Evening star., 1937-04-22

David Lawrence.
groups has had access to the White
House.
The President is emphasizing the
Importance Of getting the budget into
balance, but he will find Congress
rather disinclined, on the whole, to
reduce the expenses of the Federal
will be prominent in the discussion,
but the overwhelming majority have
been taught the doctrines Of spending
30 intensively by the Roosevelt ad-
ministration itself that it will be diff
cult to reverse the thinking of men
who have been boaSting about how
much money they got out of Uncle
Sam for their respective districts.
During the last campaign. the
writer encountered member of Con-
gress from a Western State who made
his whole campaign canvass on the
plea that he had obtained more dollars
per capita for the people of his dis
trict than any other Congressman
in the country.
Spending Idea Dominant.
The idea Of calling on the Federal
Treasury to finance every kind Of
boondoggle, from the building of me-
nageries to the construction of city
sewers. which ought of course to be
financed out of city taxes without
subsidy from the National Govern
ment, is basic New Deal policy. The
arguments made by the President
against spending which now appear in
his budget message are remarkably
similar to the arguments which have
been made for three years by the
administrations opponents. Hence
suddenly to expect Congress now to
take seriously any warnings about
Federal deficits, after political party
was elected last Autumn by the big
gest majority in history notwith-
standing three years of successive def
cits, is something too novel to be in
troduced at this time The experience
is too recent to be forgotten by the
political minded members of the
National Legislature.
Mr.. Roosevelt's words about the
necessity OF side-tracking expenditures
for certain social reforms do not, to
be sure. sit well with the more radical
members Of his party. A paragraph
like this from the Presidents budget
message, they opins, might have been
written BY Liberty Lacquer Of by
gone days:
While recognize many oppor-
tunities to improve social and eco
nounic conditions through Federal ac-
tion, I am convinced that the success
OF our whole program and the perma-
nent security Of our people demand
that we adjust all expenditures within
the limits Of my budget estimate"
Sentences like the foregoing would
nave more weight with Congress if
the President did not have a half
dozen agencies planning more and
more Federal aid in the coming years.
Items Dangerous to Cut.
Mr.. Roosevelt refers to expenses
within his budget estimate. Naturally
There are some items which he would
like to cut out but which, II elimi-
mated, mean antagonism for him
among members of Congress whose
votes he needs for certain measures
like the bill to reorganize the ST.
breme Court.
The President will be in an awk-
ward position If he attempts to defend
some Of the items already within his
budget which do not differ in prin-
c1ple from the items which other
groups now are trying to insert in the
Federal appropriation bills. It Is sig
nif1cant to note that Mr.. Roosevelt
chooses now to speak Of special
pressure groups" He says:
1T Is matter Of concern to you
and to me who are working for a
balanced budget that so many special
groups exert the strongest pressure to
bring about increases in Government
expenditures
Who are the special groups, and
what pressure do they exert? There
usually Is plenty Of time and money
to investigate business interests who
ask that they be freed from ham
stringing legislation, but there never
apparently Is any money to investi-
gate the special pressure groups"
who want to raid the Treasury. The
reason is that most of these special
pressure groups aided the Roosevelt
administration and members of Con-
gress to get big majority last Au-
tumn, and 1t Just isn't political style
or custom to investigate the short
comings Of ones own party or its
allies.
tCopyright, 1937)