Evening star., 1934-01-16

President Roosevelt's budget message,
disclosing a program that will add ten
billion dollars to the national debt in
:wo years, staggered the public imagina-
tion but the consensus is that the cost
is warranted if prosperity returns. Com
parsons are made with the cost of
war. and many declare that relief of
distress is as important as the winning
of war.
"Twenty-six billions for the World
War-what are ten billions for the war
on hunger, squalor. cold and Starva-
tion?" asks the Portland Oregon Jour-
nal, while the Roanoke Times declares
that Congress dare not refuse him the
slnews to carry on his struggle to put
the Nation back on its feet" The
Scranton Times agrees with this posi-
tion and the Haverhill Gazette pre-
diets: The larger part of these vast
expenditures is for the purpose OF
strengthening our economic body and
restoring it to full vigor. The smaller
part is for regular governmental func-
tions, and it is important to note that
this part records the achievement Of
economy in the operation of the Gov
is approached, the extraordinary eX-
penditureS of the Government will
diminish. When and if they reach the
vanishing point We shall have gov
ernmental set-up more economical in
character than that of the pre-depreS-
sion Gays"
Sound measures" are recognized by
the Cleveland News, ''for the stimula-
ton of business, aided by unmlstakable
idications that the natural forces of re-
covery are at work in this country ana
abroad" Expectations Of recovery are
expressed also by the Oshkosh Daily
Northwestern, the Houston Chronicle
the Asbury Park Evening Press and the
Danbury News-Times. The Fort Wortn
Star Telegram makes the statement
that "the total of industrial turnover
in the United States in 1928 was nearly
90 billions of dollars, while last year it
had dropped to AZ billions" and that
paper continues: THE portion OF the
proposition requiring the answer of the
public is this-will it be worth increas-
ing the national debt 10 billions to
restore our 2-billion-dollar turnover
level to the nearly 90-billion peak
whence it dropped five years ago? II
we can get back measure OF our
former earning capacities in wages.
dividends. profits and investment
values, who among us shall be alarmed
at the big bad wolf Of billion-doliar
items in immediate loans or remote
future bond iSsues?"
President Roosevelt, with the unique
power of his personal prestige to give
them effectiveness" says the Wall street
journal, has set limits in time and
amount upon Government spending ior
recovery. To be sure, it remains for
Congress to do its part. but there is
,I14 hat nr1-
gress will recognize the logic with which
the budget message measures the strain
which may safely be put upon the ma
tional credit. Rightly or wrongly, So
called conservative thought has been
picturing to itself the present session of
Congress as a tournament of munifi-
cence. Since last Thursday it bears an
entirely new aspect, both to Congress
itself and to the folks back home. Prob
ably nothing so genuinely encouraging
to the hope of widespread and lasting
trade recovery has occurred for many
months. This new turn which the Presl-
dents messages have given the whole
current of our thinking overshadows
in importance any or all of the minor
incidents of the market place"
Importance of the Presidents plan of
"tapering off" the Government expen-
ditureS at the end of a definite period
is urged by the youngstown Vindicator
and the Lowell Evening Leader. The
Oklahoma City Oklahoman feels that
"the real challenge of the Presidents
prestige will come when better times
enable him to launch drive for drastic
retrenchment," and that under the plan
as adopted ut will be in the year OF
the next presidential election" The
fact that much of the money is to be
loaned to private firms is brought out
by the Baltimore Sun, while the Des
Moines Tribune comments: ITO those
who dread debt the outlook would be
hopeless indeed, but for the realization