Evening star., 1935-07-26
CHARITY DISPUTE
CALLED bLUNDER
Presidents Attack on Gifts
of Corporations Sure to
Cause DiScord.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


The latest blunder of the President
Is an attack on the whole foundation
of Community Chest and charitable
contributions in the United States as
related to corporation gifts and do
nations.
Mr.. Roosevelt has put himself on
record not merely as opposed to the
the sums given annually by corpora
tions to local charities, but he frankly
questions the propriety of what he has
called buying good will" 1t seems
that when a corporation donates a
few dollars to a Community Chest,
it's buying good will" but when the
S4,000000, 1000 fund is used to buy
good will" for the 1886 election there
is no impropriety in the minds of the
New Dealers.
Suggestion Held Impractical.
The President has offered the i'm
practical suggestion that stockholders
alone should decide what to give and
that they should give as individuals
out of their own dividends.
But asks Alan Burns, head of
the National Council Of Community
Chests, Inc, how can the several
hundred thousand stockholders of
General Motors or General Electric.
who are scattered all ever the coun-
try, be induced to contribute to a
community chest in Lansing, Mich,
or Flint, or Pontiac, where there are
auto plants, or at Schenectady or
Bridgeport, where the c. E. has plants
employing several thousand employees
who receive benefits from local Y. M
G. AS or other agencies included un-
der Community Chest distributions?
THE President made a serious mis-
take when he told the newspaper
correspondents that he had vetoed a
bill in the New York Legislature be-
cause it exempted corporations from
tax. He evidently forgot what he
really did. He actually signed a bill
which permitted all corporations ex-
cept public utilities to be exempted
from State taxes on amounts spent on
charitable contributions. His sue
cessor, Gov. Lehman, has since re-
moved even that exception, too, so all
corporations can deduct contributions.
Says President Misinformed.
1--WE know about this because We
were active in that fight. The Presi-
dent mas been misinformed about the
whole problem.
For instance, We have a study Of
contributions by corporations in 129
communities and it shows that % per
cent of our funds comes from $4,000
corporations. When you take away
the possibility of contributions in a
community by its leading industries
or corporations, you take away the
bell-wethers Of charity in America
you kill private philanthropy"
Mr.. Burns stated that he had always
felt it was the right and obligation of
corporations to make charitable con-
tributions. A check-up in several in
stances has shown, he said, that some
times as high as 35 per cent of COM
pany's employees we're receiving benefits
of some kind, either through hospitals
or other welfare and character build
ing agencies, and that it was obvious
the corporations couldn't set up
duplicating agencies for their employees
alone and hence should be persuaded
to pay a fair share through Com
munity Chest giving.
Mr. Burns also revealed that sew
eral court decisions have held that
charitable contributions for good
will" were legitimate liabilities. This
arose when a department store at
Buffalo in receivership was asked to
fulfill a pledge or commitment and
the claim was honored in court like
any other liability.
Dates Back to Court Case.
The present tangle really Is derived
from decision of the Supreme Court
of the United States last December,
which placed the burden of proof on
contributing corporations to show that
the contribution for charitable pur-
poses was, in each case, related to
good will" Because Of the vague
ness of the present law, on which the
Supreme Court ruling was based, the
Community Chest workers have en-
deavored to get fiat exemption writ
ten into the new tax law.
But Mr.. Roosevelt not only opposes
this. but places the stamp Of disap-
proval from his high position on any
corporate giving whatsoever.
In the face of presidential disap-
proval, not knowing what punitive
steps may be in store for them, all
the way from Blue Eagle boycott
to a denial of the right to bid on
Government contracts-which is the
New Deals customary way of COM
pelling acceptance of its DEGREES
many corporations probably will be
hesitant to contribute to charitable
endeavors. Indeed, it becomes an
open question under Mr.. Roosevelt's
new decree whether corporation can
deduct as business expense any sums
d1sburSed in maintaining recreation
hall for employees or any other form
Of direct aid to labor
Certainly the Community Chests
throughout the land will aot have
their tasks made easier by Mr. Roose-
velt's ban on corporate contributions
Quarrel Held Unnecessary.
These Community Chest workers are
usually the best people in every COM
munity. They are persons with inf1u-
ence and leadership, and why the
President, with troubles enough on
many another battle front, should bite
off another controversy is a mystery
to the Oldest Of the political-minded
hereabouts, who believe that the wisest
rule in politics is never to make an
unnecessary enemy or ALLEVIATE an
innocent bystander.
Mr.. Roosevelt likes to give the i'm
preston that all corporations are
wicked and insidious. He processes in
this instance to be the friend of the
stockholders, whose prospective divi-
dends might be diminished if too
much is taken for charitable purposes.
But these are things which sensible
stockholders like to leave to manage
e