The Republican., 1924-05-15

the way OF American financial advice,
the composure of Europe's economic
difficulties. He is very optimistic re-
garding the acceptance of the Dawes
plan and is convinced that once Eu-
ropes economic ills have been cured
the market for American agricultural
products will come back.
Meanwhile the President is expect
ing all his influence to induce Con-
gress to stop quarrelling and get down
to business. He especially wants to
see some concrete and practicable leg
islation for the relief of the agricul-
! tural situation passed before adjourn
ment. At the Presidents instance
Senators Smoot, Lodge and Pepper
have promised that the McNary- -Hau-
gen bill shall be made the next order
Of business in the Senate after the
passage of the tax bill. Mr.. Coolidge
is not committed to the McNary- -Hau-
gen bill in its present form. Like
Many of its friends he is far from GER
tain that as written it would prove
practicable, but he is most anxious to
have it debated, improved if necessary
and rounded out into Il really sound
and beneficial measure and, to this
end, has been inviting a number of the
leaders of Congress to breakfasts at
the White House and urging them to
apply their best thought and study to
the agricultural problem.
Mutilated until its author would
never recognize it, the Mellon plan, or
what there is left of it, is being in
corporated into tax bill. The Dem
ocrats, with the aid of the insur-
gents, have outvoted the Republicans
at every turn so that there is now
grave danger of the Presidents hav-
ing to veto the taX-reduction measure
The insurgent- Democratic coalition
has reduced the SurtaXeS from so to 40
per cent. Mr.. Mellon advocated a re
duction to 25 per cent and demonstra-
ted so clearly none could fail to under
stand that, without at least that re-
duction, rich men would persist in put
ting their money into taX-eXempt Sc
curities instead of into industries
where they would have to pay surtaX-
es on the income and where the money
would promote business. If Mr.. Mel
Ion was right the surtaX should have
been reduced as he advised. Certain
ly his plan should have had fair
trial. But if he was wrong there was
no excuse for reducing the surtaXes
at all. If the Democrats and insur-
gents are right in their insistence
that the rich pay the surtaxes, why re-
duce those surtaXes? If Mr.. Mellon
is right in saying that the rich don't
have to and wont pay sUrtaXes unless
they are reduced to 25 per cent and
under, there is no possible excuse for
not following his advice. This is the
reasoning which, it is believed, will
compel the President to veto this mon
grel measure.
The President has already vetoed
the Bursam pension bill. He is ex-
pected daily to veto the bonus bill
And the suspicion is growing in Wash
ington that the game of the Demo-
Gratis is to send to the White House a
series of bills he will have to veto,
hoping that, as each measure has
some friends, it will result in his MAX
ing a sufficient number of enemies to
result in his defeat next November.
Of course that is not the intention of
the insurgents voting with the Demo-
crats-except perhaps those who think
they have a chance to be elected pres
ident on third party ticket-but
many here feel that the sincere insur-
gents are merely being played for
suckers" by their wilier allies, the
Democrats.
H. Foster Balm, Director of the Bu-
reau of Mines, at the last hearing of
the oil investigation, which Senator
Walsh is still stringing out, told the
committee that there had been little
loss of oil by drainage from the Tea
pot Dome reserve because of the Sin
clair lease, that "the Interior Depart
ment locked that barn door before the
horse was stolen" He also testified
that the Doheny leases paid the Gov
ernment % per cent royalty in De-
cember er,-unwelcome testimony to
Senotar Walsh who has been insisting
it was only 10 per cent.