The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-06-06

COlcl ANY ullJuoI. -
The President r;.
has no choice but PP'"i"
to resist with all the power at his
command any new legislation which
strikes at the fundamental principles
Of his great reform It is one Of the
foundation stones of his whole por-
gram
Without retrenchment on pen
sions, the effective balancing Of the
budget of normal expenditures will
require another tax program over
and above the taxes now levied and
the new taxes which congress will
have to levy before it adjourns.
The balancing of the budget Of
normal expenditures has been ac-
cepted by the country and by the
world as the proof that the govern
ment is in control of the financial
situation.
TT is this proof of control that
Il justifies and sustains the pro-
gram of recovery. It is the foun-
dalton of the farm bill. It is the
foundation of the proposed eXpen-
ditures on public works. 1t is the
foundation of the policy Of con-
trolled initiation.
Because these preaching eX-
periments are to be conducted I'M
der auspices Of an administration
which has demonstrated the cour-
age and the sincerity of its finan-
cial operations, the nation as
whole has approved them and been
confident that they were in trust
worthy hands
In so far as this new veterans
legislation threatens to deprive the
President of his control of so vital
an element of the financial stu
alton, it IS deflationary and destruc-
tive,
The issue presented is not a mat
ter Of dollars and cents. 1t well
may be that some part of the old
payments ought to be restored. The
issue is whether the President shall
restore them after careful eXamina-
ton and with the help of disinter-
ested advisors, or whether random
congressional ma iorities actuated by
political panics and the pressure of
Hobbies shall vote great sums of
money, regardless of the effect upon
the treasury and upon the whole
nation.
TIME essence of sound govern
L. ment finance is to have all the
items of expenditures under re-
SpOnsible control. When they are
under control, a government can
borrow and it can tax for any pur-
pose which it considers publicly de-
sirable But if the government does
not have its expenditures under
control, if it has to pay tribute to
foreign nations, or under the COM
pulsion of organized minorities, if
it has to make payments which are
unjuStified and against public pol
icy, then the government is not
sovereign and it will not command
the confidence of the nation.
No one would wish at this time
to see a great conflict between con-
gress and the President. But such
8 conflict would be preferable to
surrender by the President.
For if he surrendered, every one
would know that the bonds of his
authority had been broken, and that
the victory of one organized minor
ity would give the signal for an as
sault by all the others.
The position in which Mr. RooSe-
welt finds himself is not unlike that
in which Mr.. Hoover found him
self four years ago this month. Mr.
Hoover also enjoyed a high pres
tige. Mr.. Hoover also had called
a special session, and had pre-
sented it with program.
Then it developed that under the
pressure of tariff interests congress
was preparing to ignore the PreSi-
dent and rewrite the whole tariff
law.
MIR. HOOVER was offered
1VI chance to fight that move. He
did not fight it.
That proved to the representa-
tiveS Of special interests in congress
that they safely could ignore him,
and from that time forward the
Hoover administration, though it
had an immense Republican ma
jority, was rendered helpless.
The lesson is clear not only for
Mr.. Roosevelt, but for the Demo-
cratic leaders. If they fail to stand
firm now, they may never again be
able to stand firm on anything.
The prestige of the administration
and of the Democratic party is at
stake. Their authority is at stake.
Their future is at stake. They can
not yield.
Copyright 1887