Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1933-03-23
THE NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT
BY CONG. JOHN PAUL KvALE

| March IS, 1933-Spurred by victor
ious emergence from the first con-
TESTS. administration leaders have
now decided to hold Congress in ses-
sion, as suggested in last weeks let
ter, with view to enacting more OF
the broad grants of legislative power
and to fnstituting the Presidents
plans for the nations economic re-
covery.
| The original banking legislation
has been augmented by another meas
ure which is to give far more SYM
pathetic treatment to State banks and
those not members Of the Federal Re-
serve system; the economy bill will
give the Presi dent practically unlim-
tied rOwer i'm upsetting all the laws
that have so carefully been added to
the statute books, one at the time,
since the World war and even before;
the beer bill has been crowded
through on the plea that is it a
revenue-raising bill; farm bill is
about to be galloped through both
houses and signed SO that it may
apply to the crops soon to be planted;
and a public works-unemploymen
relief bill is in the immediate offing.
All this has been done, or is being
done, in the first few days of the spe
cial session, during what some de-
scribe as the honeymoon stage" of
the administration. The psychology
of the situation has been irresistible;
but there are signs that the stage is
coming to an end, and that members
of both bodies are growing FESTIVE and
impatient under the constant appeal
to stand by the Chief Executive, en-
tirely regardless of the issues in
volved or of the responsibilities of
Legislators. There is increasing ex-
preston of resentment and increas-
ing demand for orderly and for reg
ing the various important bills which
have been rushed before Congress in
rapid sequence.
Veterans groups were caught en-
tirely by surprise in the action which
at one stroke swept the boards clean
and left them completely at the
mercy of the President or of those to
whom he may delegate powers to null
lily all existing law. The protests
came too late; administration strategy
was cleverly worked out and faultless-
ly put over. Even the liberal Senate
rules, permitting debate and offering
of amendments, proved no safeguard
| ,rith hn hot cd cd
in some essentials, won it's way
through that body without great de-
lay and was on it's speedy way to
becoming law before any organized
protest could be made by the inter-
ested groups.
The result was that such protests
in which Minnesota's service men
took prominent part-had to be in
the form of pleas delivered personally
to the President and to the Director
Of the Budget for sympathetic and in
telligent administration of the powers
which Congress handed over. Some
concessions were made and the hope
sane and historical urge for reduction
in these benefits will not result in
cruel injustices to the deserving men
now carried on the compensation and
pension rolls, or to the defenseless
dependents of such veterans.
1t represents a strange mixture of
two conflicting economic theories
the first that we must embark on an
inflationary policy as to commodity
prices and volume of currency and re-
duction of the value of the dollar in
it's relation to debts, the second that
we must deflate both as to federal
expenditures of all kinds as well as
to forcing down wage levels and
speeding unfortunate individuals and
businesses into bankruptcy and re-
ownership where there is inability to
, meet obligations under existing con-
ditions and levels. 1t remains to be
seen which school of thought will tri-
. umph. Both obviously can not.
An important factor in the former
: groups plan will be the farm pro-
, gram, which has three-barreled APP
proach to the problem. The admins
tration will seek to help stricken ag-
: riculture by alternating the mortgage
load through refinancing at sub
stantially lower interest rate; it will
, attempt by modified allotment and
) leasing plan to restore not only the
actual commodity prices but also the
values of the farm lands themselves
and it will in addition try to bring
, about an intelligent study, through
, cooperation with other nations, OF
the international aspects of the en-
tire question, particularly as to the
restrictions of the high competitive
, tariffs and the other factors which
E are throttling world trade and par
alyzing commerce and thus choking
off the markets for our surplus pro-
ducts.
, The fight over the bill will be more
bitter, it appears, than has been