Evening star., 1923-09-29
7-to-1 Majority in House and
18 Votes to Spare in Sem
ate, Legion Claims.
OPPOSITION EXPECTED
FROM "BIG BUSINESS"
Legislative Committee Discloses
Results of Careful Survey Of
Compensation Situation.

adjusted compensation bill for world
war veterans will become law dur
ing the next session of Congress. the
national Legislative committee of the
American Legion will report to the
Legion's annual convention in San
Francisco next month.
IT will pass in the House by
vote of or s to 1 and in the Senate
with at least IS votes to spare, this
report, which has just been drafted,
will declare. summing up with the
conclusion that from the beginning
this has been inevitable legislation"
Big business. which has been Wig
orously opposing this measure, will
continue it's antagonistic campaign
with renewed intensity, the legisla-
tive committee says. and has devised
a new slogan-"There Will be no re-
duction in taxes If the bonus bill
becomes a law.
Cites "Billion Error"
After reviewing the fact that the
nti-bonus deficit of S650,000,000
cited by President Harding. on Treas
ury authority, as his reason for We
toing the bonus bill passed by the
last Congress. has in fact become a
surplus of $4,000. .000-"just little
error of a billion dollars" according
to later Treasury reports. the legis-
lative committee explains how the
vote by which the Senate blocked the
effort to pass the measure over the
Presidents veto has been changed.
1t says:
The November elections, held dur
ing the recess. clearly demonstrated
the resentment of the voters at the
failure of the Senate to override the
presidential. veto, and Senators Cal
der of New York, Dupont of della
ware. France of Maryland and Fre-
linghuysen OF New Jersey, all of
whom voted to sustain the veto. were
repudiated at the polls by their own
states. Sweeping changes were also
made In Athe House of RepEessnts-
tives. 'i40 new members being eaectsd
to the lower house, which in addi-
tion now contains seven vacancies.
= ~, HouEee strongly In Fnvoysses !. IN
There has never been any Question
about the Overwhelming desire of the
House OF Representatives to repeat,
check shows that as a result of the
elections Ii will pass the lower body
in the coming Congress by vote of
seven or eight TO one. The situation
and our bill will pass the senior body
with at least eighteen votes to spare"
An analysis of the Senate, man by
man. carried in the report shows that
the "hold-over senator's number
vorable and twenty-four listed as op-
posed. The number of new senators
Is twenty one, and there is one va
cancy "A first-hand poll of the
twenty-one new senators discloses."
h4 tsff ~Srx xt,t
the newly elected senator's will vote
in favor of our measure, irrespective
of a Veto .--.-..-
In warning the legionnaires against
the new drive by big business in op-
position to the adjusted compensa-
tion measure, the report of the legis-
lative committee says they no longer
hope to defeat the measure, so that
the tactics of delay will be invoked
and the old subterfuge of loading it
down with unpopular or impractical
amendments will again be attempted"
After discussing at considerable
length and individually the power
full interests" allied against this leg
islation the legislative committee
says:
THE general opposition to the ad-
justed compensation measure is being
conducted by the United States Cham
Der of Commerce, the National Asso-
citation of Manufacturers and the
organizations composed of the big
business interests of the country, and
it would be an interesting study after
a peruSal of their various allied and
affiliated associations to ascertain to
what extent these Industries proflted
out Of the war, and IL any of their mem
bers are included in those recently called
to account by the Department of
Justice of the United States in actions
brought to recover vast sums of mon
a 0f q
Sees Ulterior Purpose. .--f
The legislative committees report
finds an ulterior purpose behind the
persistent opposition of big business,
which is explained to the legionaires
as follows:
'"The first effort of big business was
to delay the passage of our bill so
that it could issue billions of dollars
of securities and persuade the public
to buy them. While they were loud
ly shouting poverty they were busy
tofore unknown in the history of the
world. The people were able to buy
these securities because of the tre-
mendous prosperity which the coun-
try as whole was experiencing.
"The plan of big business is now
twofold. 1t wants to continue to is
sue billions of dollars more of its Sc.
curities and persuade the pubic to
buy them. InlS Is lIS HTSl pidH- buI
in its efforts to prevent the enact
ment of the adjusted compensation
bill IL has created such a bugaboo in
the minds of investors that 1t be-
lieves it is necessary. to inculcate in
them the belief that these securities
which 1t is selling will not be taxed
heavily. We therefore arrive at the
second part of the plan of big busi-
ness, which b to make the purchasers
of its securities believe thatrthe time
has arrived when the taxes on income
from investment securities and on big
business should be decreased.
Devise New Slogan.
Therefore, it has devised a new
slogan, which Is '"There'll be no reduc-
ton in taxes IL the bonus bill becomes
a law
EVERY argument which the enemies
ward has been finally disproved and can
be used no longer. We do not fnd them
arguing now that the country cannot
afford to pay the bill--for this pretense
has been proved to be SO absurd that 1t
is no longer advanced. The coming
campaign against our measure will be
the most intense that we have yet ex-
perienced, and from present indications
1t will be directed along the no cutting
of taxes II we pay q bonus theory. But
the thinking population OF the United
States will not be deceived: by this last
desperate attempt to thwart the VIII OF
the people" -