Evening star., 1934-06-19
New Deal Congress Ends.

Completing q legislative program
that greatly increases the already very
great powers Of the President, the
seNnty-third Congress folded Its tents
last night and fitted away. The close
of the session was tame enough, as
far as actual fireworks on the floor OF
either house were concerned Never
theless the proponents Of the railroad
labor bill and of the farm mortgage
bill told their colleagues in the Senate
quite fiatly and in language entirely
clear that if they were given oppor-
tunity to vote on these measures
finally there would be no adjournment
of Congress. Neither of these meas
ures was on the program agreed to by
the Republican and Democrat leaders
with President Roosevelt.
The legislative grist coming from
the congressional mill during the past
six months has been astounding In
quantity and quality. The new deal
ers had their way in many things,
although they were blocked effectu-
ally in. passing legislation amending
the agricultural adjustment act to
give the Secretary of Agriculture far
reaching licensing powers over the
farmers. Among the most striking
measures was that authorizing the
President to make reciprocal trade
agreements with foreign nations and
to lower or raise tariff duties by fifty
per cent in order to grease the way
for such agreements. Although the
President is required by the law to
give notice and some hearings before
he acts to change the tariff duties,
his Is the final authority. No such
grant of power over the industries OF
the country has ever before been
given a President Of the United
States. The measures for the control
Nv IIlc 1ONClAilACAie Va SAAN
stock exchanges and of commodity
exchanges, the silver bill, the bill
setting up a Federal communications
commission to regulate telephone and
telegraph and radio companies, the
Bankhead cotton production control
bill, the Kerr tobacco production
control bill and the national housing
bill, all have their place in this amaz-
ing galaxy of legislation.
The GENERALIZATION Of government in
the hands of the President and in
Washington has been gradual
process, developing over a long period
of years. But never before have such
strides been taken in this direction
in less than two years as during the
present Roosevelt administration. The
Federal Government has stepped into
the affairs and lives of every man,
woman and child in the country, in a
manner so contrary to the old demo-
cratic conception of government and
freedom as to make the Nation gasp.
Benevolent in intention as these acts
may be, they have very little in COM
mon with the original plans for the
people of the United States. 1t is the
claim of the administration Democrats
that these new laws are designed to
bring the people back to the funda-
mentals Of American government.
This claim, however, is difficult to I'M
oerstand or to swallow.
The Democratic leaders in Congress
30 far have not announced their esti-
mates of the appropriations and au-
thorizations of expenditure made dur
ing the session just closed. These
new obligations, plus the old, assumed
by the Government bring a total that
is amazing. A Republican member Of
the House Appropriations Committee,
John Taber of New York, in a first
estimate of these obligations places
them above $4,000, 100000 Indeed,
the second session of the Seventy
third Congress in this respect has
far outdone its first session. The
spending season is now on. The
drear and gripping season of pay
ment is still in the future.