Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-05-17
ACTION ST|RS BIC
STORM IN HOUSE,;
To VOTE SATURDAY
eve Owe No Bonus to
AbIebodied Veterans"
President Declares

WASHINGTON, May 15.-The sol.
der bonus bill was vetoed today by
President Coolidge.
On the heels Of his disapproval OF
the Bursum pension bill because he
felt it would be an undue strain ON
the treasury, the president sent back
to the capitol for the same reason
the compensation measure, which
would give free life insurance pol
icies to World war veterans.
Advocates Of the bill Immediately
announced that an attempt would
be made to pass 1t over the veto. On
it's original passage it received more
than the necessary two-thirds vote
in both senate and house.
The house decided 10 vote Satur.
day on passage Of the bonus bill
over the presidents veto after warm
debate in which an immediate vote
was demanded. Action was post
poned until Saturday by vote OF
179 to. III.
Estimate Of Cost
The president in his veto message
estimated that payment of the bonus
would commit the nation to an av.
erage annual expenditure Of $114,00O,.
600 for the next twenty years.
At the end Of the 20-year period.
he said, the government would be
faced with the necessity of selling
$500, 900, 900 in bonds, major IL
.nancial undertaking, which he ar.
gued might jeopardize the value OK
federal securities then outstanding.
He added that regardless Of party
affiliations, the public is clamorlng
for tax relief, and that the govern
ment has no money to bestow on
any particular class.
I'VE must either abandon our
theory of patriotism" Mr.. Coolidge
said, "or abandon this bill. x x
We owe no bonus othe able BODIED
soldiers of the world war"
patriotism is one of the highest
and finest Of human virtues" the
president continued, "and it can
not be bought or sold. To offer
money for it destroys it."
Lower Taxes Better
Veterans would be better off, he
said, if relieved of the high taxes
which the bonus legislation would
make necessary. Tax reduction, he
mentioned in particular, would be a
great help to agricultural interests.
The executive declared that
america as a whole does not want
the BILL
There is no justification for it,"
he said.
The tide of enthusiasm for the
bill ran so high after the veto mes
sage had been received that there
were insistent demands for an inn
mediate vote Republican Leader
Longworth tried in vain to get an
agreement to delay the roll call I'M
til next week.
In objecting to the proposal OF
Mr.. LonSworth, Representative Ran.
kin, democrat, Mississippi declared
the message Of the president IAN i'm
suit" to the veterans Of the war.
Second Bonus Veto
It was the second time in twenty
months that a bonus bill had been
returned to congress by the White
House without presidential sanction.
Late in 1922 President Harding ve-
toed bill to give an optional bonus
ed over the veto by the house, but
failed of repassage in the senate.
By his action today Mr.. Coolidge
not only re-emphasized the policy OF
governmental economy he had out
lined in vetoing the Bursum BILL but
carried forward a tenet Of political
faith announced in his first message
to congress last falL~- In that mes
sage he devoted exactly nine words
to the bonus issue: II do not favor
the granting Of a bonus"
The veto message today enlarged
upon this policy at length, quoting
the treasury figures on the probable
cost Of the measure and citing the
fact that no provision is made in the
bill! for raising the additional reve-
nue. to meet these expenditures. De-
spite his previous firm conviction on
the subject, the president had studied
the measure carefully, had sought
advice not only from the treasury
but from the Veterans bureau, and
had waited to act until ihe last day
but one allowed him under hte law.
Enactment of the measure. the
president continued, would mean
abandonment Of "one Of our most
cherished American ideals" in that
it would sanction an attempt Ito
make a money payment our Of the
earnings Of the people to those who
are physically well and financially
able
Our country cannot afford IT,"
the president said. 1.-The veterans as
whole do not want it. All our
American principles are opposed to
it. There is no moral justification