Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1936-08-28

bsrween the President, the Secre-
r,rv of the Treasury, Congressman
R. L. Doughton, Senator Pat Har-
rison, Chairman of the Finance;
Committee and other financial ad-
visors of the Administration, hat
emo new taxes and no increases in
present taxes are necessary" has
started a discussion as to just what
is implied in the statement. How
much was it a gesture for political
effect and how far was it a reflec-
ton of improvement in business
conditions?
The Secretary of the Treasury
pointed out that the revenue from
existing taxes is steadily increasing,
due to continued improvement in
business conditions, and that the
government is steadily approaching
a revenue yield which will be ade-
ouate to cover expenses and reduce
the public debt.
The generally accepted explana-
ton of the reason for making the
announcement at this time is that
it was not so much to strengthen
Mr.. R~oosevelt's own political posi-
ton as to help Senator Harrison in
the primary contest in his home
state of Mississippi.
SOCIAL SECURITY WHIRL
Because so much of the news
coming out of Washington in the
past few years has been about the
acts of the President and Of Con-
gress, it is easy to get the impress
sion that nobody does anything in
Washington between times.
As a matter of fact, the Capital
City is a beehive of activity the
year around. Perhaps the busiest
office in Washington right now
is that of the Social Security Board,
which has moved into the old De-
partment of Labor building and is
already beginning to find itself
cramped for space.
The tremendous job of listing,
indexing and assigning a serial
number to everyone Of the 49,
000, 900 and more workers in busi-
ness and industry who will come
under the provision of the retire
ment benefits section Of the act on
January l, next, IS a job Of detail!
work which is already employing
several thousand clerks. The esti-l
mate of the number of persons who
will be required to administer the
Social Security Act program when
it is in full operation is $4,000.
The work now under way I'M
this bureau must be completed be-
fore the end of the year, for be-
ginning on January 1, 1887, every
worker reaching the age of IS will
be entitled to retirement benefits.
Monthly benefit payments for
life will not begin until 1912, but
any employed person reaching the
age of IS after the first day of
next year can draw down from
the Social Security account a lump
sum amounting to 3 IL percent
of whatever he may have earned
after January 1, next provided he,
quits his job and goes into retire
ment on his 9th birthday.
In addition to this, the Social Sc
curity board is in charge of the
allotments to states for old age
pensions, the collection of payroll
taxes for unemployment insurance
and the distribution of the proceeds
Of these taxes to thes tates, and the
allotment of Federal funds for
various kinds of health, disability,
child welfare and mothers pension
purposes.
ROBINSON-PATMAN ACT
Almost every Federal bureau is
continually holding hearings on
various phases of the laws which it
is supposed o administer. Just now
the Federal Trade Commission is
being besieged by business men and
their attorneys asking for interpre-
tations of the Robinson Patman
Act, whichm ade numerous amend
ments to the Clayton Antitrust
law.
A number of complaints have
been filed with the Commission
charging violation of the Act; some
of these are by chain stores charg-
ing independent ones with viola
tons and some of them are the
other way around. Everybody
concerned is making compliment
tary remarks about the courtesy
and willing cooperation of the per-
sonnet of the F. Z. c. in trvino to!