Evening star., 1932-12-08
ECONOMY APPEARS
| AIM OF CONGRESS.
Members Reluctant to Talk
! on Pay Cut and Reduction
F. IN Veteran Funds.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.


OF the alternative paths Of Congress,
Ind the alternative paths by which the
country will try to struggle out Of the
depression, the one pointed out by
President Hoover Is Government saw
ing and balancing the budget. The
y and by others favored as being po-
Iitically the easiest way, is Government
spending and imitation.
At the moment, a summary OF the
atmosphere of Congress about the pro-
gram of saving pointed out in the Presf-
dents message would say that silence Is
conspicuous. The silence. is also. so to
speak, vociferous. Two of the principal
recommendations by the President are
q cut in Government wages and cut
in payments to veterans. Those are. of
all conceivable topics the two that
Congressman like least to talk about.
The number of Congressman who owe
their positions to those two groups is
larger than the number dependent on
all other elements of the electorate COM
bined. Contrary to assumptions about
the importance Of leadership, the true
key to the thought and action of Con-
gress Is mainly and usually to be found
In the circumstances in which the ag-
gregate of individual members acquire
and keep hold of their seats.
United in Trade Union"
In any congressional district, the
local machine in both parties is made
up Of Office holders. In spite of the
direct primary, the almost universal
rule Is that congressional nominations
are determined by the local party Or
ganizations. In these organizations,
Federal job holders, postmasters and
the like, are comparatively few. If
Federal Office holders alone were con-
cerned, Congressman might feel,
with some miSgivings, free to vote the
reduction of IL per cent in Government
But in any local political organization,
Federal job holders are united with
county, city and State job holders in
q kind of trade union Of each for all
and all for each.
An example Of wage-cutting by the
Federal Government would give impetus
to wage-cutting in cities, counties and
States The job holders in local units
of Government have so FAR resisted
cuts with general success. 1t is an
ironic fact that those who live upon
taxes have come through this depres-
sion with less lowering of income than
any group dependent upon private
industry, whether wage earners or
drawers Of dividends. The payers OF
taxes have been savagely hard hit IN
their incomes, the eaters of taxes COM
paratively very little.
From this it is easy to see that Mr..
Hoover's recommendation of cut In
wages of Government employees Is un-
palatable to Congress. As to his recon-
mendation of reduction in payments
to veterans, the sufficient explanation
of the reluctance Of Congress lies in the
fact that In any average congressional
district, veterans and their relatives
compose anywhere from 10 to 20 per
cent of the electorate, and are group
exceptionally active and alertly intent
upon self-interest.
Some Think in Terms Of Both.
In spite of all this, the prevailing dis
position of leaders of both parties in
Congress is to take the path Of economy.
The Republican leaders have no dis
position to go counter to their own
President. The Democratic leaders know
that their President-elect has promised
to cut Government expenses by Is per
cent or about billion dollars. They
know further that any such extreme
reduction as that campaign promise will |
call for even greater cuts in Govern
ment wages and payments to veterans
than President Hoover has recommend
ed To the Democrats it is case OF
either reducing in the present Congress,
or being obliged to reduce even more In
their own Congress after March 4. i,
In Congress and even more among
business men there is type of leader
ship which thinks In terms Of taking |
both paths out Of depression. They |
believe in reduction of Government |
wages and of payments to veterans in
order to reduce taxes, and at the same |
time favor large Government bond is
sues for public works to, as they put
it, start the wheels Of industry" Pol |
itically, however, the double path is |
almost impossible. Congress acts large
1y upon prevailing atmospheres and the
atmospheres of economy and OF lavish |
ness displace each other as surely as
two chemicals If Congress sets up |
spectacle of great Government appro- |
priations for spending, it becomes prac- |
tically impossible for Congressman
to answer the reproaches Of Govern |
ment employees and veterans who see |
their incomes cut in the midst of an |
atmosphere of Government lavishness. |
The net of all is that the spirit of |
economy and the imperativeness of |
balancing the budget has made such
headway as to render probable cut |
in Government wages and, perhaps, |
even the political miracle OF reducing
payments to veterans.