Evening star., 1932-10-21
MILLS ANSWERS
PITTSBURGH TALK
Secretary Accuses Roosevelt
. of Casting Doubt Upon
National Credit.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
An effort Ito cast doubt as to the
credit of the National Government
for campaign purposes today was at
tributed to Gov. Roosevelt by Secretary
Mills.
In a formal statement last night. re-
plying to the Democratic candidates
Pittsburgh speech. the Treasury head
said. in part:
Gov. Roosevelt told an amazing
story in Pittsburgh.
If he does know the facts, the Amer
lean people must draw their own con-
clusions from the extraordinary mac
Curacies and distortions contained in his
statements and conclusions.
The Governor complains of the Re
publicanS seeking to arouse fear among
the people as the result of his election.
But how can he expect anything but
fear in the face of the financial record
of the Democratic House of Repre-
sentativeS? How can he expect that
that fear will do anything but grow
when he himself, in discussing the fiscal
policy of the Federal Government, deals
in terms of fiction rather than fact
and worst of all. when, for campaign
purposes, he seeks to cast doubt as to
the credit of the National Govern
ment?'
Uses FearOn Letter.
To his statement Mills appended
letter from George r. Fearon, temporary
President of the New York State Sen
ate. asserting Gov. Roosevelt should be
the last man in the United States to
talk about expenditures or balanced
budgets"
Asserting Roosevelt and his party 'are
on record in New York State as oppoS-
ing every effort of the Republican Legis-
lature to reduce Government eXpendi-
tures," Fearon's letter said, "notWith-
standing the imposition of additional
taxes recommended by the Governor as
late as March. 1882, the State Of New
York is facing an actual deficit of $780,.
100000 in the fiscal year ending June
80 next"
Mills denied Federal expenditures in
creased rapidly during the postwar
period, as charged by Roosevelt.
When the Republicans took control
of the Government in 1921" he said,
two and a half years after the war
was over, Federal expenditures aggre-
gated $500, 100000. During the course
of the next year they were reduced by
approximately sl,700,0O 100000. From 1922
to 1890 they showed remarkable Stabil-
ity. increasing by about per cent, or
tVo-thirds Of l per cent per year.
National Debt Reduced.
In the meanwhile. the national debt
was being reduced at the rate Of ap-
proXimately S900.000.000 a year, nat
urally resulting in decreased debt serv-
ice charges, for which the administra-
ton responsible for reduction of the
debt is entitled to full credit. 1t rep
resents a real saving"
OF Roosevelt's assertion that admin
tstrative costs of the Government had
increased billion dollars since 1927,
Mills said expenditures during this
period would show an increase of little
over S10.000,000 after deduction of
emergency items.
These items included, Mills said,
S300000000 for unemployment relief.
S25400O,000 to agriculture. Sl18000,0GO
for postal deficiency, S285 600, 900 for
legislation on behalf Of veterans and
$13,000,000 for demonstrating.
Asserting Roosevelt had said taxes
should have been raised in 1929 and
1880, Mills said:
There was no occasion to raise taxes
in the Fall of 1929 He says we closed
the fiscal year 1880 with deficit We
did not. We closed it with a surplus
of S184,O00,000.
Business Showed Gains
He says that taxes should have
been raised in December 1890 for vast
declines in every form of business ac-
tlvlty were now crystallized and GER
tain
Again he is wrong. Every business
Index indicates that from December
through April there was a sharp busi-
ness recovery. which was only term
mated by the beginning of the European
catastrophe. The volume of all in
dustrial production rose steadily, show
ing an increase of 16 per cent
The Treasury believed that this
business recovery was about to take
place, as it did. 1t did not desire to
throw in its way the obstacle of in
creased taxation. During the course
of the years of prosperity. We had re-
tired three and half billion dollars of
debt from surplus funds in excess of
legal requirements.
This constituted reserve which any
wise government would have drawn on
in period of depression, rather than
rush at once into additional taxation at
the very time when business needed
relief
Position Was Strong.
Mills said the financial and credit
panic in this country was brought on
by the suspension of gold payments by
Great Britain rather than by the i'm
pairment of the credit of the Federal
Government as he said Roosevelt con-
tended.
Our financial position was so strong
from May, 1881, right up to September
81 that both our Federal Reserve Banks
and our private banks were extending
credit tn EurnDpaD countries in order
to avert the European collapse" the
Secretary said.
OF efforts to balance the budget for
the current fiscal year, Mills said
Democratic leaders in both houses had
increased appropriations by approx
mately S322.000,000" after he had asked
for a reduction of "535000O,00O below
those already proposed in the Presi-
dents budget message"
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