Evening star., 1934-01-04
The Political Mill
President Roosevelt's appearance be-
fore the Congress at its opening session
BY G. Could Lincoln.

taneOuS outourSt OF applause and cheerS
from the floor Of the House chamber
and from the galleries had ring and
enthusiasm. Not since the days Of the
woodrow Wilson was hailed by the
Congress and its guests as the great war
President has anything like 1t been
seen. In q measure 1t was the same
feeling Of respect and admiration for
a leader. battling courageously against
the great economic depression, that
drew the bursts Of cheers from the
.hrong in the Capitol yesterday when
Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his an
nual message. There seems not the
slightest doubt that he has the Con-
gress, the great majority Of the Con-
gress. with him and ready to cooperate
In putting. through his recovery pro-
gram at this time.
Il +
The prediction by the President that
the new deal" has come to stay and
that the old order has passed was in
dication that the so-caiIed emergency
renef measures are to become In con-
siderable measure permanent. New
economic and social structures are the
aim OF the administration. While this
naturally will give 10y to the progress
Democratic alike. there are still mem
bers Of the old school who can scarcely
stomach such suggestions. Senator
George w. Norris Of Nebraska, veteran
progressive leader in the Senate, was
among the most enthusiastic in the
amen corner in the House chamber
during the Presidents address. 1t was
Senator Norris who, q couple Of years
ago, addressing a meeting of progress
sives in Washington called to outline
a program Of progressive legislation,
announced that what the country
needs is another Roosevelt" Imme-
diately his remarks were interpreted
as declaration in favor Of the presi-
dental candidacy Of the then Gov
ernor Of New York, Franklin D.
Roosevelt. And when MIR. Roosevelt
had been nominated by the Democrats
Hoover the choice Of the Republican
party, Senator Norris declared his open
support Of the Democratic ticket and
did all he could to help it win.
II Il \
Prehaps no part of the Presidents
speech was more enthusiastically ap-
plauded than his declaration that
something must be done to eliminate
the parasites that live of the people,
the high-life racketeers and the low
life racketeers; the racketeers that
operate within the law and in banks,
etc, and the racketeers that operate
outside the law, with gun and
gag and blackjack, not TO mention
| dynamite. So far as the high-life
| racketeers-the racketeers operating
within the law-are concerned, the
President declared that there was
need of stringent preventive or regula-
supported by great many persons
throughout the land.
For the most part the Presidents
message to the Congress was heartily
| approved by members of Congress, with
many Republicans joining in the praise.
The criticism OF some Of the Republic
cans was merely to the effect that the
| President had made no specific recon-
mendations Of legislation in the mes
sage: outlined no program ad seriatim.
The President, however, clearly intends
to follow the course he pursued with
so much success at the last session Of
Congress, when he sent brief messages,
covering one subject of legislation at a
| time, to the Congress. In that way
he was able to focus the attention OF
the country and Of the Congress on the
| subjects he wished covered, one at a
time. Just because other Presidents
have endeavored to cover their whole
| legislative program in their messages
| to the Congress at opening sessions does
| not mean that it is a wise or necessary
plan. And certainly the ability that
Mr.. Roosevelt has displayed in his
dealings with the Congress has been
| remarkable.
When the Presidents budget message
goes to Congress as 1t Is expected to do
| today, and the cost of the new deal
| in dollars and cents-or perhaps it Is
more correct to say the cost Of the
recovery programs fully revealed to
members of Congress 1t may make
some Of them catch their breath. II
has been pointed out in the past that
the appropriations for the various agen-
cies set up for the recovery program
would run into something like SILL
900, 900, and that the public debt
naturally would mount to new heights
But the formal report on these mat
tiers to the Congress by the President
of the United States will serve to make
the realities sink in. OF course, there
are plenty of men in Congress to whom
a huge public debt is no bugaboo, men
who would increase public works pro-
grams by another $5,000,000,000. But
the expectation is that a revelation OF
all the facts by the President will give
Congress pause when 1t comes to pill
ing up more and more billions of ex-
penditures Of public money. The Presi-
dent will not attempt to choke off i'm
mediately supplies of money for relief
measures and for carrying on the re-
| covery program, but he is not going
along with the super-spenders, and un-
doubtedly will seek to get the country
back on a basis of annual expenditure
that does not exceed annual revenues
Of the Government. No government
can continually and continuously run
in the red and maintain its credit
However, the administration is COM
mitted to the plan of huge public ex-
penditures to help turn the tide OF
business and to give relief to the dis
tressed and unemployed, and undoubt-
edly 1t will go through with this pro-
gram. The President pledged himself
to as much in his annual message to
the Congress yesterday.
The President Is pressed on the one
side by liberals and on the other by
conservatives. He has succeeded in q
remarkable degree in preventing either
group from running away with him
The same struggle between the two
groups will continue during the present
session of Congress. The President
has sponsored many progressive ideas
since he has been in office. But he
is too practical and too much of 6
realist to let the radicals get away
with all they demand. or to permit
the conservatives to swing him to {
reactionary program. He Away
wants to know the practical side; how
a proposal is likely to work.
X X
| There are number Of Republican,
In washington and outside who de-
mand of the party leaders immedi
ate and aggressive action in opposition
to the Democratic administration ant
its program. In fact some Of them g.
| 20 70 &c iroo fo