Imperial Valley press., 1936-03-09
News Behind the News
Congress Turns Independent
Leaders BGIk at Tax Requests :.
It's Election Year :.

WASHINGTON.-CCngreSS doesn't carry its
hat IN its hand any more when it goes to the
White House.
The administrations lack of legislative
program for this session comedies, not too oddly
with the fact that senators and representatives
generally are far more independent than in any
other session since Roosevelt took office
In his current demand for more than bill
lion dollars of taxes, Roosevelt had intended tC
include requests for inheritance taxes and in
creased levies on higher bracket income. His
congressional leaders baked and told him he
would be licked on it.
Congress hates new taxes in an election year.
though it still loves to spend money. If Roose-
Vet gets any more "Soak-the-rich legislation
from this Congress, it will be only through
miracle of strategic manipulation.
Authorization o. Senator Harry Byrd's pro-
posed investigation of federal government. its
expenditures and overlappings, couldn't have
happened before this year. Nor would any House
committee have refused funds for administra-
ton political projects such as PasSamaquoddy
and the Florida ship canal-or for the shelter
belt.
The flareup over the War Departments pun
ishment Of General Hagood for his wisecracks
against WPA before the military affairs COM
mlttee was unusually vigorous. Any federal
agency will tell you that congressman are likely
to be tough these days when they telephone for
information. Senator Bachman CT Tennessee.
seated near Chief of Staff Malin Craig at din
ner the other night, bawled the latter out for
the Hagood incident. We're finished with this
bureaucratic and departmental domination Of
Congress, he announced.
Several reasons for all this: The pie has
about given out, both the patronage and project
varieties. There's a natural tendency to swing
back from previous marked subservience to the
adminstration-often to resume normal subser-
Vence to special interests which usually help
elect and control members Most congressman
are constitutionally sef-aSsertive; decline of ad
ministration prestige makes administration sup
port seem less important to them than in 1884
The American Youth Commission financed
by the Rockefeller Foundation, is out with a
preliminary report, which says, among other
things:
In recent years the exposures of flagrant
violations cf public trust by the leaders of in
ternational finance. by the munitions manufac-
turerS, by high government officials and by
leadership generally have all but destroyed the
bases of moral character and citizenship in AM
erican society
Before any program of citizenship or char
acter education can have any real value gov
ernment and business and industry must vastly
improve their ethical foundations the failure
of youth to find high qualities in their leaders
radicalism amCng our youth -
Such sentiments have been heard here be-
fore. But they have been attracting special at
tenton because Mr.. Newton D Baker. leading
corporation lawyer, is chairman of the American
Youth Commission and because Mr.. Owen D.
Young, chairman of General Electric and pro-
minent in many other industries, is the vice
chairman