The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1936-02-13
Money
Dominates

1t assuredly is now. |
One can 60 where he chooses about |
the government departments, to the
White House or to Capitol Hill and
the subject under discussion is or soon
will be money.
A year or so ago, we heard great
deal about money. We heard of 1t In
connection with an appropriation of
$4,SSO, 100000 - the greatest single
peace-time voting of money in our his
tory. And, likewise, we heard money
discussed when the President used his
power to devaluate the dollar in its
relation to gold.
Now, however, the subject of money
is discussed in slightly different vein.
The question that is paramount is how
can the government get the money 1t
needs In other words, we are now
getting around to the question of tax
alton, and 1t Is question that neither
the President nor his Geutenants in
congress like to face. 1t is an election
year and tax increase in election year
is not what the politicians would call
smoothing the highway of a campaign.
Passage of the legislation providing
immediate payment of the veterans
bonus brought conditions to head.
The President vetoed the bonus bill
and congress promptly OVERRIDE that
veto. So the President promptly told
congress that something had to be done
about 1t; that the only funds the treas
ury could muster would be by borrow
ing and that since congress had yield
ed to the vocal minority represented by
the greatest lobby ever to populate the
Capitol, it thereby captured for itself
problem of raising the money.
Of course, the President must as
sumo some responsibility even though
he vetoed the bonus for the reason that
some of the funds which must be
raised will go to pay the crop control
benefits or bonus resulting from in
valuation of the processing taxes and
| the Agricultural Adjustment act. The
President, as well as the political lead
ers in congress, want to continue that
| payment and they also want to pay
farmers on commitments previously
made because they regard them as
moral obligations under the AAA con-
tracts, Yet the country is likely to
think In terms of the bonus for the
war veterans and pay little attention
to the smaller amount scheduled to go
to the farmers and, indeed, the vet
erans' bonus is almost six times that
which the administration desires to pay
to the farmers.
There was in this situation devel-
opment to which l believe attention
shoGld be ca lie d..
MS Up Through many years
TO Henry" congress has been
an easy spen e r.
Through the same years it has avoided
at every turn laying taxes to Offset the
money 1t voted out of the treasury.
Under the Roosevelt administration the
peak of easy spending has been reached
and congress has gone along with a
vociferous AYE" on every spending
proposal sent to the Capitol from the
White House. The congressional atti-
tude to which have referred came up
in bulk at the time of the bonus
vote Every time bonus opponent in
quired where the government would
get the money to pay the two and one.
half billion to the veterans, the answer
from the bonus supporters was, In eff.
feet, 'it's up to Henry"
can recall familiar slogan. cur.
rent when l was boy, that was used
always when some one desired to shift
responsbility-to pass the buck. Il
was "let George do it." In the bonus
controversy, Senator Bankhead, Demo
crat Of Alabama, was the first member
of congress whom heard say 'it's VI
to Henry" He meant that the job o
raising the money belonged to Henry
Morgenthau, secretary of the treasury
but Senator Bankhead spoke more thar
his own feelings when he made thu
statement. He put into words {
thought which permeated the minds o
vast majority of unthinking repre-
sentatives and senators.
Perhaps should not say unthinkini
: because those men WERE in truth
: thinking very deeply. Their thoughts
instead of turning to song in tn
spring, were turning to votes in No
: yember. That was the reason for pas
: sage of the bonus. Senators and rep
resentatives seeking reelection wer
afraid to 60 into the battle for nom
ination and reelection this summe
and have war veterans drag out tn
skeleton of vote in opposition to in
mediate payment of the bonus.
1t will be long time before thos
who voted for the bonus can live
t down. A keen political maneuver ha
something in it that calls for admire
: tion but an obvious political maneuve
such as was the passage of the bonu
: did not give any reason for con
: mendation except, perhaps. the justif
D cation that If the Roosevelt admins
q tration was committed to passing OF
! hundreds of millions of dollars on BOOB
e doggling and other more or less useles
: projects. then the war veterans WEI
entitled to be paid now the sums whic
: congress promised them would he pal
: In 1947. That really is powerful a
d gument but If Roosevelt supporter
make that argument they are at II
same time damning the New De;
spending policies, so fancy that sue
an argument will be rarely advanced
1t is entirely probable that there wi
be no tax hill this year unless Il
:. Presidents letter
{ May Be No Speaker Byrns poin
Tar Bill ing out the necessil
for raising revenI