Evening star., 1933-01-27
Congress Receives Blame
For Delay in Budget Action

Announcements that the budget will
not be balanced in the present session
OF Congress, coupled with a message
from President Hoover advising prompt
action on the matter and recommend
ing sales tax, have produced severe
criticism of the legislative department
OF the Government, together with some
revival of discussion of the standing of
the sales tax as a means of revenue
The Presidents message" says the
Hartford Times independent Demo-
cratic), presented plausibiy the argu-
ments In favor of the manufacturers
sales tax. and very likely the merit of
the controversy rests upon his side, but
no immediate action along the outlines
suggested should be expected. The
oudget-balancing proposition has now
become responsibility which the
Democrats in Congress have every
present intention of carrying over
into the next Congress in special
session. when the opportunity for
a party leadership and party policy
Tor both House and Senate will be quite
dlnerent from what it is today. The
Democratic disposition is to look to Mr..
Roosevelt and not to Mr.. Hoover for
guiding advice in this concern. Neither
on the Democratic side nor the Repub-
1can in the House just now is there
leadership capable of maintaining
consistent control over legislation. The
great advocate of a revenue bill adopt-
Ing the principle of general sales tax
Is the yawning emptiness of the Federal
Treasury The deficit speaks louder
than language"
That the President "is on the sound
esq ground When ne asserts that the
greatest problem before the world to-
0ay is the restoration and maintenance
of confidence" is the opinion of the
Roanoke World-News (DemocraticC
which charges that "the spectacle Con-
gress has made Of itself before the peo-
pie OF the land has not been one to
create confidence" That paper also com
mentS: The President urges that the
FEDERAL budget be balanced as the
1oundatlon of economic recovery He
might have gone further and asserted
that long-continued failure to balance
the budget is today the greatest barrier
IN the way OF economic recovery. Had
the Congress last Spring adopted the
manufacturers sales tax recommended
oy the Democratic Ways and Means
committee. and had it appropriated
money only within the limits of Gov
ernment receipts, this country would
Today be leading the world back to pros
perlty. The House runaway has alreadv
cost us nearly a year of uncertainty, and
That uncertainty is not yet ended. = : .
congress Is without the courage to boil
ster Its extravaganza by new taxes.
whether they be by reduction of the
exemptions on incomes or by imposition
OF such sales tax as the President pro-
poses. The only answer tinid, vacil-
lattng and almost leaderless Congress
has to the Nations dilemma Is to keep
on spending money needlessly, regard
less both Of the Nations cash position
and OF the Nations credit"
Il \
What with . Republican Senate, q
Republican President, and only six
weeks left In which to work." according
to the Baltimore Sun independent
Democratic), Congress has abandoned
the attempt to balance the budget at
this session, and has bequeathed the
task to Democratic President and a