Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-03-21
CONGRESS SEEMS TO HAVE
TAKEN LEAVE OF ITS SENSES
President hardlns's Cool Sanity Over
the Bonus Business 10 All That Stands

In the Way Of Financial Chaos
DRESIDENT HARDING refuses to be
stampeded from the position he has taken
on the bonus question. lie made his views
clear many weeks ago and in setting them
forth he assumed responsibility for pro-
tecting the solvency Of the Treasury.
II bonus Is to be paid the money must
be raised by taxation, and he suggested
sales tax as way to raise 1t. lie would
not consent to n bond issue. for the reason
that the borrowing capacities Of the Gov
ernment will be stretched to the utmost to
take care Of more than 5000, 100000 OF
obligations that must be refnanced within
the next thirteen or fourteen months. There
is not an able business man In the country
who does not know the President is right.
An attempt to float new loan and in.
crease the national debt would depreciate
the value of every Liberty bond now out
standing. Assuming that the loan could
be flcated it would take from the channels
of business n large amount Of capital that
is imrcratively needed to finance enterprises
which have been waiting a return to normal
conditions. 1t would check business recov.
cry and delay the return TO profitable EN-
ployment Of the men now idle.
If bonus Is to be paid to the former
service men the money must be raised by
tax, and the bonus must be paid out Of
current revenues.
This is the hard and inescapable fact
which confronts those responsible for
national solvency. That the President has
insisted on its recognition, graciously, but
nevertheless with firmness, is to his credit.
He could do no less without lodging his
obligations.
The tax which he proposed Ia offensive
to the farmers bloc. But It ia the tax that
would raise the money with the least pos.
sible disturbance to business. There Is no
other tax which could be levied without
overcoming the strenuous opposition Of all
the substantial interests Of the country.
Every one save a few Western and South
ern demagogues are aware Of this.
The bill which the Ways and Means Com
mittee has drafted lodges the whole fnan-
c.al question BY merely providing plan on
which bonuses shall be paid. It does not
appropriate a dollar and 1t does not set
forth any plan by which the money shall
be raised And the plan Of the bill does
not contemplate the payment Of cash to the
ex service men. They are to get an insur-
ance certificate redeemable in twenty years
on which they can borrow q part Of its face
value. The rich man who does not need cash
can allow the certificate to mature, when
he will get % per cent more than its face
value and compound interest on 1t for twenty
years, making n total Of about three times
the amount which the poor man who needs
the cash can raise on his certificate. pro.
vlded he can get any bank to lend him the
money.
1t is astounding that full grown men can
pretend to themselves that this gold brick
certificate bonus plan will satisfy any one.
Yet It apparently is to be jammed through
the House this week by the votes of Repre-.
sentatives who are afraid that If they do
not do something for the soldiers they will
lose their seats In the November election.
Congress is aware of the financial condi-
ton of the Treasury. 1t has been made
clear to it by Secretary Mellon and by the
President. But the House does not seem to
care a tinker's dam about anything but the
approaching election.
The President yesterday, after hearing
Fordney and Mondell and the rest Of the
House leaders, said in effect: II have
made my position clear to you by my previ =
GUS statements. It is not necessary to
restate it. Whether You accept my views
or not is up to you. You are the legisla.
tive branch Of the Government. You must
accept the responsibilities of your powers
I will accept mine"
hy han tba Kill afta, vt1o
the House, should be approved by the Sen.
ate, 1t is morally certain that the President
would veto it. He can take no other course
without betrayal of the larger interests OF
the Nation. For It Is much more important
that the Federal Government do everything
in its power to assist in the restoration OF
normal business conditions than that 1t make
a cowardly surrender to the fear Of political
reprisals from the former service men.
What Is called the soldier vote is n buga
boo. President Harding knows that It Is
not a political solid. Men of all parties and
none wore the uniform. They de not sub
stuntially all Republicans as tho Northern
soldiers of the Civil War became. There
were no domestic politics involved In the
| World War. When the soldiers came home
they voted for Republican and Democratic
| Congressman and Governors just AS they did
before they went abroad or before they went
| to the training camps. Why, right here In
| Philadelphia, when an attempt was made
to nominate war veteran for local Office
last year in opposition TO n politician who
stayed at home the war veteran was de
feated. But If all the other veterans had
voted for him at the primaries he would
have been nominated and elected.
But the members of the House are afrait
of this bugaboo and are trying TO a2peast
| It by going through the motions OF passin,
a bunco bonus bill. Some of them are ever
going so far rs to berate the former seryc,
men who write them that they do not wan,
any bonus. This has happened in this neigh
borhood, where Congressman actually
wrote to young man of well. do famil,
that he ought to work for the bonus for tn,
| henefit Of the Door young men who need m,