Evening star., 1935-06-24
THE POLITICAL
MILL
By C. Could Lincoln.

Making virtue of necessity, the Pres
ident has brought forward increased
taxes In O guise which seeks to make
taxation a popular issue. His Demo-
cratic supporters in Congress have con-
vinced themselves that the Presidents
"share-the-wealth" tax program will go
well with the great mass of the voters.
Progressive Republicans in Congress are
delighted with the proposal. Not un-
naturally the Democratic high command
figures that If 1t can hold the Democrats
and continue to stand ace high with the
Progressive Republicans Of the West
and the East-it can win the next elec-
ton hands down.
Senator Borah of Idaho, Progressive
Republican, while coming to the aid of
the President and demanding prompt
enactment Of the tax plan, sounds a
somewhat sour note. In the opinion OF
the Idaho Senator the plan of taxation
in reality is a "share-the burden" of
government plan. And so it is. But
sharing q burden is not so popular as
sharing wealth.
Having gone ahead with big spend
lIlk pIOSA Will lllOl1Cy 6O1i6 OAb W
millions Of men and women, on the farm
and in the cities, and having won the
election of 1894 on its spending record,
the Roosevelt administration Is propos-
ing to go into the campaign of 1896 with
companion issue. 1t is proposing that
the spending program shall continue
and at the same time that the payment
for the spending program shall come out
of the pockets of the few.
How is the tax program now pro-
posed going to effect business. which Is
expected by the President to take up the
slack of unemployment? Since the final
rates of taxation have not yet been fixed
by the administration-or by Congress
at the beheSt of the administration-it
is too early to answer that question. If,
however, the added taxes are check
to business, with less employment of
labor, less markets for the farmer, the
newest issue may not be so good after
all.
There Is always the chance that the
taxes may not be so very heavy after all.
Indeed, Huey Long, the originator of the
share -the-wealth slogan, insists that he
has no faith in the willingness of the
President to go through with heavy
taxes, taxes SO heavy that it will be
possible to break down and redistribute
wealth. Well, for the sake of business,
it may be just as well to get these taxes
on the statute books without delay SO
that it may know what to expect. Since
this administration has been in power
business has known not what to expect.
~
John Hamilton, Republican national
committeeman for Kansas and assistant
chairman of the National Committee,
addressing the young Republican clubs
of New York State, meeting at Alex
andria Bay on Saturday, said fatty that
the funds which Congress handed over
to the President for work relief and
relief are being used for political pur-
poses and to speed Democratic victory
at the polls next year. Mr.. Hamilton
was the permanent chairman of the
recent Midwest grass roots" conference
in Springfield, ILL., He made specific
charges that the money is being turned
over to political machine leaders in va
rious States. He also made the point
that the administration is keeping the
spending of the money directly in its
own hands-rather than to permit the
Governors of the States to direct it. In
other words, the Roosevelt administra-
ton is to get the credit and not the
State administrations, for the money
that is expended for relief.
~ X X
One Of the instances of turning the
relief program over to machine politi-
clans mentioned by Mr. Hamilton hap
pens to be In Missouri, right next to
Hamilton's own home State. Hamilton
mentioned Matt Murray as having been
selected for the job there. He de-
scribed Murray as "the first lieutenant
and chief adjutant of Boss Pendergast,
who runs Democratic organization in
Kansas City that bows to none other
in the country when it comes to eff
cheney in obtaining fair share of the
vote for Democratic candidates, both
national and local" He continued
Il have no doubt that this same eff
cheney will be applied to the use of the
public money to be turned over to Matt
Murray. In fact, it was done in the last
campaign, for the Democratic organiza-
tion in that State used printed slip
among relief workers that contained the
following questions:
Name?
Party afiliation?
How will you vote this year?
"Are you on relief work?
do you want the work to continue?
"Are you for the New Deal?
How many voters in your family2
do you want car to call for you?
81 presume that inasmuch as relief
funds have been kept out of politics,
we should assume that these questions
wee asked and the information COM
piled for the purpose of an efficient
administration Of the money being
distributed"
The death Of DR.. Edward 3. Clements,
Republican national committeeman for
Missouri, last week takes q veteran and
tried councillor from the G. o. P. ma
tional organization. He was killed in an
automobile accident near Monroe City,
Mo. Chairman Henry p. Fletcher of
the National Committee has declared
the death Of DR.. Clements "a great loss
to the Republican party" Dr. Clements
was for many years real power in the
Republican party in Missouri and in the
national organization, in which he had
many warm friends.
The Republican State Committee will,