Evening star., 1934-11-15
ThePOIitical Mill
BY G.. Gould Lincoln.

most pronounced advocates of social
security visualize it as system OF
| insure nee by which all the ills anC
| chances to which the human family
has been subject shall be minimized, If
not obliterated entirely. There Is to
be insurance against the loss of job,
insurance against sickness and acci-
dent. insurance to provide adequate
subsistence and comfort during old
age, and insurance against disability,
partial or complete. There is lot of
this kind Of insurance kicking around
already these days. But it is not the
kind Of insurance that the advanced
New Dealers fancy. or their followers
either. 1t is not run by the Govern
ment.
1t looks as though this country
would have to determine one of these
days whether the Government Is to
run business or whether the citizens
of the country are to operate as they
have In the past with q system OF pri-
vate. industry and business OF all kinds.
The country cannot long exist with
industry and business half Govern
ment and half private enterprise. The
private citizens in industry and busi-
ness are under too great disadvantage
in competition with the Government.
President Roosevelt, very wisely 1t
will seem to a lot of the people, has
called a halt to the flights of New
Dealers who are seeking by bold
stroke" to set up an entire system
Of social insurance all at once. The
President still visualizeS the very great
need of recovery in this country, and
recovery means more business and
more Jobs, more production and more
consumption of all kinds of goods and
materials. II there were business re-
covery, the need of all this so-called
social security insurance would be ma
terially less. Probably the President
does not wish to take chance of kill
ing the country with an overdose of
medicine, but prefers to see nature
given at least a chance.
4 y
In his address to the Advisory Coun-
Gil Of the National Conference on
Economic Security, the President in
dicated that the coming Congress limit
10 PAO6A 0AAA VA oONAdA Ailodl dAANC 4CSAo-
lation TO a law for insurance against
unemployment. The President real
ICES perhaps as clearly, if not more
so, as others that there is likely to
be a great demand for old-age pen
sionS, health insurance and lot of
other kinds of social insurance ad-
vanced in the coming session of Con-
greSs. The Townsend plan, which got
such boost in California, set mil
lions of tongues wagging. 1t calls for
a S200-a-month pension to all per-
sons so years of age and over who
have no criminal records, with a pro-
viso that the whole 5000 must be
expended each month. Why make the
age 60 for old-age pensions? Why not
so years or 40? DR.. Osler once sug-
gested that all men should be chloro-
formed at 40 In recent days it has
been declared that life begins at 40.
Why not pensions at the same time?
President Roosevelt firmly believes that
the country Is well on its road to
recovery. Recovery would do away
with need for a lot of the emergency
measures which the Government has
undertaken and others which have
been proposed. Taking care Of peo-
pie who are destitute because they
have no work and can get none is a
different thing from taking care of
people who will not take work when
it is offered them. for one reason or
another. Life. on Government charity
for those who do not care 10 work
may be pleasant. but it is not healthy.
~
The American Liberty League Is
showing signs of increased activity.
It's spokesmen, including Jouett Shouse
and Mrs. Charles H. Sabin. insist
the league is not anti-New Deal or
Roosevelt. The Liberty League,
however, is a conservative force in
this country or it is nothing. 1t
Is intended as check, a brake, on
the radical proposals advanced in
many quarters, some Of them admin
stration quarters. If the President
does not desire to go along with
these radical proposals-and there
seems to be reason to believe he does
not-then the league might be of
assistance to the President. There
Is the chance, Of course, that he does
not need this assistance; that he Is
able to control the Congress and over
come the radicals. The coming ses-
sion Of the National Legislature will
be the test.
Senator William E. Borah of Idaho,
who has said q lot of sharp things
about the N. r. A., the A. A. A. and
the F. E. R. A., is to be marked for
the slaughter when he comes I'D for
reelection to the Senate two years
hence, according to some of the ad-
miniStration Democrats. Idaho this
year elected a couple Of Democratic
members of the House. Beating Sena-
tor Borah is likely to be a tough lob
Tor the New Dealers, II they undertake
1t seriously. Mr.. Borah's answer to
the threats Of Democrats that he Is
to be politically obliterated two years
hence will be a series of more specific
criticisms. The first of these is to
come in an address over the National
Radio Forum next Monday night. 1t
is quite conceivable that the voice of
Senator Borah may become the most
irritating and deadly of all the on
position to the Democratic majority
in Congress and the Democratic ad-
minltration. He has an uncanny
foresight. He knows what is likely to
be popular and what unpopular. The
New Dealers have sought to show
in the past that all their opponents
were more concerned in property
rights" than in in human rights"
They will have a tough time pin
ming the property right label on Mr..
Borah, if they try to do it.
The Democratic National Commit
tee still has a deficit of $500,OOO. It
comes over from previous campaigns
and only a small part of the deficit
Is due to expenditures in the con-
gressional campaign just closed.
Chairman Farley has been quoted as
saying that big business men will not
be allowed to contribute large sums
to the national committee, not over
a thousand dollars apiece. This
ought to be bad news to big business
men. Nevertheless, Chairman Far
ley hopes to be able to wipe out the
deficit by the end of the vear Tt