Evening star., 1932-05-03
The Favored Class.

II the House through its drafting and
consideration of the Inflated omnibus
economy bill has shown lamentable in
ability TO function efficiently in the i'm
portant business Of saving money, it
showed in even more striking fashion
ing widows and orphans Of World War
veterans-why the costs Of National
Government have reached their present
staggering figures and why these costs
will continue to mount until some dras-
tic uphesval among the ballot welding
citizens enforces q realization among
our legislators that this is government
set up primarily for all the people, not
for special groups and favored classes
It is the money handout type of leg
islation for special groups that has con-
tributed most heavily to the tremendous
cost of running the Federal Govern
ment 1t is the futility of efforts to
curb this mounting cost by cutting off
subsidies to one favored group or an
Ol1lCA biAal uIIOuI4LS 4OA tAiC CAOAlOAAly
fiasco nov being witnessed by a debt
ridden and tax-burdened people. And
for these reasons this jealous and blind
cuddling Of special groups by politically
minded legislators has become the real
menace, beside which the probable
failure, now threatened. Of striking a
balanced budget for the next fiscal year
Is of relative inconseQuenee.
The people CT the country are paying
for a great war. But the cost of the
war, the real cost, is not represented
In the war debt Since 1922 the service
of the war debt has decreased 1894
100000 a year. according to figures
recently shown by Charles Merz in the
New York Times But in the same in
terval total expenditures have increased
S676 900, 900. What accounts mainly for
the increase? Veterans relief in 1922
cost $500, ,O0O, 900 and in 1882 it cost
S9S9 ,0000 000 an increase of 1929 900 600,
thus accounting for nearly half the
total increase In 1922 farm relief cost
S144.oo0, 900 and in 1882 SASS 900 900.
thus accounting for an increase Of
$344, 600. 000 In the ten years since
1922 veterans aid and farm aid have
together accounted for an increase Of
1878, ,000, 900 out of q total increase in
expenditures of $676 900, 600. In 1922
veterans aid and farm aid accounted
for 17.6 per cent and 3.S per cent, re-
these had risen to 223 per cent and
IL per cent, respectively, of the budget.
Today the cost of veterans aid, in one
form or another, amounts to nearly
one-quarter Of the Federal budget, and,
with farm relief added, accounts for
approximately one-third of the ma
tional expenditures.
With these costs in mind, and with
the House pauSing a day from its ar
duous and ieverish laboFs Of looping a
few millions off the Federal budget,
the full significance Of It's action yes
terday in passing a $l00 600, 900 pen
sion bill is realized. And the vote, 316
for as against 16 against, is indicative
of the extent and force Of a stampede
toward the veterans that began ten
years ago and has not even in these
hard times shown any tendency Of
letting up. This pension bill has been
passed on top of a s132 OOO,ooO road
aid bill in the form Of loan" to the
States and. unfortunately, can be con-
sidered now as merely paving the way
for the bonus grab about to follow.
1t is to be presumed that the tax
payers of the Nation are enjoying the
tronic humor CT this sessions efforts
in behalf Of economy, which thus far
seem to be aimed principally at cut
ting the salaries of wage earners who
are neither farmers nor veterans and
in other ways crippling the govern
mental machine to save the subsidies.