Evening star., 1935-04-18
The oliticalM Mill
By C.. Could Lincoln.

willingness on the part Of admin
istration forces In the Senate TO
compromise" In the soldiers bonus
tight was hailed by at least one vet
erans' organization today. The fact
that . so-called compromise bonus
bill was introduced in the Senate yes
terday by that stalwart Democrat and
administration supporter, Senator Pat
Harrison of Mississippi, was enough to
convince Commander in Chief Van
Zandt of the Veterans Of Foreign Wars
that President Roosevelt himself has
recognized the justice and wisdom OF
paying the long overdue debt to the
veterans of the World War at this
time" Indeed, while declaring that
the Harrison bill falls far short OF an
equitable settlement with the veterans,
Commander Van Zsndt said that the
bill was a step in the right direction.
and he wound up with the statement
that he appreciated "the significance
of this concession on the part Of the
President" I'VE are confident" he
said. that the efforts of Senator
Harrison will eventually result in q
Just and final settlement Of the So
called bonus issue in q manner &C.
ceptable to the supporters Of the Pat
man bill"
| This conciliatory spirit, shown In
the statement Of the commander OF
the Veterans of Foreign Wars, may
or may not be followed by the COM
mander Of the American Legion, who
wants to see the bill before he makes
a statement. 1t Is clear. however,
that some Of the veterans believe that
once the wheels of compromise have
started moving there is chance to
gain something. The President him
self has said nothing about the Har-
rison bill. although spokesmen for
him at the White House have insisted
he has given no Endorsement to the
Harrison measure.
Efforts on the part Of Senator Har-
rison and other Democratic Senators
to reach a compromise, to do some
thing for the veterans of the World
War at this time, or at least to make
the gesture, are not without political
significance. There Is an election
coming next year in which not only
| the entire membership OF the House
and one-third of the members of the
Senate must be elected, but a Presi-
dent must be chosen. Nineteen of
the Senators up for reelection are
Democrats. among them such prom
inent Democrats as Senator Robin
son Of Arkansas. leader of his party
/ in the Senate; Senator Harrison of
Mississippi himself. chairman of the
Finance Committee, and Senator
James Hamilton Lewis of Illinois,
Democratic whip and chairman of
the Democratic Senatorial Committee
| This bonus issue has been troublesome
for several years. 1t could. of course.
have some effect on the presidential
election as well as on the congress
sional elections.
The bonus bill offered by Senator
Harrison is the vehicle by which Sena-
tors. and possibly the administration,
are saying to the veterans, I'VE have
not shut our minds and hearts against
you: We are willing to do something"
| Some Of these Senators do not like
the idea OF standing merely as a bull
wark against any bonus legislation at
this time. They know that the
President is relying On them to support
veto OF the Patman "greenback"
bonus bill if that measure is finally
passed and sent to him. Many of
the Republicans in the Senate have
taken the position that II the admins
tration Is to ladle out billions of dol
lars for all kinds Of projects the
veterans might just as well share in
the money shower. Also. in States
that are strongly Democratic. Senators
and members of the House who must
come up for denomination know that
Democratic opponents may cultivat.
the bonus issue against them in the
primary campaigns.
Il + ~
| The Harrison bonus bill and how
1t will operate has yet to be cleared
up in great many details. However.
1t will be disappointment to veterans
who hope to receive Immediately the
cash value Of their adjusted service
certificates and also to have the in
terest they owe on loans which they
have made on these certificates remit
ted. 1t looks as though q veteran who
holds a bonus certificate for 81 900
will be able to obtain for it SITS, of
which $3.50 will be in per cent Gov
eminent bonds and $25 in cash. On
the other hand. If he holds the bonus
certificate until 1945, the date 1t is
due and payable. he will receive $l,ll5
instead Of the 81 900 originally prom
ised.
What finally will come out of the
bonus fight it is impossible to pre-
dict with certainty at this juncture
There is not the slightest doubt, how
ever. that the drive for some kind of
q settlement is on, and that 1t is to be
a very persistent drive.
President RooSevelts announced in
tention to use part of the work relief
money granted him by Congress to
take a census of the unemployed is
decidedly interesting. It is quite true
that information showing accurately
how much unemployment does exist
in this country and where should be
Of real value in dealing with the un-
employment problem. Many estimates
OF unemployment are made. But at
best they are estimates and may be
far from correct. It is reported that
taking such a census will give tenn
porary work to approximately 100000
persons-presumably of the white COL
lar class-now unemployed and on re-
lief rolls. The job will cost about
$l5, 100000 it is said. That's a small
slice out Of the $4,880, 100000 total
for relief and work relief, but it gives
an idea of what may be done in the
way Of putting money into the hands
Of lot of people. A bill to take
such q census was advanced in
Congress in the last session. With an
election coming on, the Republicans
figured that it was just like handing
the Democratic administration some