Evening star., 1935-09-30
THE POLITICAL
MILL
By G. Could Lincoln.

paign has been going for q long time.
But the campaign Is launched more for
mally these days. The Presidents prom
| ise Of breathing spell" to business,
his speech to the farmers at Fremont,
Nebr., on Saturday, and his message to
the American people on the Government
budget, pledging no increase in Federal
taxes, all work into the picture. Before
the President returns to Washington
from his Western trip 1t may be expected
that he will have driven home further
arguments for the continuance of the
Roosevelt administration and the New
Deal. 1t was predicted some time ago
that he would make use of this trip to
reply to the avalanche of criticism that
has been heaped upon the New Deal in
recent months.
One of the most significant statements
of the President in his budget message
was that, If the processing taxes, part
and parcel of the A. A. A. and used to
finance the payment of Government
checks to the farmers for not growing
wheat, cotton, pigs, ETC., are declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,
some new tax legislation will be de-
manded so as to permit the continuance
of the benefits to the farmers who have
signed compliance agreements with the
A. A. A. 1t is clear that If the Supreme
Court turns down the A. A. A. and the
processing taxes, there will be no more
money to pass out to the farmers for not
producing crops-unlesS the Government
can find it in some other direction.
Apparently the President has it in mind
that the Supreme Court may declare the
processing taxes unconstitutional, just
as it took a shot at the N. r. A. last
Spring. Anyway, he is making the prom
Use in advance of court action that the
farmers will be taken care of. The New
Deal Democrats are relying on these
Government checks to the farmers as
bait for New Deal votes. That Is prac-
tical politics, perhaps, but from a po-
litical viewpoint, it is persuasive. Fur
thermore, 1t Is pretty direct.
The President says clearly that busi-
ness has improved and is improving fast.
From other sources the same improved
conditions are reported. With recovery
coming along, can the Roosevelt admin
istration be defeated at the polls next
year? Will the voters be willing to
change horses? Ordinarily, the people
are inclined not to make change in
their Government If things are going
well and business is humming. How
ever, the cost of living is going up and
there are still many millions of unem-
ployed, and there are skepticS who will
scarcely believe that increased taxes are
not Just around the corner even II they
are not to be imposed during the cam
paign year. There is an inclination
among some of the business men to say:
I'VE are getting recovery in spite of the
New Deal not because of it," And they
add they do not like the sound of the
phrase used by the President when he
promised business a breathing SPELL"
What's coming after, they want to know.
woodrow Wilson won the war, but what
happened afterward to the Democratic
party was disheartening.
The Democratic leaders are jumpy
about the constitutional issue raised by
the Republicans against the President
and the New Deal. While they insist
that the constitutional issue will amount
to nothing in the coming campaign,
they realize that before the election next
year the Supreme Court may have de-
clared several more of tn New Deal laws
violative of the Constitution. How can
the New Deal be made constitutional
if that turns out to be the case? Only
through amending the Constitution or
getting q new court, abviously. While
the President has intimated in his talks.
to the press than an amendment to the
Constitution may be necessary, he has
not yet called for such an amendment,
nor formulated one. The reaction in
the country to the suggestion was not
fortunate from the New Deal stand
point. So the Democrats are rather
vague about the whole matter, although
they continue to insist that the life of
the Constitution lies in the fact that it
may be amended. Chairman Farley of
the Democratic Committee. speaking over
the radio last night ON this matter of
the Constitution, said:
$50 far as know, President Roosevelt
has never declared his purpose of seek
ing an amendment to the Constitution
limiting the great tribunals capacity,
but suppose he had or has such a pro-
gram in mind? The only way the Con-
stitution can be amended Is by two
thirds vote of both houses of Congress
and ratification of their action by
three -fourths sof the States. This has
been accomplished 81 times in our his
tory. Not infrequently the States have
refused or omitted to ratify amend
ments-and in either case the good old
country has rocked along without dis
turbance."
1t looks as though the Roosevelt DEM
ocrats might at least be preparing the
way, laying the ground and fertilizng
the public mind prior to the advance
ment of a constitutional amendment.
But they are very careful not to say that
the President is going to sponsor such an
amendment legalizing the New Deal.
They do not want it to appear that the
President or the Democrats are in any
way antagonistic to the Constitution,
however. Any such implication makes
them see red. For it is quite clear to
even a casual observer that the Ameri-
can people generally are not ready to
get away from that fundamental law, or
to attack it in any way.
President Roosevelts efforts as peace
maker for the warning Kentucky Demo-
cratic factions, as he sped westward
through Cincinnati have left something
to be desired. One side, as represented by
Gov Laffoon and Rhea, the defeated