Evening star., 1935-07-12
Delaying Adjournment.

The tax bill, putting into effect Presi-
dent Roosevelt's proposed "share-the-
wealth" suggestions to Congress- Is all
that stands in the way of compare
lively early adjournment of the Con-
gress. Many members of both houses
have been asking for days why it should
be necessary for them to spend the Sum-
mer in Washington on this measure. In
the first place, it is obvious that unless
the new taxes are made to fall more
heavily upon a great mass of the people,
additional revenue needed for Govern
ment budget balancing purposes will not
be Forthcoming. In other words, the
Presidents proposal is not in the first in
stance a revenue raising plan to balance
the budget adequately, but another
social experiment. In the second place,
the taxes proposed, except in the case OF
inheritances and gifts, would not be paid
until next March Is in any event, since
they would fall on incomes for the year
1885. both of individuals and OF corpo-
rations.
The fact of the matter appears to be
that the President and the adminiStra-
ton leaders in Congress allowed them
selves to be pushed into position where
they had to 60 forward with the tax
plan now or be charged by the Progress
siyes with being insincere. There was
no suggestion in the Presidents mes
sage dealing with the "share-the-
wealth" tax program that the new tax
scheme should be Immediately enacted
into law. Indeed, the Democratic lead
ers in Congress were confident that the
tax program would be studied by the
House Ways and Means Committee and
bv the Senate Finance Committee dur
ing the Summer, and taken up for con-
sideration in the House and Senate next
Winter.
But not so the Progressives, led by
Senator La Toilette of Wisconsin. He
threatened to tie the Presidents pro-
gram, and something more of his own,
ON the House joint resolution extending
the life of certain excise taxes beyond
July 1. So the President and the ad-
ministration leaders capitulated. Tney
agreed that the tax program OF the
President should be written into law
now. and the La Toilette Progressives
in the Senate let the excise tax resolu-
ton 20 through without further delay.
It is limited now that the President
would be willing to let Congress go with
out passing finally the tax bill. The
stumbling block seems to be the promise
given by the administration leaders to
Senator La Toilette and his group. 1t
is possible that even these ProgresslVes
might be prevailed upon to view the
pleas of their sweltering colleagues less
coldly. They are not entirely heartless.
President Roosevelt might, Of course,
have withheld his tax program message
to Congress until after the excise tax
resolution had been finally enacted into
law. In that event, there would have been
possible no threat by the Progressives to
offer his program as an amendment to the
excise resolution. But the President was
in a hurry to get the message to Con-
gress. Huey Long, the Louisiana King
fish. had talked day in and day out OF
his "share-the-wealth" program. Here
was a chance to offer decentralization
of wealth plan by the head Of the ad-
ministration. So the President acted
precipitately. Congress is spending the
Summer in Washington.