Evening star., 1935-07-19

President Roosevelt is not impressed
by the hot weather clamor for adjourn
ment of Congress. He stands pat on
the demand for enactment of his tax
program, along with other pending leg
islation, before House and Senate stack
arms. All doubts on this score have
been removed by F. D. RS analogy"
in placing those opposed to the wealth
taxes in the category of defense lawyers
with rich clients and weak cases, who
habitually maneuver for poStponementS
until the next term of court. The Presi-
dent suggests it is this sort of subter-
fuge propaganda that is now rampant
on Capitol Hill, with view to putting
on as long as possible the evil day
feared by those affected by the pro-
posed levies. Recent overwhelming
House defeat of adjournment proposals
indicates clearly that Mr.. Roosevelt is
going to have his way in keeping Con-
gress on the job. Beneath the surface
there is plenty of adjournment senti-
ment, but the Democratic leadership now
expects no trouble in keeping it under
control for administration purposes.
** ~
Although the White House Marines
have the adjournment situation well in
hand, they are far from assured about
the extent to which tax legislation may
stray before finis is written to the PreSi-
dents project. Any number of schemes
are in the ofing, ranging from bonus
riders to suggestions of a sales tax,
wholesale income tax revision, excise
taxes, tariff readjustmentS and other
proposals widely removed from the origi-
nal redistribution of wealth program.
Rooseveltians are earnestly bent upon
confining new taxes to those which the
President recommended, but Congress Is
proverbially independent Of executive
influence in the revenue field and there
is no lack of determination to write its
own ticket on the present occasion.
Committee hearings are unique in that
they are being conducted without the
semblance of bill to go on. Any
administration measure doubtless can
be forced through the House, but it will
be another story in the Senate, with
amendments galore the probable order
of the day.
Many authorities are convinced that
the utility lobby investigations already
pretty well forecast eventual passage of
the holding company bill inclusive of the
death sentence clause. Should this
turn out to be the case, the utilities will
have themselves largely to blame, for
some of their tactics, like the Warren,
Pa, teleeraphic tragi-comedy, strike
Congress as the last word in dumbness.
Coupled with the fact that it's admitted
at this early stage that round million
dollars was spent in anti-death sentence
propaganda, enough has been brought
out, it Is felt, to sink without trace the
utilities hopes of defeating the "de-
structive features" of the holding COM
pany legislation which they oppose.
Many members Of Congress now recall
the damaging material dragged to light
by the Federal Trade Commission a
couple of years ago respecting the
methods and activities of certain power
interests in the publishing and educa-
tional fields.
Politicians await with interest the
special election in the first congress
sional district of Rhode Island on
August to I'LL the vacancy created by
resignation of Representative Francis B.
- l. u u 49,