Evening star., 1935-11-30
PRESIDENT SHOWS
SHIFTED STRATEGY
"Point With Pride" 1886
Campaign Plan Instead of
"VieW With Alarm"
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


ton, he will in 1896 appeal to the con-
tentment Of the people. His objective
In speeches and statements will be to
prove that the American Nation has
progressed toward q sound recovery.
This change Of tactics from 1882
is natural and inevitable. Fors OBJ
viously, to argue that conditions are
bad and that something must be done
about 1t Is to admit that the Roose-
welt administration, though in power
nearly three years, hasn't remedied
the condition. 1t was easy enough to
blame the Hoover administration in
1882 when Mr.. Roosevelt. as the po-
litical saying goes, Viewed with
alarm" but now he must, Of course,
Point with pride"
The Presidents optimism about
present conditions, his statement that
the Federal Relief Administration can
60 out Of business and liquidate and
that there are more than 5000, 900
persons in work relief jobs will carry
q certain amount Of hope, but 1t will
not prove convincing unless the ex-
penditureS for relief show q CORE
spending decrease. Will the trans
fer of relief to the States and cities
increase their debt?
Bankers' Debt View.
Mr.. Roosevelt, for example, says
bankers told him in March, 1898, that
the United States could stand q public
debt Of between fifty-five and seventy
billion dollars and that he has no in
tention OF plunging the country into
anywhere near that debt figure. But
he was talking only of Federal debt.
Today the Federal debt is twenty
nine billions and the State and NUM-
cipal debt Is another twenty billions,
having risen considerably in the de-
preston, SO that the total govern
mental debt is already in the neigh
borhood of fifty billions and will con-
tinue to go up II the States and cities
must absorb the people who are being
transferred back to their relief rolls
There's another important aspect to
Mr.. Roosevelt's figures. He gave the
impression by his contrasts that the
Hoover administration really increased
the total public debt more than has
the Roosevelt administration He pro-
ceeded to credit his own administra-
ton with recoverable assets without
regard to the fact that these assets
were created under previous admin
istrations. 1t is an important point
and Mr.. Roosevelt has made the same
kind OF mistake that DR.. Rexford
Tugwell made on this in his famous
Los Angeles speech, which figures Mr..
Roosevelt, in a subsequent press con-
ference, spoke OF as wild" To un-
derstand the mistake, it Is necessary
to repeat the paragraph In Mr.. Roose-
velt's prepared speech, which reads
as follows:
"As q matter Of actual fact, OF
course, the gross national debt under
the last administration rose from q
little over $17,ooo, ,o00, 900 to $2l, ,00O-
0o0, 600"
Hoover Debt Increase.
This means, Of course, that the
Hoover administration increased the
public debt by $4,000. 900 900. Now
note how Mr.. Roosevelt refers to his
own administration:
Since March 4. 1893, the national
debt has risen from $21 ,0O0. .Ooo, 900 to
$29, SOC, 900, 900, but it must be remem-
bered that today included in this
figure is nearly $500, 900 900 of work.
ing balance in the Treasury and
nearly $4,50o,o00,o 900 Of recoverable
assets which the Government will get
back over period Of years, and
which will be used for retirement OF
debt"
The plain inference intended to be
derived from the above Is that, while
Mr.. Hoover increased the debt about
four billions, the Roosevelt admins
tration actually increased 1t not S.
500,0o0,000 but only $2,5oo ,O00, 900
because the working balance and re-
coverable assets permitted the sub
traction Of six billions.
Is such subtraction fair, however?
The loans made by the r. F. c. and
other Government agencies prior to
Mr.. Hoover's regime totaled about $2,-
1l5.000,000 Of recoverable assets, of
which $1,750, ,000, 900 at least should
be credited to the Hoover administra-
ton and not to the public debt of the
succeeding administration in this kind
Of comparison.
This means that, instead Of sub
tracing from the $8,500, 900 900 in
crease in public debt under the Roose-
welt administration q six billion fig
ure, the amount subtracted should be
nearer four billion. The remainder
obtained would reveal for the Roose-
welt regime a net increase In the pub
lie debt OF about $4,500, ,000, 900 in two
years and a half. as compared with
about $2.250, ,00o, 900 for the Hoover ad-
in its entire four-year
period.
Figures in Other Words.
Had Mr.. Roosevelt spoken of the
Government Of the United States and
its debts irrespective Of what admin
istration incurred them, he could have
said that there were 81, SOC, 900 900 re-
coverables and that the present public
debt Of $40, 500, 100000 would be re.
duced to $4,000. .000. 900 some day If
the debts pay out at 100 cents on the
dollar and If the public debt isn't in
either by further expenses or
by losses arising out Of the enormous
contingent liability which Uncle Sam
now has in farm and city mortgages
and in other Government enterprises.
The President made no mention of
these contingent liabilities, yet In any
balance sheet Of private business they
would loom large and important and
be q considerable factor in determin-
Ing whether business deserves credit.
The Federal Government, according to
the latest Treasury figures, has about
81, $50, ,000, 900 In these contingent or
guaranteed liabilities which are an
obligation Of Uncle Sam If not paid
oy the borrowers. The authority has
been granted to run this total up to
about $4,000, ,00O, 900.
But, assuming that the contingent