Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-01
BY WILLIAM HARD.

'Rel1et" at THIS week emo III WdSIl-
ington is the watchword which, to
many conservative observers, seems
likely to produce a special session OF
the Congress next Summer and which
seems likely in that special session to
produce a torrent of laws which will go
far beyond relief"
The Presidents friends are divided
into two camps about it.
One camp maintains that the Presi-
dent ought to hold firm against the
proposal of Senator Robinson for $25,
600 900 out of the Federal Treasury, to
be used for relieving the suffering OF
people impoverished by drought and by
unemployment and that he ought to
hold firm against the proposal of Sena-
tor Capper for devoting 10000, 900 BUSH
els of Federal Farm Board wheat to the
same purpose. This camp argues that
the precedents thus fixed would in time
devastate the Federal Treasury and ruin
the country.
The other camp maintains that the
President ought to accept the proposals
of Senator Robinson and Of Senator Cap
per, because otherwise those Senators
and their associates will compel spe-
cial session in which the demands upon
the Federal Treasury will go much far
Their and in which a great variety of So
called Socialistic legislation may be
pressed to triumph The argument OF
this camp is that it would be better to
swallow a few drops of relief" now
than to have to drink quarts Of it after
March 4.
The statistical truth of the economic
situation of the country Is one which,
after March 4, would tend toward slim
ulating radical legislative measures.
One of the most distinguished financial
firms in New York City has recently
calculated, through its own professional
statisticians, that the number of unem-
ployed in the country, instead OF being
{, 900 900, as announced by the admin
iStration, is more than 100000. The
same authorities calculate additionally
that the purchasing power OF our urban
elements has fallen of 80 per cent,
while the purchasing power of our ag-
ricultural elements in many parts OF the
country has fallen off so per cent.
This state of things Is the basic rea-
son, it is generally thought here, why
the local taxpayers Of the country, es-
pecially in the rural regions, declare
themselves in numerous instances to be
wholly unable to endure the financial
burden of further relief" and wish to
place it more heavily on the shoulders
of the Federal income taxpayers, whom
they regard as being relatively richer.
~
In the Congress at Washington, there
upon, there is today q rapidly swelling
reservoir of bills for "relief" and for
projects more fundamental than ere
lief; and the only dam which holds
those bills back is the prospective March
adjournment. If that dam Is broken,
and If a special session is forced, these
bills will flow over the whole Washing
ton landscape and food 1t to the top OF
the White House portico. 1t is in order
to prevent the possibility of this mum
dalton khat many regular Republicans
are in favor of yielding to Senator Rob-
inson and to Senator Capper now and of
persuading them thus to consent to the
instant passage of the appropriation
bills and to the elimination of the Spe-
cial session danger. Regular Republic
cans of such views look with alarm at
Gust for instance) the following bills
already introduced and already finding
large favor:
Representative La Guardia's bill for
a Federal Employment Commission
through which there would be operated
an unemployment insurance scheme to
which every employe in the country
would pay cents a week and every en-
ployer would pay 10 cents a week per
person by him employed.
Senator Wagner's bill for appropriat-
ing annually $l00.000,000 dollars of
Federal money to be distributed among
the States in assistance to unemploy-
ment insurance funds set going by the
States.
Senator Capper's bill for having the
Federal Treasury pay half of the cost
of Transforming local privately owned
toll bridges into public free bridges.
The bill reported to the House of Rep
resentatives by its Committee on Irri-
cation and Reclamation for causing the
Department of the Interior to make
loans out of a fund Of $95,000,000 to
local drainage districts for financing
their drainage operations.
The bill by Senator Trammen of
Florida for paying $10,000,O00 to
people in Florida for damages done to
their property in the course of the
efforts of the Federal Government to
rescue that property from the ravages
Of the Mediterranean fruit fly.
The numerous bills for paying to
veterans of the World War the whole
or a part of the value of their bonus
CCA AA6AA1 away AL SdoAA, OAASoO
bills being. now undeniably extremely
popular politically In both branches Of
the Congress.
4 X X X
The numerous bills for eXcusing
farmers from prompt payment Of sums
now due from them to the Federal
land banks. These bills grant to such
farmers q moratorium" for 18 months
or even for three years.
Representative Evans bill for having
the United States financially assist the