The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1934-04-13

Now Ready ball with President
to Be Good Roosevelt. 1t ap-
peared when con-
gress decided to slap the President in
the face by overriding his veto of the
veterans compensation and govern
ment employees salary question, that
al last there was definite and far
reaching breach. Many persons here
thought the President had a recalcit-
rant bunch on BITS hands and that
there would be plenty of trouble dur
ing the rest of the session. Such Is
not the case, however, and, although
there will be differences arising, the
remainder of the session will show
few cases in which the wishes Of the
President will be absolutely disre-
garded.
The reason for this sudden change
is simple. An election campaign con-
fronts all Of the members of the house
and 80 members Of the senate. AS the
thing has been explained to me by
numerous representatives and sena-
tors, they were in a political situation
where they felt they would rather slap
the President than the veterans. The
President can scold or spank them, it
is explained, but the veterans have
votes that are a good deal rOugher
than a spanking by the Chief Executive,
from the standpoint of politics. Now
that the potential candidates can go
before the veterans Of their respective
nf wit nr
thing to a vote to restore the compen-
satiOn, the campaigning members feel
they are sitting in a good seat. They
are ready to be good
am told that Democratic leaders
in the house and senate, having got
what they thought they had to have
to insure their reelection, will now
vote according to direction once more.
Then, when they start speech-making
in their home bailiwick, they will talk
loudly and long about supporting the
President In one speech and in the
next, If it be in a strongly organized
veterans area, they will shout about
their friendship for the former SOL
diers, sailors and marines From
which it ought to be apparent that the
whole thing was just a part of the
great game of politics.
Democratic boilers could not have
selves, and that fact
Just Playing gave the Republicans
Politics an opportunity TO
play politics as we'll.
The Republicans in the house and SEN
ate saw a chance to embarrass the
President. They nudged the Demo-
Gratis from every angle to override the
veto and Joined with the boilers on
the vote just because it would put the
Democratic leaders on hot spot and
would be offensive to the President.
That is the way the game Of politics is
played. If one looks back over the
records during the Coolidge and
Hoover administrations, plenty of in
stances are shown where the Demo-
Gratis, then in the minority, joined the
boiling Republicans and sO-called pro-
gressives in votes that were embarrass-
ing to the President.
AS n matter of fact, there still is
some doubt in the minds of many OBJ
servers here whether Mr.. Roosevelt
had sound reason for his veto. He
charged that the bill, as passed before
the veto, would add $229,O0O,000 to
the regular budget of the government.
That is true. But cannot help re-
calling that there are two budgets,
now. One Of them is the regular bud
get and the other, many time larger,
is for emergency expenditures. At
least some of those Democrats, who
broke with the President on the ques-
ton, are asking why the government
has to cut down on its regular budget
while it expands and throws money
away like water" from the emergency
budget. 1t does cause one to pause
and think about it.
In other words. the thought of those
men is: why is 1t such crime to
spend about one-fourth of a billion
dollars the way congressman want to
spend it when the administration is
spending some five or six billions the
way it wants to spend that ire
mendous sum.
Further, 1 cannot help recalling
that, when the economy act was passed
during the extra session last spring,
/ reported to you that the curtail-
ment of expenditures for veterans and
for several other purposes under the
regular budget, was to be short-lived.
81 NhnA IA
given back in pieces. Two acts of con-
gress since have restored a total of
70 per cent of the amount taken away
from the veterans, and the last act
Of congress restored one-third of Is
per cent pay cut to the government
workers and will give them another
one-third beginning July 1.
There is trouble brewing for Presi-
dent Roosevelt in another political d.
rection. 1t is not a
More Trouble direct result of the
R-eu,;no overriding of his
veto. That fact does
appear to have accumulated the diff
culties, however, according to most of
my informants. The question that Is
before the administration and leaders
of the Democratic party is: what is
the attitude TO be toward the progress
sives and other insurgents. 1t is
known, of course, that there are men,
bers of the house and senate, elected
as Democrats, who have no more right
to call themselves Democrats than