Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-07-09
Questions to Be Answered.

Questions addressed to Secretary OF
the Treasury Morgenthau on the occa-
sion of his appearance before the House
Ways and Means Committee to present
estimates as to the probable revenue to
be derived from the proposed new tax
schedules indicated clearly the drift of
opinion in at least certain sections OF
the country.
rs your primary purpose to redis-
tribute wealth or raise additional reve-
nue?" he was asked. "All the multi
millionaires marked for slaughter would
not pay the Presidents bills for sixty
days" he was told. And the closest that
the Secretary came to a direct response
to these and similar questions and asser-
tions was that the proposed new income,
inheritance and corporation taxes can
be made to yield substantial additions to
the receipts of the Federal Government"
Granting the full, if somewhat delphic,
accuracy Of this statement and noting
with probable qualification that other
testimony of the Secretary indicated that
in his opinion such revenues as the new
taxes may yield should be applied to
the reduction of debts either already in
CURED or budgeted, rather than to new
governmental spending, his questioners
are still left good deal in the dark.
What healthily growing cross-sec-
tion of the Nation would like to know
may be simply stated: Is economic and
social exigency the controlling factor IN
the administrations recent demands for
legislation, or does political expediency
shape its course?
1t is certain that the trend of much
of this proposed legislation is anti-big-
business, anti-veSted-interests, antl-capl-
talism. The utility measure, the bank
ing BILL the new revenue proposals can
not fail to demonstrate trend. 1t Is,
of course, perfectly possible that the
administration is sincerely convinced
that the future economic and social well
fare of the Nation as a whole requires
a redistribution of wealth, new flnan-
cial set-up and greatly augmented Fed
eral control of business in general. But
what puzzles his questioners is why, II
this need of near socialism is the Presi-
dents genuine conviction, the measures
proposed are not more potent toward
Its accomplishment.
And always the possibility Of polit-
ical considerations recurs. The banks?
Millions have grievances against them,
and the champion of those with griev-
ances gets votes. The utilities? The
West and the South, VIGOROUSLY anti
utility, need bolstering. Big business?
The laborers vote is as useful as that OF
the employer-and there are more labor
ers. Share the wealth? Even the most
honest man may steal little OF that
ephemeral commodity known as thunder.
The President is inevitably due to hear
this question raised, over and over again,
in the year that lies ahead of him. Upon
his ability to answer it to the satisfaction
of millions of Americans who are more
interested in getting out OF the de-
preston than in the political fortunes
of any man alive and who are imbued
with a virile, if inarticulate, belief that
the economic system that concentrated
one-half of the wealth of the world in
the United States doubtless has a good
deal in it worth saving, will probably de-
pend his place in history.