President Harding has said that
he could not look with favor on a measure
that did not carry ways of financing it.,
but it was understood TO be the thought
of some of the supporters of such a bill
that with a large sum made available
through reductions in the estimated cost
of conducting the regular government
establishment a situation would be Gre
ated which would remove executive OBJ
lection.