Evening star., 1934-04-08

House and Senate, of President
Roosevelt's veto of an appropria-
i ton bill gave rise to reams of
comment including much fore
cast about the effect on the Presi-
dent't prestige, and on the future
course of events generally. Much of
the comment, in the judgment of the
writer of this article, has been incor-
rect.
Undoubtedly the incident was i'm
portant 1t has a bearing on the posi-
ton the President is likely to have
from now on as respects both Con-
gress and the country. But the effect
on the President and his prestige is
not as adverse as much of the COM
ment has assumed. Let us, however,
look at the facts.
In March, 1888.
A little over a year before, in March,
1888, very soon after Mr.. Roosevelt
had taken office, he sent to Congress
one of the most remarkable measures
that any President ever asked any
Congress to enact. The title was
shrewdly chosen to take advantage of
the psychology of the time, "a bill
to maintain the credit of the United
States" Under this title Mr.. Roose-
welt asked Congress to give him power
to take mainly two steps: To reduce
the pay of Government employees and
to reduce the compensation of vet
Grams. Congress gave him the powers
he asked. The vote in the House, on
March IL last year. was 266 to 1873
in favor of giving the President the
power he asked; in the Senate the
vote was 62 to 49, 1t was an immense
delegation of power to the President,
given by Congress with an overwhelm-
ing majority
Almost exactly year passed. Then,
In March of the present year, Con-
greSS enacted measure undoing in
large part the cuts Mr.. Roosevelt had
made year before. Mr.. Roosevelt,
OF course vetoed the bill. Thereupon
Congress overthrew the Presidents
veto, by vote of SO 10 70 in the
House, and 63 to 27 in the Senate.
What Does 1t Mean?
Here was plain reversal of the will
1ngness Of Congress to do the Presi-
dents will. How explain it? And
what is the meaning of it for the
future?
In the first place, the reversal is
not SO great as it seems. In the net
OF the record as it stands, President
Roosevelt has won much and has
made remarkable achievement. The
amount of compensation restored to
veterans by Congress this year was
much less than the amount Mr.. Roose-
welt had cut from them last year.
About the figures it is difficult to be
exact. In this whole field widely
varying estimates are given by differ
ent authorities. Using figures which
Go not pretend to be even approximate,
I should say the whole story runs
something like this:
At the time Mr.. Roosevelt came into
Office the total amount being paid to
veterans of all wars was about ST.
O00000.000 a year. Mr. Roosevelt.
under the authority he secured from
Congress, cut off about $350,O00 ,O00-
that is, he made a reduction of about
35 per cent. Soon thereafter, Mr..
Roosevelt himself, in response to out
cry from veterans who said the cuts
had been too drastic, restored about
S100,000,000 AS the situation stood
at the beginning of March this year,
Mr.. Roosevelt therefore had made and
kept in force cut of about S250,000,-
600, or 25 per cent. Then came the
incident in which Congress restored
about 500 900, GOO of compensation to
the veterans. Mr.. Roosevelt vetoed
the restoration, but Congress over
ruled his Veto At the end of the
whole series of episodes, as things
stand today, veterans are receiving
about s150,000000 less than they were
receiving when Mr. Roosevelt came
into office.
Large Saving Remains.
repeat that my figures do not pre-
tend to be exact. In this field it is
almost impossible to be exact. For
example. estimates of the amount of
restoration recently made by Congress
vary from s83OO0.00O up to S228,-
100000. But I am sure that very
large reduction in veterans cCmpenSa-
ton has been made as the net result
Of Mr.. Roosevelt's efforts, even after
the recent setback of his efforts by
Congress.
This condition, the fact that Presi-
dent Roosevelt has achieved any re-
duction at all in veterans compensa-
ton. puts him, among Presidents and
party leaders, in a class by himself.
Other Presidents. notably Cleveland,
have vetoed pension bills. Other
Presidents. including Mr.. Hoover. have
fought with some success against in
creases. But no President until Mr..
Roosevelt has actually achieved reduc-
ton.
Until Mr. RooSevelt'S success, there
we're two statements which were ac-
cepted as aXioms in politics. One was
that no rate of compensation, once
voted to veterans, had ever been re-
Guced or ever would be. The other
was that no group of veterans once
placed on the pension rolls ever had
been removed from the lists. or ever
would be. (To this last statement
there is a slight exception: More than
a century ago. in 1920, some 5000
Revolutionary War veterans who had
got on the pension rolls we're removed
because they did not fulfill the test
of the country's first pension bill,
reason of his reduced circumstances
IL life left in need of assistance from
his country for support.")
ReSOlute on Pay.
About pay of Government employees,
also, Mr.. Roosevelt has been as reso-
lutte as about compensation of vet
Grams. Having got from Congress, in
March of last year, authority to re-
duce the pay of Government employees,
he made fiat reduction of Is per
cent. When this first reduction came
to an end in July, 1888, he renewed
1t for six months. When it again
came to an end on January l of this
year, he again renewed it. He con-
tinued in a position of keeping this
IS per cent cut in effect up to the
moment when Congress overruled his
action.
There is yet another evidence of
Mr. ROOSeVelt'S reSnlllte and sustained