Evening star., 1937-11-16
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.


special session reads well and reassur-
ingly. However. much of its language
is vague enough to be subject to more
than one Interpretation. Doubtless q
number Of interpretations will be given
as to just what the President means to
do about business and taxes. The Chief
Executive spoke particularly Of relief for
small business men and for small busi-
nesses. Scarcely had his message been
presented when Representative Vinson
of Kentucky chairman of House ways
and means subcommittee working on tax
legislation, announced that his COM
mittee had decided to exempt from the
undistributed profits tax all corpora
tions having $1,000 or less net income.
The subcommittee is considering also
relief from this tax for corporations hav-
ing larger net incomes, on a graduated
scale.
Particularly did the President ask for
the cooperation Of business and industry
to put halt to further business recess
sion. At the same time he promised CO.
operation on the part Of the Government
with every kind of citizen. He made no
attempt, apparently, to separate the
sheep from the goats as he has in other
messages and addresses when he has
criticized bitterly at least a minority Of
business and so-called economic royal
lists" who were in opposition to his
policies. Generally speaking the message
was far more moderate than were many
Of his earlier messages and speeches.
While apparently willing to have Gov
ernment encourage business and willing
to bring about certain revisions Of taxa
ton demanded by business, the Presi-
dent did not retreat either upon the
question of further social reform or from
his demand for the passage Of wages
and hours act for industry and a crop
control act for the farmers.
~
The President has never been slow
about taking the ball and running with
it. A new depression-so far it is only
recession" of business-is something
he wishes to save the country from if
it can be done. When he came into
office nearly five years ago the country
was in the depths of the worst depres
sion it had experienced. The President
took command and led the way toward
recovery. It is not likely now he will
view with equanimity the prospect Of a
new depression. Already he has had
many conferences with leaders in in
dustry and finance in an effort to find
a way to stem the tide. For several
weeks it has been apparent that the ad-
ministration would be looked upon to
take the lead-particularly as soon as
Congress should reassemble-With a
concrete program-even if it means
reversing some Of the steps which have
been taken in the past
On the eve of the opening of the ses-
sion Of Congress there were loud de-
mands that something be done" about
the business recession. Members of
Congress from all sections of the country
issued statements asserting that if the
administration did not have plan. they
would seek to evolve one in Congress-
Well, the President has not yet an
nounced a specific plan, but he has
stepped out with a message to Congress
which implies that program is in the
making.
The session of Congress, and the reg
ular session Of Congress which begins
in January, may be a more severe test
of the Roosevelt leadership than any
which has gone before A recalcitrant
Congress, especially in the face of down.
ward trends in business and employ
ment, has proved terrible barrier to
other administrations. If things are not
going well, too often the question of
partisan politics crops out, and the
President can get little aid when it is
most needed. Only a few years ago
former President Herbert Hoover faced
just such Congress
President Roosevelt is still personally
extremely popular throughout the coun-
try. During the last session of Congress
he set himself the task of increasing
the membership of the Supreme Court,
in order to obtain more liberal" in
terpretationS of the Constitution. He
took his first ma jor defeat at the hands
Of Congress in the fight he made for his
court bill. When he travelled across the
continent in September he did not find
that the people were interested in back
ing him in this fight to revamp the
Supreme Court and the inferior Federal
| courts. They were either opposed or
lukewarm.
The Democratic Senators who opposed
his court bill-and who have been slated
for decapitation because of their de-
sertion of the President by Senator
Guffey of Pennsylvania and other ardent
dministrationists-ha not found that
their constituents were ready to throw
them out, and so many of them are re-
turning to Washington with chip on
their shoulders. They are ready to 60
to the mat on other issues, if need be.
And some of these issues are contained
in the program which the President laid
down for the special session now in
progress. The point of view of some Of
these Democrats is expressed in state
ment which Senator David I. Walsh of
Massachusetts issued after listening to
the reading of the Presidents message
yesterday. He said:
''The tone and temper OF the Presi-
dents message to Congress today was
excellent and the country will applaud
his recognition of the need for tax re-
vision and his expectation of achieving
balanced Federal budget. I partic-
ularly welcome his statement favoring
the removal of inequitable tax burdens
On the small business man.
His restatement of the objectives
sought by wages and hours legislation
and of the need for devising a perm
anent program for agriculture and his
argument on behalf of Government re-
organization and the creation of regional
planning agencies were anticipated. The
disagreement and controversies which
attach to these measures still remain
and will unquestionably occasion pro-
longed congressional discussion"
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