Evening star., 1932-12-11
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

stricted to the walls Of Congress. and
II one were to reason from precedent
only, one would hesitate to say there
would be anything that could be called
a battle The number of Represent
atives and Senators who think their
political advantage lies with voting
more money to veterans Is so mucn
greater than the number willing to vote
against increases that the clashes be-
tween the two groups decidedly DO not
have, as a rule, the evenness OF pat
ties" between approximately equal
forces.
The number Of Congressman willing
to vote against increases to veterans
has been at all times relatively small.
But the number willing to vote against
the veterans in the coming clash must
be smaller yet For the coming strug-
gle is to be made not on a proposal TO
increase payments to veterans. The
proposal now brought forward is &C
tually to reduce benefits already voted
to veterans by Congress in the past.
That Is almost an unheard-of thing.
If a majority Of Congress votes to re-
duce rates of payment to veterans, IL
will be something unique in history.
If that comes about at all, 1t will be
only because of enormous pressure
from the country. Congress will never
do 1t willingly.
Passage Ordinarily Unlikely.
Ordinarily any one familiar with
CONGRESS. any one familiar with poll
tics and one familiar with pension leg
islation since the Civil War, would say
that a bill to reduce rates OF payment
to veterans simply cannot pass. Inere
are two offhand sayings current IN
Congress. With politicians they nave
the validity of axioms, fundamental
rifles of the game. without verifica-
ton / should say both are probably
correct enough. I can think OF partial
exceptions, but the exceptions are SO
rare and so special in their circum-
stance as to be negligible.
One adage Is that no proposal to IN
crease payments Of Government money
to veterans has ever failed TO COM
mand a majority in Congress. The
other-and this is probably true liter
ally and without exception-is that no
rate of payment once voted to veterans
has ever been reduced or repealed.
Yet this Is exactly what Is now pro-
posed. President Hoover has recon-
mended 1t In his message. Some fairly
powerful organizations have dedicated
themselves to bringing 1t about. That
there will be q fight over 1t Is certain.
The fight will generate high excite
ment.
I have said that II ones Judgment
were based on conditions within the
four walls of the Capitol, one would
saw that the fight to reduce payments
to veterans could not possibly win.
But the arena Is broader than that,
and there are special conditions which
may give the advocates Of economy
chance of success. The Tight Is 70
be before the court OF public opinion.
on the one hand, and taxpayers on the
other. In the past, the veterans have
had organization. the taxpayers not.
Recently, however, formidable or
ganization, the National Economy
| League, headed by such men as ex-
President Calvin Coolidge, ex-Gov-
ernor of New York Alfred z. Smith,
and Rear Admiral Byrd, has arisen to
speak for the taxpayers. And there Is
so much resentment throughout the
country against high taxes In every
field, national, State and local, SO much
determination to reduce cost Of Gov
payments to veterans may really have
chance.
Legion Fighting Back.
The veterans organization which Is
fighting back against the National
Economy League is the American Le-
gion. The legion has adopted the
military strategy of dividing the enemy.
They have tried to drive wedge into
the taxpayers. They have tried to sep
arate the payers of taxes to the Fed
eral Government from the payers OF
taxes to State, county and local gov
ernments. They assert that the payers
of taxes to the Federal Government are
mainly the rich. those who pay taxes
on incomes. Therefore, the head OF the
American Legion asserts that payments
to veterans are merely taking from
the rich. The assertion is decidedly
short of truth, as Is readily realized by
those who pay taxes on quite small in
comes, and those who pay miscellane-
GUS direct taxes to Washington. More
over, in the education about taxes. that
has recently been forced upon every
body everywhere, it is generally realized
that no matter who happens to sign
the check which pays taxes, the total
burden of all taxes Is spread over all
of us. Finally, the payers Of local taxes
on farms and homes are likely to be in
mood to realize that the present is
time for all taxpayers to stand to-
gether. If it is ever possible to achieve
reduction of Government expenditures,
now should be the time.
AT this point, an explanation should
be made. The word veterans" is used
in a general sense, as If it included
all veterans. 1t is fact that some
veterans regret the extent to which
Congress has gone and are on the side
of curtailment. The American Legion,
which frankly accepts responsibility
indeed claims honor, as the official
advocate of payment to veterans, con-
Grams. This statement, however, may
mislead. Much more than one out of
four veterans favors these payments.
Probably the number of veterans who
are on the side of the taxpayers in this
fight is comparatively small. But there
are some.
Yet another distinction should be
made. Practically all writing and
speaking on this subject assumes that
pension legislation comes about
through demands" by the veterans.
The picture is one Of Congress and the
politicians being intimidated by the
veterans. That picture Is largely cor
rect. But another picture Is also cor
rect. To some extent, it is not a case
of the veterans intimidating the politi-
cians-it Is a case Of the politicians
bribing the veterans.
Politicians Not Inactive.
Some of the largest proposals for in
creasing payments to veterans have
been initiated by politicians, in Con-
gress or out. Every member of Con-
gress realizes that something like s to
10 per cent Of the voters in his district
are veterans. Many candidate for
Congress has made 1t q fundamental
part OF his campaign to, In the political
phrase, make himself solid" with the
veterans In his district. To do this he
In many cases takes the initiative In
suggesting for veterans, and promising
to them. largesse from the Government
which they. In many cases, had not
heretofore thought Of demanding