The Daily Alaska empire., 1936-07-13
Consequences of Congress
(New York Times)


 No man in his senses would attempt to predict in detail the net social effect of the legislation dumped out by the Seyenty-four Congress in the last few days of it's final session. It would require the combined efforts of our best economists and half dozen Pha dephia lawyers predict the effects of the so-caed Anti-Chain-Store Act alone. Will the new rules which this measure lays down for discounts, allowances and buying and selling. and the vague but broad powers which it delegates to the Federal Trade Commission revolutionze selling practices, will the law become dead letter because of the exceptions it allows be- auSe Of the immense difficulties of controlling in- ersae selling practices without controlling selling practices within the States and because it may courage the formation of vertical trusts?
 Questions of the same sort arise in connection with the Walsh Healey designed to compel he adoption of slightly modified NeA labor standards y requiring the Government to make it's purchases )ny from firms conforming to those standards. Will his really raise the labor standards, will it simply certain firms to cease bidding Government contracts, and compel the Government to pay higher prices for certain commodities than private rs?
 The new Tax Bill, doubtless the most important 1eaSure passed by the last session. has been thor ughly discussed in principle that it is possible to anti .pate some of it's results with confidence. As
 is to apply to the present calendar year, there is till a faint hope that some of it's provisions may be modified by the Congress before that time There school of thought which holds that do not how this is going to work out in prac- ice, but that it will be interesting to make the pertinent; need but wait and see" Such an dea must be regarded skeptically. Economic and ial forces complex that after eXperi- nent is made, and after of its predicted fleets occur, agreement cannot be secured ng the cause of those effects. The disagreement xsted after the noble experiment of prohibition had in effect for years. Those who believed in MIRA still not convinced that it retarded recovery and e-employment. Defenders of the AAA cotton-re- uction program and Recent load policy will still not oncede that it these policies that led to the great in cotton planting abroad. The silver Sena- do not acknowledge to this day that it their olicy which did great injury to the Chinese, forced hem off the silver standard and greatly reduced rade with China
 We may look for the same disagreement if the resent Tax Bill goes into effect If ultimately there an increase in the percentage of bankruptcies, sup orers of the present measure will not attribute any f these bankruptcies to it. If smaller firms do not into large ones 1t will be difficult to prove that hey would have grown without the undstributed prof ts tax If the countrys industrial growth proceeds nly at certain rate it will be hard to sup oorers of the bill that it would have proceeded at greater rate without the tax
 The only other important measure to survive the ush for home or Philadelphia the Ship Subsidy Bill The scissors and paste" Cuffey Coal Bill the Wagner Housing Bill the Pure Food and Drugs Bill, were all tramped under in the final stampede Per laps the heritage of the Seventy-fourth Congress which will long be remembered is the grand total of l9,296000000, according to Senator Glass voted for expenditures af-time record for either a peace ime Q wartime Congress.