Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-07-22
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY C.. Could Lincoln.

some quarters for a long time, will seek
to make the issue of the coming ma
tional campaign the constitutionaliza-
ton of the New Deal. 1t begins to
look now as though the issue would be
made whether the President wants 1t
or not New Deal legislation has been
declared unconstitutional by the courts:
Two OF the keystone measures OF the
New Deal, the N. r. A. and the A. A. A.,
have been shot to pieces, constitutionally.
The first is "out" by decision of the
Supreme Court-a unanimous decision
and the second Is expected to take the
count when the Supreme Court gets
around to it next Fall. The constitu-
tionality of other Roosevelt laws is being
challenged and will be tested in the
courts.
Backed by the decision Of the courts,
the opposition to the New Deal, which
is found not alone in Republican quar-
tiers, but also in Democratic, is shouting
now that the President and his brain
trust" have been doing all they can to
guide the country into un American and
unconstitutional waters from the start.
They are not waiting at all for the
President to make the issue by a de-
mand for constitutional amendment.
They say that he has disregarded the
Constitution They mean to hold him
responsible at the polls next year If they
can.
All Is not by any means beer and
Skittles for the administration in Con-
gress as the Summer wears on. What
has been happening in the Senate the
last week is clear enough.
There the A. A. A. bill, which started
out as series of amendments to the
agricultural adjustment act and has
since become practically a new act, has
met serious opposition. 1t has been
amended in ways that the adminiStra-
ton does not like. 1t has dragged on
and on without coming to final passage.
While the leaders hope to dispose of
1t by next Wednesday, there is no GER
tainty that it will not be in the Senate
the full week. All this debate over the
A. A. A. and the anti-adminiStratio
votes thereon are heartening the oppo-
sition. Furthermore. the delay in acting
on this bill, which was expected to take
only short time. is backing I'D the
rest OF the program of the President.
The Eccles banking bill. which is to
follow the A. A. A. measure, will not be
disposed OF overnight when it reaches
the floor. 1t holds plenty of possibilities
OF long debate. When the bill to pre-
vent suits against the Government grow
Ing out Of the gold contracts repudia-
ton is brought into the Upper House.
there will be another row. And, of
course, there is the Presidents share
the-wealth, social reform, tax program.
Despite the optimistic talk of Senator
Harrison, Senator Robinson and other
administration leaders, there is little
reason to believe that the tax measure
can be put through the Senate without
long debate that may run into a
month. There used to be a belief that
the Government could raise taxes only
Tor the purpose OF revenue to pay the
expenses of government. The President,
however, has laid down a new theory
OF Federal taxes. He aims to redis-
tribute wealth through taxation. Wealth
has had way of redistributing itself
in this country in the past.
The old saying that it is only three
generations from shirt sleeves to shirt
sleeves has held good in many instances.
1t continues to operate that way 1t is
the human element which the New
Dealers have diSregarded in much of
their planning, but a very effective
element.
1t may be argued that the President.
under the So-called welfare clause of
the Constitution, has a perfect right
to 60 ahead and levy taxes for purposes
other than mere raising of revenue to
meet governmental expenses; that he
has right to try to bring a new social
order through taxation. Whether his
tax law. when it is enacted. will be sub
Jected to court review remains to be
seen.
Ii his opponents are successful in max
ing the issue in the coming campaign
one OF the President versus the Con-
Stltutlon, 1t is likely to be a difficult issue
for the New Dealers to meet successfully.
In the first place. the New Deal has
not brought the measure Of recovery
which has been hoped for by its pro-
ponentS. 1t has put, it is true, millions
OF persons on Federal relief rolls. 1t
has put and is putting millions of per-
sons on governmental work relief rolls.
But what the workers of this country
want. as we'll as the business people, is
to see these millions at work in private
industry with something like the stand
ard OF wages which operated in the
Coolidge administration. That the New
Deal has not accomplished. Social re-
forms, or the new planning, after all,
do not mean the recovery which the
workers wish to see ACCOMPLISHED
through more jobs and good wages.
e X
The administration leaders may say
with satisfaction to themselves "You
don't want to go back to the days of
1882 and the breakdown in industry,
banking. ETC., of that time" On the
other hand, there are plenty of people
who would gladly 60 back three or four
years further than 1892.
Massachusetts, has two Democratic
Senators, Walsh and Coolidge. Both
have Joined the ranks Of the Democrats
who do not wish to be forced at this
time to go ahead with the Presidents
share-the-wealth tax program. They
believe that the whole taxation system
should be given more careful study. Sem
ator Coolidge, speaking to the Boston
Transcript, for example, has stated his
views clearly enough. He has gone so
far as to indicate he will vote against
the Presidents tax program If it comes
to the Senate in the form that it seems
to be taking in the House WAYS and
Means Committee. Coolidge is BUSH
ness man. He Is in close touch with the
sentiment existing in his State. He. said
In part: