Evening star., 1932-10-15

that on the very heart Of the whole
program-the balanced budget-the
Democratic Congress did all that it
was possible to do and that the Re-
publican administration frustrated their
action by supplying inaccurate and mis-
leading estimates.
The purely financial measures were
coalition enactments, passed through
the Congress with perfect accord and
practical unanimity. For those things
neither the President nor Congress is
entitled to exclusive credit. As dificult
even to attribute the origin of these
to one or the other elements OF the
Government. There were suggestions
and counter-suggestions in the framing
OF them and accord on the final drafts.
It was othf frwise with the humani-
tartan part ii the program. For the
humanitarian part this administration
has no credit. The provision for hun
ger loans and self-liquidating construc-
ton were exclusively of Democratic
origin and were literally forced through
over the administrations stubborn re-
sistance recorded at every step and con-
tinued until just before the end of the
session when Democratic persistence
and rising tide of public indignation
compelled the administration to yield.
say that If you balance the routine
budget of ordinary expenditure and
revenue fairly, honestly and openly and
principally by the plan proposed in the
Democratic platform of Is per cent
reduction in expense. then you will
establish the credit of the United States
in the eyes of the whole world and that
you can then borrow fairly. openly and
in the recognized and orthodox fash
ion all that We may need to finance
our emergency needs in this depres-
sion.
But to accomplish this we must have
an administration that will look the
situation square in the face; that will
undertake and agree to an actual and
not mere theoretical balancing of the
budget; that will do the necessary bor-
rowing without evasion; that will cease
to conceal deficits, and will not use
the provisions of the Glass-Steagall
bill to muddy the financial waters.
With balanced budget, no such sub
terfuge would be necessary In my
opinion, 1t is the administration
murky, involved and obscure financial
policy that is responsible for much of
the continued uncertain conditions.
"Pollyanna Statement"
The important thing is not whether
Herbert Hoover or John Garner Is the
greater authority on finance and leg
iSlation. 1t Is merely a question of
whether directness and adequacy and
frankness is more likely to put and keep
us on the road to economic recovery
than Pollyanna statements and hiding
the truth, and substituting pretense for
actuality, because it may be more pal
atable to the electorate
Our country has been in a bad way.
Like every other American who has
faith in our institutions, I believe that
we are on the way to recovery and that
If We face the facts that recovery will
come much sooner than If we play
double game of subtlety and deception
on our own people. Because Of my po-
sition in the Government I know there
was never warrant for saying that we
were on the edge of financial collapse,
world crash and Government failure.
The whole thing is absurd. I cannot
conceive that either Mr.. Mellon or Mr..
Mills should have made such state
ment nor can conceive that President
Hoover would have uttered such an OBJ
vious error unless somebody had told
him that such was the fact.
I must assume that the Presidents
-CNoiASStiOi. - ldully 4Ol IL SCCulo pei
fectly plain that if such an emergency
had arisen that he must have commu-
nicated it to the legislative branch of
the Government, which alone could
have effected corrective legislation Ger
tainly the Speaker of the House of Rep
would have known had
there been such communication from
the President.
There is nothing the matter with the
finances and credit of the United States
except gross mismanagement. We have
at this moment every element to pro-
mote prosperity except one That one
thing IS confidence in our credit struc-
ture. To my mind the most needful
thing is to put our financial house in
order. I want to see our budget bal
anced by careful economy and scientific
revenue. I say the moment that is
done money will flow here from all the
world and from all domestic boards,
seeking safety and employment and
then that we shall move back into Gods
sunlight much faster than any of us
dream.