Evening star., 1934-12-16
|OLD AGE PENSION
ACTION FORECAST
Senators Harrison and Nc.
Nary Favor Early
Legislation.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.
The movement for a Federal old age
pension law is increasing in momen-
tum. The Congress, which meets in
January, is likely to deal with this
subject, as well as with unemployment
insurance, in the opinion of both Dem
ocratic and Republican leaders in that
body.
Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi,
| chairman of the Senate Finance Com
| mittee, recognized as one of the ad-
ministration leaders, said yesterday
that he strongly favored the passage
| of an old age pension law and that he
looked for such legislation to come up
! for consideration. He made it clear,
however, that he was not speaking for
the President in this matter.
Il favor a reasonable old age pen
sion law" said Senator Harrison, "a
pension plan in which the Federal
Government and the States will CO.
| operate. / feel sorry for these old men
and women, IS years of age or more,
who cannot find work and who have
no means of support. The Govern
ment will not give them employment.
Private industry and business have no
places for them, as a rule. I believe
that something should be done for
them"
Favored by McNary.
Senator Charles L. McNary Of Ore
gon, Republican leader of the Senate,
also strongly Endorsed the general idea
| of a Federal old age pension law.
IT am not writing an old age pension
bill, but I have believed for a long
time that something should be done
along that line" said the Oregon Sen
ator. Il have no fixed ideas at pres
ent on what the details of such a bill
| should be. But know that the idea
| of old age pensions has met with much
favor, particularly in these days of
depression"
Representative Smell of New York,
Republican leader of the House, has
expressed the opinion that old age
| pensions were matter which the
States could well attend to. He did
not, however, place himself in line
/ as opposed to an old age pension bill.
His own State, New York, has an old
! age pension law and so have 81 other
/ States, among them MaSsach chusetts.
But the feeling among advocates Of a
| Federal pension law is that these
State laws in number of cases are
not operating as well as they should,
in part because Of the difficult finan-
cial position in which the States have
found themselves.
| The proposal made by DR.. F. E.
Townsend of California for a s2oO-a-
month pension for all persons so
years Of age or more has done a great
| deal to center the spotlight on old
age pensions this year. The Town
send plan ran like wildfire over Cali
fornia and other States of the West
Coast. and DR.. Townsend has come to
Washington and opened campaign
headquarters here to help put the idea
across for a Federal law.
-Committal on Plan.
Senator Harrison said he preferred
not to comment at this time on the
Townsend old age pension plan, since
the bill, If it is introduced, may come
before his committee for consider
alton. However, it is not believed
that the Townsend s200-a-month
plan comes within the limits of Sena-
| q
sonable" old age pension law is.
For example, Senator Harrison Is
inclined to believe that the age at
which tbe pension should begin
should not be lower than IS. Nor
would he make it a horizontal, uni
versal pension law. but the persons
who received pensions would have to
show that they were in need.
Il would not pay pension to men
and women who are not in need"
he said, even though they were of
pension age"
The Townsend plan contemplates a
pension OF all persons go years Of age
and over provided he or she promises
not to work and to spend the full 5000
pension each month. DR.. Townsend
insists that his plan is primarily a
recovery" plan; that it would make
more jobs for the younger men and
women and would put vast amount
of money in circulation each month.
Senator McNary's comment on the
Townsend proposal was that 1t has
swept the West. That it would re-
quire q tremendous expenditure Of
money is obvious, probably over $40
600, 0oo, 900 year and perhaps as high
as $4,000 000, 900. Townsend proposes
a 2 per cent tax on all sales Of all
kinds
A reasonable" pension plan would
be, in a measure, q compromise with
the Townsend idea. When a COM
promise is undertaken. it is always
difficult to say how far q measure
will go, or even whether in the end
the proponents of the original idea
may not prevail.
Cost Serious Problem.
Senator Harrison frankly admitted
that the cost Of an old-age pension
plan would have to be given serious
consideration, and that if it and the
payment Of the soldiers bonus-even
in compromise measure calculated
to make the bonus payment only to
those who could show themselves in
need-there might be grave necessity
for raising much more revenue through
taxation. Indeed. If these measures
are adopted by the coming Congress.
additional taxes undoubtedly will be
proposed.
That there will be q tremendous
drive when Congress meets, not only
Tor the cash payment OF the bonus,
but for old-age pensions, as well as
unemployment insurance, is we'll rec
ognized. The "spenders" in Congress,
who believe that the way out Of the
depression Is to spend billions and
then more billions, will back the pro-
posals. On the other hand, those
members who believe 1t Is time for the
Government to begin to draw its horns
in and look to a balanced budget and
economy in expenditure will fight
these proposals hard. There will be
those against old-age pension legisla-
ton who hold that such things should
be left to the States. But States
rights and States duties are more and
more overlooked in the movement to
have the Federal Government take
care Of all the problems that beset
the people. One thing opponents Of
the proposed Federal old-are pension