The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-14
CONGRESS GETS
DOWN TO WORK
AFTER PARADE
Tough Guy Ready to Say
What's What in Series
of Conferences.
BY RUTH FINNEY
Times Special Writer

WASHINGTON, April 14.-Con-
gressmen are parading again to-
day and tomorrow but these are
no jaunty affairs. No scarlet-coated
marine band accompanies them.
These marches lead down Penn
sylvania avenue to the White House,
where Subdued Democrat senators
and representatives have been sum-
moned to hear what's what from the
tough guy
Il will see you all very soon," said
the President to the conciliatory
throng of congressman that met him
at Union station yesterday. To some
the words had an ominous ring. Be
fore night invitations had gone out
for series of weekend conferences
at which the President has served
notice that he intends to talk about
everything.
The congressman have an uneasy
feeling that their gaudy greeting
somehow failed to make the PreSi-
dent forgive and forget all the things
they have been up to in his alb
sence.
Roosevelt in Fighting Mood
The President talked in allegories
and quips when he got back to
town, but it didn't take many of
these to tell the skilled ear Of a
politician that he was in fighting
mood Neither did it take any great
amount of acumen to gather,
through the allegories, that the gov
eminent is not going to pour ten
billion or so into financing losses
from closed banks, losses from bad
debts, farm mortgages, or anything
else of the kind.
Before the Saturday and Sunday
conferences end congress probably
will have a pretty good idea of just
how much legislation it must act
on before it goes home to campaign
and the Democrats will have a
pretty good idea of how they must
behave if they are to campaign on
the charmed platform of standing
with Mr. Roosevelt.
Those who talked with the Presi-
dent yesterday got the distinct i'm
preston that he doesn't care how
long it takes to get what he wants.
He's fortified, by his rest, for a long
siege if necessary.
Tax Bill in Chaotic State
1t will be at least two weeks be-
fore congress gives final verdict on
taxes.
The bills passed by the house and
senate are so different that con-
ferees, whose task it is to reconcile
those differences, have a hard job
ahead of them. Tax experts as
signed to help say the bill is the
most complicated in their exper-
fence. Complicated language in
serted in an effort to prevent future
tax avoidance makes this true.
Senate and house conferees prob
ably will clash most bitterly over
the question of forbidding corpora
tons to file consolidated tax re-
turns and over the 10 per cent
tax extra proposed for all 1884 in
comes.
Neither of these proposals was
in the tax bill as it came from the
house. The first was inserted on
motion of Senator William E. Borah,
the second on motion of Senator
James Couzens. Both these men
are Republicans. Both proposals
were fought by Democratic floor
leaders who will head the senate
conference committee.
BOrah Proposal Has Chance
The Borah amendment, at least,
has chance of final adoption in
spite of these facts, since the SEN
ate voted for it twice, the second
time approving it by an over
whelming majority. Large corpora
tons will do all in their power to
defeat it, however. Senator Borah
and others Of it's advocates argue
that the privilege of filing con-
solidated returns gives big COR
Germs, knit together through hold
ing companies, an advantage over
independents.