The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1935-09-26
Criticize Spending

If Mr.. Roosevelt has been able to
keep down straight-out crookedness,
he is to be commended. 1t will re-
move from the forthcoming cam
paign some of the mud singing that
really has no place in national poll
tics. But, while the President is en-
titled to commentator for the at
tempts at honest disbursement of
funds, I hear more and more crit
ic1sm of the way the money has
been spent. Indeed, it appears now
that the vast expenditures by the
administration are likely to be as
much of campaign issue as is his
proposal to alter the Constitution
to fit New Deal plans.
Every one knows that when an
individuals pocketbook is touched,
he rises in revolt. BY the time the
next election comes around individ-
uals will have had their pocketbooks
touched rather forcib1y by nation
al, state and local taxes of an in
creased amount. Thus, it is easy
to see how the criticism of Roose-
velt's spending is growing and can
continue to grow. The government
has been pushed ten or twelve bill
lion more in debt and the end is not
in sight, despite the fact that Mr..
Roosevelt has intimated on sever
al occasions lately that he proposes
to curtail federal expenditures ex-
cept for emergency purposes. Those
announcements and any future de-
clarations he may make are not 60
Ing to soften the antagonistic feel
ing that people have for any public
official who wastes money whether
the motives be proper or improper.
From this point, one may look
into the crystal of the 1886 cam
paign and it takes no stretch of the
imagination to visualize what a
pounding the New Deal opposition
will give the Roosevelt adninistra-
ton on this question of spending.
When Mr.. Roosevelt began spend
ing, he declared it was justified be-
cause hundreds of thousands of cit
liens were starving. His next pro-
nouncement on this subject by way
Of explaining continued expenditure
was that if the government spent
freely, it would serve as a printing
of the economic pump; that the
circulation of federal money would
allow industry to sell and that in
dustry would replace by manufac-
ture the things sold. That, too, brot
little or no result. Then we entered
the current stage where the spend
ing was to be closely supervised and
only projects that held promise of |
actually developing manufacture
and retail selling would be approved
and financed by federal money. It |
is regrettable but it is a fact |
that almost nothing has come of |
this program.
And to make matters worse, late
ly, Secretary Ickes, public works adj |
and Relief Administra-
tor Harry Hopkins have locked |
horns on the bulk of the projects
on which federal money was to be
used.
1t is not strange that these two
men should differ. Mr.. Hopkins, be-
ing trained, professional, well
fare worker, sees things only from |
The standpoint of the individual who |
needs food. Mr.. Tckes has con-
ception of federal spending that en-
braces the use of money in ways de-
signed to start the great industries
in motion. He figures that if these
industries get going, they will en-
ploy workers; the workers will spend
their wages and the retailers will |
profit thereby and, as the retailers
sell from their shelves, they seek
requirements from the manufacture
ers. The controversy between Mr..