Evening star., 1931-12-22
HOOVER EXCEEDED
POWER ON DEBTS,
JOHNSON CHARGES
Moratorium Action Called
First Step in Dictatorship
in United States.
SENATE LEADERS HOPE
TO REACH VOTE TODAY
No Limit Placed on Debate, Much
Depends on Number and Length
of Speeches.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

Picturing President HooverS action
for moratorium of intergovernmental
debts as the first step toward a dictator
ship in the United States, Senator
Hiram johnson of California today told
the Senate that the Chief Executive had
far exceeded his constitutional author
ity when he had made the agreement to
suspend the debt payments for year
last Summer.
The California Senator pleaded with
his colleagues to stand with him to-
day and vote against the moratorium
resolution.
Here we face the first great violation
by the Executive of our constitutional
provisions" said Senator johnson. You
should join with me in opposition. A
fundamental question is involved.
You may Undue the present occu-
pant of the White House with Godlike
power to deal with the destinies of the
American people. When he deals with
this question, he deals with the life
blood of the people, with the burden of
taxation.
If he violates the spirit of the Amer
lean Constitution, and you countenance
it. you will have taken the first step
that the international bankers desire,
the first step toward dictatorship by
which the executive may legislate"
Assails Assumption of Power"
Referring to the fact that President
Hoover had obtained the approval of
g. members Of the Senate and 276
members of the House when he issued
his moratorium proposal, Senator John
son said:
This is the first time that any man
has by the use Of Western Union
blank taken from the American people
$250,000,000 which was due them.
raise my voice today against this
uSurpation of power, If the power of
the Nation is Subverted without au-
thority of law and this precedent is
established, who can tell what is going
to happen. The American people be-
lieve in law and order and because
they believe in law and order they will
not initiate revolution as In other coun-
tries. But once let the heavily bur-
dened farmers Of this country feel the
pinch as those residents of our citiss
have felt it and once let these men of
the soil unite with the same spirit
which is rampant in the cities today
and no one can tell what will transpire
Hope for Vote Today.
Senator johnson was the first speaker
on the moratorium resolution after the
Senate assembled at IL o'clock today.
The senatorial leaders expressed the
hope it would be possible to reach a
vote on the resolution by or o'clock
this afternoon. Without any agreement
for time to vote or limit debate how
ever, much depended on how many
speakers there would be and how long
they would talk.
Senator Jones of Washington, chair
man of the Appropriations Committee,
said his committee had done nothing
with regard to the holiday recess reso-
luton and would do nothing until the
plans of the Senate leadership had
further developed
Senator johnson in his attack on the
moratorium insisted that the agree
ments entered into by the nations for
a suspension of intergovernmental debts
was very different from the moratorium
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