Evening star., 1934-03-28
NARROW DECISION
ON VETO IS SEEN
Air Tense as Debate Be.
Gins in Senate on Pay
Measure.
Continued From First Page.)

Turning to the part OF the PreS1-
dents message which criticizeS the
bills plan for restoration of the pay
of Government workers, Senator Cut
ting said:
THE plan under which one-third
of the Is per cent cut in the pay OF
Government workers was to be elimi-
mated Immediately and another third
on July l was offered first by Senator
ByrneS (South Carolina), and ! know
that 1t was generally believed in both
the House and the Senate that this
plan would be acquieSced in by the
President. 1 will say for the Senator
that he made no such statement on
behalf of the President. Nevertheless,
the belief prevails as I have said
How can We discriminate between
what we do for the Government work
ers and what we ask private business
to do for their employees"
Disputes Veterans Stand.
Senator Cutting disputed the val
idity of the principle laid down by
the President in his massage relating
to the compensation of war veterans.
That principle was first that every
man owes it to the country to bear
arms in time of war and that the
mere entrance into the service does
not create a privileged class, and Sec
ond that compensation should be
granted only in cases where disability
was traced to actual service.
Cutting said that during the World
War the Government recognized the
right of conscientious objectorS not to
bear arms. He said, too, that there
were many men in this country who
believed that the World War, so far
as the United States was concerned,
was not war of defense. He referred
to Senator Norris of Nebraska as one
of the men who had voted against the
war resolution in 1917.
Robinson Makes Plea.
Replying to Cutting, Senator Robin
son of Arkansas, the Democratic floor
leader, appealed to his colleagues to
give the President the support and
cooperation to which his great serV-
ice to the country entities him. He
said he felt there were some who
would be happy to see the veto over
ridden because of a belief it would
discredit the President, but that he
realized there were others who were
not actuated by that desire.
AT the outset the Democratic leader
said it was his purpose to show that
there is no injustice, but that there is
liberality toward the veterans in the
arrangements contemplated by Presi-
dent Roosevelt and outlined in his
,trith ho
ment of Senator Cutting that it would
be inconsistent for any Senator who
voted originally for the House vet
eranS' provisions to vote now to suS-
tain the veto.
Robinson said legislators often are
called upon to choose between pro-
visions, neither of which is entirely
acceptable, but where one is less OBJ
jectionable than another.
AS the debate opened, there were
constant conferences by the leaders
supporting the proposal to override
the Presidents veto and also among
the leaders of the administration
forces. The administrations forces
were much disturbed in the matter
of seeking to obtain pairs.
Interest High.
Rarely before has there been so
great interest in a question before the
Senate. Members of the House crowd
ed into the rear of the Senate cham
ber. The galleries were filled and
over1owing with, long queues forming
in the corridors outside. The gallery,
reserved for the Senator's families,
Id ha Ofh viii
wives and daughters of Senators
standing and sitting in the aisles. Mrs.
Alice Roosevelt Longworth occupied
seat in the Vice Presidents row and
followed the proceedings with the
keenest interest.
Various Procedure Open.
If the Senate fails TO override the
veto the Independent Offices bill will
be dead, and Congress either will have
to begin drafting new bill or con-
tinuing resolution to Novide for the
necessary annual expenses Of the va
rious independent agencies of the
Government.
Although the lawmakers would not
have to attach any changes in the
economy law to this new appropria-
tion bill, some Democratic leaders
predicted that if the veto is Sus-
tained Congress will write a new Fed
eral pay plan calling for restoration
of 10 per cent of the cut on July l.
with no change in the Is per cent
reduction bofore that date
They also might write into such
new bill veterans legislation to re-
establish by law the modified benefits
the President said yesterday he is
ordering restored by executive order.
Friends of the veterans probably
would renew their efforts to put
through the veterans provisions In
the original bill.
If the Senate votes this afternoon
to override the veto. the bill becomes
a law Immediately without the Presi-
dents signature, which means Gov
ernment employees would get back
per cent of the pay cut, retroactive
to February l, and another per cent
on July /. This would leave per
cent cut in effect after July /, al
though the President would have
power to elimiante that if he found
commodity prices had risen suffl-
GENTLY.
Veterans to Benefit.
Although he vetoed the bill, the
President announced in his message
he was restoring by executive order
certain features of the veterans pro-
gram in the bill. Should the Senate
pass the bill over the veto, however,
the Presidents executive orders would
be superseded by the more liberal vet
Grams provisions in the bill
In addition to his statement that
the bill exceeded budget estimates by
1928 100000 for Federal workers and
veterans, the main issue between the
President and Congress has been
whether veterans with presumptive
disability claims should be restored
to the rolls with permanent status.
or subject to review of each case in
dividually by the Veterans Admins
tration Board of Appeals.
The President announced in his
s,o-.ooa that ha iS the Uet-