Imperial Valley press., 1933-12-21
'ADHERENTS Of
S|LVE R PLAN
HARD BAT Tie
May Offer Support Of Feder-
al Sales Tax In Exchange For
Reconciliation.
LEADERS SPEAK RIGHT OUT
Senator Thomas Ready To Sub
nit Proposition AS Soon As
Congress Meets.
BY LYLE c. WILSON
nited Press Staff Correspondent

OHttu fTtSS oldIl Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Dec. 81. = Out
come of the currency initiation dis
pute impending in congress appear
ed today to depend upon the re-
action to surprise programs pro-
posed last night by Speaker Rainey
and Senator Thomas (Dem) Okla
homa, who spoke in New York.
Rainey asked for reconciliation
of silver. Thomas tempted conser-
vatives of both parties with a prom
Use to support general sales tax
in exchange for votes to expand the
currency.
The capital was SLOW to accept
Speaker Rainey's ideas as categor-
ically representative of administra-
tive sentiment. But the belief
spread on Capitol Hill. that the least
President Roosevelt could do this
winter to ward off an initiation re-
bellion in congress would be to give
some recognition to silver as money.
Administration acceptance of the
Rainey plan would divide the silver
bloc in congress. 1t would satisfy
all but the comparatively few who
insist that silver must be remon-
etized on fixed ratio with gold
preferably 16 to /.
The satisfied members Of the sill
yer bloc would withdraw from the
rebel group which is threatening to
compel Mr.. Roosevelt to expand the
currency. Without the votes repre-
sented by that group the currency
nv ct t,a
cept as hecklers.
1t is, in fact, doubtful whether
the currency expansion pttalanx
could muster two-thirds veto ma
jority in either house even if it's
ranks were unbroken. But on that
issue Mr. Roosevelt is likely to ap-
proach nearest to defeat in con-
greSS.
Rainey's hope that gold will be
bid up to saba an ounce, twice the
gold standard dollar value of the
metal, thus depreciating the dollar
so per cent generally is supported
in congress.
Rainey contends the United States
cannot undertake to maintain a ra-
ito between gold and silver.
Instead of ratio. Rainey pro-
posed double standard of metal
backed currency. Treasury silver
certificates would call for redemp-
ton in silver bullion. Gold certifi-
Gates would be redeemable in gold.
Thomas proposal is attracting
even wider attention here. The
groups opposing currency expansion
and those which battled for a gen.
eral sales tax program are almost
identical
In the sales tax lies a tremend-
Gus volume of revenue. But oppon-
ents fear the burden of taxation
would be shifted further to the
man of small means. They insist
that enactment of sales tax would
lead gradually to abandonment of
the income tax system of federal
revenue.
Apart from those objections,
sales tax is attractive as an immed-
late source of large revenue. 1t is
possible Thomas may have suggest
ed feasible trade-limited curren-
cy expansion for limited sales tax.
1t is possible despite the fact that
President Roosevelt year ago was
mortified at the suggestion of
Democratic leaders that sales tax
be imposed.
House Republican Leader Smell is
convinced this session is the last
chance for sales tax. He explain
ed the states are adopting the sys-
tenn SO rapidly that the federal
government must act at once if it
is to obtain such revenue before the
field is pre-empted by the states.