Evening star., 1932-05-27
ANGRY
At CONGRESS ACTS
Discomfort Greater Among
Business Men-Tax Re.
volts Are Organized.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NASHVILLE. Tenn, May 27.-Away
for a few days to get closeup Of con-
ditions in Tennessee, Mississippi and
Arkansas, there is striking revelation
to the travelling correspondent almost
Immediately. 1t is the grave concern
with which the behavior Of Congress
is viewed.
The strange thing. is that the So
called discomfort which might be ex-
pected to show itself in a depression is
noticeable and more vocal among the
business men and white-co.lar classes
than in any other group
If members Of Congress collectively
| or individually could hear what Is being
said about them, they would feel far
from comp'imented. What has made
a deep impression, for instance, are
the charges Of nepotism and the pub
lished evidence that members of Con-
| gress are drawing money for relatives
who do no work or only nominal tasks
Revolts Being Organized.
The anger that this sort of thing has
awakened is one of the most significant
factors in the antagonism toward Con-
gresS 1t may involve injustice here
and there but the prevailing belief Is
that most of the members of Congress
who have their relatives on the pay
roll cannot be very faithful to the pub
lie trust or at least, as jealous about
making economies as they should be-
Taxpayers revolts are being organ
ized here and there against city and
county taxation burdens, but much of
the blame is visited upon the Federal
Government as well. The economy
wave is unmistakably strong and there
is no telling what will happen at the
polls this year In individual cases, even
in State like Tennessee.
Incidentally, this State has relatively
! less unemployment than the northern
States. While this is due to diversifi-
cation of industry and crops, it cannot
be said that thoughtful people think
the State may be immune in the future
from some Of the severe effects of the
depression.
Some OF the prominent people with
whom the writer discussed the general
situation here and in Chattanooga eX-
pressed the view that Congress could
do much toward improving the morale
Of business if it would do something
decisive about taxation and economy,
that the uncertainty about taxes was
interfering with business plans, and
that an early adjournment by Con.
SltoS NOuIu Ue WelCOmeQ on all SlQeS.
Baker Often Mentioned.
Politically. the State is by no means
definite in its predictions. 1t is true
Gov. Roosevelt of New York can count
the Democratic delegation as his, but
underneath the surface one does not
have to look far to discover that Roose-
welt is by no means regarded as the
ablest man the party could find. If it
conducted search for the most tai
ented individual to lead the Nation
through an economic crisis.
There is frequent comment on the
name of Newton D. Baker, particularly
among the business elements, but the
most interesting thing is the admission
Of Roosevelt's weakness as a candidate.
The conservatives, particularly, did not
like his Atlanta speech.
Just now, however, party politics is
overshadowed by the desire to see Con-
gress balance the budget and settle the
tax problem.
Tennessee doesn't look unhappy-its
bank failures and agricultural readjust-
ment, of course, have taken their toll
but at the moment it presents the pic
ture Of an aroused electorate trying to
figure out just why Congress seems deaf
to the pleas for action.
tCopyright, 1922