Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-26

Mr. Coolidge's favorite policy, econ
ony in Government, after being lost in
the shuttle for a year, is now resur-
rected with new and sudden emphasis.
Mr.. Hoover's application of the brakes
to congressional expenditures came as
a rude jolt, and Congress did not relish
White House structures about its
spendthrift proclivities. First, because
preachments of economy and budget
are never particularly welcome to con-
greSsional ears; second, because Con-
gress feels it ought not to have charged
against it every proposal offered by
every one of its 590-odd members;
third because Congress in expanding
the public works building program was
laboring under the impression that it
was only trying to carry out Mr.. Hoo
ver's promises. In enumerating various
projected expenditures, aggregating
billion and a half dollars outside the
budget limits, the White House was
careful to avoid commitment as to the
merits or dement's of these proposals
| The President left entirely to Congress
the solution of the riddle of how to
| stretch the available Treasury funds to
cover every worthy enterprise. If Con-
( gress goes ahead and plunges the
Treasury into deficit it must shoulder
| the blame, yet If it fails to provide ad-
| ditional funds for Mississippi flood con-
troll, for roads, for veterans pensions
! and for Army and Navy pay increases
it must shoulder the blame for that, too,
! Congress thus finds itself between the
devil and the deep blue sea.
| Everything is grist which comes to
| the farmers mill when it comes to
questions of tariff for products of agri-
culture. One skyrocket boost in this
| k1rr 1,r
week will probably cause no pain TO the
general public, but just how it will help
! the farmer is a bit of puzzle. In the
present law bent grass seed, used prin-
| cipally on golf courses, is dutiable at
the rate of 2 cents pound. The House
raised this to 10 cents pound and the
| Senate obligingly hoisted the rate to the
giddy height of 40 cents pound. This
| 300 per cent increase over the House
rate and 1900 per cent increase over
| the present law slipped In without q
whisper Of protest, although such IA
nous golfers as Smoot of Utah and
Harrison of Mississippi were standing
| guard, while McNary of Oregon, Cou-
zens of Michigan and Jones of Wash
ington were in the ofing.
| X X X X
The March issue of Senator Arthur
Capper's magazine, besides paying a
glowing tribute to Chief Justice Taft, of
whom it says, For 40 years, if ever, no
one has served the country more ably
In so many capacities" declares THE
country welcomed the appointment of
Charles Evans Hughes to succeed him.
At SO Hughes has unusual physical and
mental vigor. He is the leader of the
American bar" The Kansas Senator
was one of the silent majority during
the oratorical assault on Mr.. Hughes
which accompanied senatorial confir-
nation.
X X X x
At the height of the postwar boom
| the price of silver bullion reached such
a peak that the silver content of our
traditional cartwheel dollar was worth
| 100 cents. Today with the price of
silver at the lowest point in 100 years,
the silver content of the dollar is worth
| only 35 cents. World production of
silver steadily rises, while world demand
for silver continues to fall, partly due to
the increasing shift to the gold stand
ard by nations whose currency was for
| merly on silver basis. The United
States produces less than one-fourth of
the worlds silver. and this comes
chiefly as a by-product of copper, zinc
and lead ores. Silver bullion and ore
are now on the free list, but Senator
Pittman of Nevada urges Congress to
levy duty of 80 cents an ounce to give
to the American silver producer a
monopoly of the American silver market.
X X X X
MANY citizens of the United States
have no idea where Porto Rico Isl
writes Col. Theodore Roosevelt, its new
governor. "Since have been here I
have received letters addressed Porto