Evening star., 1936-05-04
THE POLITICAL
MILL
By G.. Could Lincoln.

When the Congress appropriated $4,-
100000 for relief last year, the wall
of the Republicans was: How can you
beat a man who has five billion dollars to
spend where he wants to spend it?" Well,
the campaign will soon be underway, and
the question has not yet been answered.
The President and his agents, particu-
larly Harry L. Hopkins, have expended
great part of this vast sum. There is still
something like a billion and a quarter
of this money to be expended And the
President has asked Congress for another
billion and half dollars to turn over to
Mr.. Hopkins and w. P. A. If Congress
follows the Presidents recommendation
the campaign cheSt-as the Republicans
insist it is-will have been we'll re-
pleniShed.
This vast sum of money goes into the
pockets of those who are destitute-and
that is what it is intended for 1t also
goes TO pay countless agents of the Gov
ernment who do the distributing, build
ing up further a great governmental
bureaucracy and a party machine The
agents employed by the administration
are Democrats. If many of the stories
that are told-which are not inveSti-
gated-be true the distribution made by
these agents is accompanied by demands
that the recipients register and vote
right"
1t would be impossible to separate
money benefits from political effect,
probably, no matter how the money was
distributed. 1t seems particularly stupid,
therefore. that the lesser Democratic
leaders should make any demand upon
the voters who receive these benefits.
Such course merely lays them and the
administration open to charges of playing
politics with human misery.
There seems to be abroad today belief
that President Roosevelt, because of the
distribution of public funds, will receive
the votes of all the people who have little
or nothing-and that this class far out
numbers the people who have homes and
farms and jobs and are self-supporting.
The belief of the Democrats, also, is that
a sufficient number of the people who
are not receiving benefits from the Gov
ernment, when added to those who are
fiat on their backs, will vote the Roose-
velt-Garner ticket next November. They
may have figured the matter out cor
always the chance that the people-the
great majority of whom are still paying
either direct or indirect taxes-may take
the bit in their teeth and vote for
candidate who promises to reduce Gov
ernment expenditures and TO lessen the
tax burden.
The row which is looming in the House
of Representatives over the relief appro-
priation for the next fiscal year is not
| because of any effort to reduce the
81 500,000,000 asked by the President. 1t
is fight to earmark some of this money
from S4OOO0O,0O0 to s70O 200, ,00O-for
the Public Works Administration under
the direction of Secretary Ickes of the
Interior Department A very large group
of Democratic members of the House,
under the leadership of Representative
Better of New York, believe that the
Public Works Administration should have
these funds to go ahead with a real
public works program next year.
The Works Progress Administration,
however, has been particular pet of
the President, ever since it was evolved
last year And the reports are the PreSi-
dent is standing firm back of Mr. Hop
opinion the w. P A. gives work to very
large number Of the unemployed. The
work is of the ephemeral kind: made
work, generally speaking. Either that.
or work done at the entire expense of
the Federal Government which ordi-
narily would be done by the municipal
tiles. The costs of carrying on these
jobs are far greater than if the munich
palities were doing the work themselves
and saving dollars wherever they could
be saved. But then, the object of the
w. P. A. Is to distribute money, not to
save it. And incidentally, that kind OF
distribution may have more political
effect in November
Five weeks from Tuesday The Repub-
licans meet in Cleveland in national
convention to name their presidential
and vice presidential candidates and to
write their platforms. How strong will
the platform be in denunciation of the
Roosevelt New Deal? Undoubtedly the
platform will attack the Roosevelt ad-
miniStration because of its vast eXpendi-
lures. 1t will have lot to say about
the abandonment of governmental econ
omy and the failure to make the slightest
effort to balance the budget. 1t will
attack the building up of countless Gov
ernment bureaus with hundreds of thou
sands of Government employees. What
will it say about the three AS? Repub-
licans who come from the great farm
States of the Middle West have been
rather careful what they said in criticism
of the A. A. A. and its benefit checks.
Suppose Gov. Alf M. Landon of Kansas
is nominated for President Could he. or
would he, stand on platform which
attacks the A. A. A? 1t may be that
the Republicans by that time, will have
evolved a farm relief program of their
own. differing from the A. A. A. and
offering as much to the farmers. II so,
then the Western Republicans may be
willing to be drastic in their criticism
of the Roosevelt method.
X
Will the Republicans conduct an ag-
greSsive, anti-New Deal campaign, or
will they pussy-foot? If they nominate
Gov. Landon, will he take to the huSting
in vigorous attack on the Roosevelt
administration, or will he continue to re-
main in independence or Topeka. KaQs,
conducting a front porch campaign?
Landon, who is believed to be out in the
lead for the Republican nomination
today, has not been an aggressive candi-
date. He has remained in his own home
State, except for step across the border
into the neighboring State of Nebraska
for a single speech. There has been