Evening star., 1933-06-26
The Political Mill
By C.. Could Lincoln.

Representative Bertrand H. Smell of
New York, Republican leader of the
House, last night turned loose a blast
attacking the Roosevelt administration
and the Democratic Congress. 1t will
be regarded as the opening gun of the
G. o. P. in its effort to win the con-
gressional elections next year. The
issues outlined by Mr.. Smell in this at
tack upon the Democrats are likely to
be the issues which will be brought
into the campaign by the Republicans,
although what may look like an issue
today may be thrown into the discard
a year hence. Those issues made by
Mr.. Smell go principally to the huge
appropriations made by the Democrats
during the special session, to an in
crease in Federal taxation also pro-
vided during the session just closed, and
to the establishment of bureaucratic
control of agriculture and industry.
Whether they will be effective issues
will depend upon the success or failure
of the industrial recovery act and the
farm relief act. If business and agri-
culture ere benefited; If millions of the
unemployCl are put back to work dur
Republicans along these lines will be
futile. On the other hand, if recovery
lagS, If the management of business
and agriculture through Federal agen-
cies, as provided for in the laws re-
Gently passed, proves irksome and bur
densome, then the Democrats are in
for bad time when the 1884 election
rolls around.
k
The Republican leader Of the House
did not mince words in his indictment
OF the Democratic administration and
Congress. He asserted that the Demo-
Gratis had run wild on spending
spree" which would leave the country
facing greater public debt than at
any time in its history, except for one
year during the World War He
charged that the Roosevelt administra-
ton was undertaking to fool the people
by keeping double set of books -
Appropriations, he said, had reached
the stupendous total of $4,4o0, 600, 600
during the special session of Congress
called by President Roosevelt, although
the appropriations for the entire Gov
ernment, except the independent Offices
and the District of Columbia, had been
made In the previous Congress. In
stead of reducing taxes, he said, the
Democrats had added 1920, 600, 600
more Federal taxes.
x* ~
Mr.. SHELLS reference to double set
OF books" was aimed at the habit the
Democratic administration has of de-
scribing the ordinary annual expendi-
lures for the various departments of
the Government. including the inde-
pendent offices, as the ordinary
budget" and the other expenditures, for
the operation of the recovery act, the
farm relief act, and all the other new
legislation, as the extraordinary
budget" This latter budget covers the
emergency" or capital expenditures. y
Mr.. Smell insisted that it was idle to
talk of balancing the Government
budget" when the extraordinary bud
get" had been run up to billions of
dollars; that all the money to pay for
all the expenditures had to come out of
the pockets of the citizens of the coun-
try, no matter which budget they came
under He denied fatty there had been
balancing of the budget, despite the
claims Of the Democrats. 1t was just a
case of tricky bookkeeping" Mr.. Smell
insisted. Instead of reducing expendi-
lures by Is per cent as the Democrats
pledged they would during the last
campaign, he said, they had doubled
expenditures in the brief three months
the special session had been sitting.
X X X
OF course, the Democrats take a very
different view of the situation Only
day or two ago Representative ByrnS
of Tennessee, Democratic floor leader
of the House. issued statement, which
like that of Mr.. Smell, will be published
In the Congressional Record, extolline
to the skies the Roosevelt admins
tration and the acts Of the Democratic
Congress-. He declared that the budget
| had been balanced, that the county,
had been marshaled at last for an ~
| tack upon the depression, and that the
Democrats we're leading the way tc
better times
The economic situation in this coun.
| try next year will be the key to the
political situation. II it improves, thu
| Republicans likely will be bowling
against the Democrats in vain, although
under any conditions it may be ex-
| pected that number Of the seats helc
| by the Democrats in the House nov
will be won again by Republicans. Il
conditions of the farmer, the laborel
and the business man are no better
| than they are today, or if they should
| be worse, nothing on earth can save
the Democrats.
X X X
The Senate Banking Committees in.
quiry into private banks and banker!
will be resumed tomorrow, with Kuhn
Loeb & Co. under the microscope
| this time. 1t may have its politica
| repercussions, just as did the investi-
CATION of the House of Morgan. The
| records doubtless will be scanned fol
participants in lists of favored clients
| of this great bank as they were t.
bring out lists Of clients of J. P. Nor.
gan & Co. The inquiry in the Morgan
| lists had its effects outside of Wash.
| ington, for example in Massachusetts,
! This Is because Lieut.. Gov. Casper
| Bacon, Gin line" as the prospective
Republican candidate for Governor
next year, appeared on one of the
Morgan lists of preferred clients. The
disclosure brought an announcement
from former Gov. Alvin T. Fuller, foi
long the stormy petrol in the Repub-
lican politics of the State, that he
should contest the nomination with
Mr.. Bacon. EX-Gov. Fuller frankly
says in substance that he has never
been wholly satisfied with Lieut.. Gov
looked upon him as an ultra -conserva-
tive. The fact that the Bacon family
father. sons and in-laws-Lieut. Gov
Bacon's sister having married George
Whitney, partner in the Morgan
firm-have long been connected with
the Morgan concern is cited by Lieut.
Gov. Bacon in explanation of the trans
action in which his name figured In
the testimony before the Senate COM
mittee.
Ex-Gov. Fuller has in the past shown
great strength with the Republican
voters in Massachusetts,. He defeated
the Republican organization decisively
when he first entered the political arena
as candidate for the Republican nomi-
nation for Congress in district which
was composed in part of the Boston
metropolitan area. He served two terms
in Congress- 1Q17-1Q1Q when he resio7, ad