Evening star., 1937-01-03
Congress Convenes With
a Full Slate of Issues
BY OWEN L. SCOTT.

gress assembling without creating so
much as a tremor in the ranks Of pro-
fessional viewers with alarm, Nothing
like this has been seen in recent years.
Instead Of ambitious plans for re-
making the country or for entering upon
new and exciting experiments, there is
q studied effort at calm, with assurance
that few new experiments are intended
and promise that the drive for dra-
matte action is ended. at least tenn
porarily. The period Of rapid change
obviously has passed, to be succeeded
by q period of consolidation of the
ground gained.
Briefly, the job of the new Roosevelt
dominated Congress Is this:
To polish up old experiments. to re-
vive in modified form some OF the VEN
lures on which the Supreme Court
cracked down, to continue the life of
additional experiments that otherwise
would end. to take the kinks out Of
Federal administration and to get Fed
eral finances In better order.
But other tasks could quickly be pro-
vided If the Supreme Court, during the
next few months, should upset the social
security act. knock out the utility hold
ing company act, or strictly limit the
effectiveness Of the Wagner labor rela-
tions law.
In the event Of O. series Of Supreme
Court decisions overturning settled New
Deal policies. the President and Congress
might be tempted to gang up on the
judiciary In an effort to clip its wings
either through congressional amendment
or by legislation. The talk now turns
to the threat of judicial dictatorship
rather than of an executive dictatorship.
Lacking an issue along these lines, the
chances are against an exciting session.
Even the distractions afforded by colorful
personalities are likely to be missed. Too
much Democratic unanimity removes the
entertainment usually provided by debate
and by the uncertainty over the outcome
OF voting. So, unless some Southern
conservatives among the Presidents
present followers should decide to In
dulge In fence jumping, the entertain.
nlent value of Congress is almost sure
to be low. Yet the result of its delibera-
tions will be highly important.
Major problems cover the field of
finance, of foreign policy. of farm policy,
Of power policy and of governmental
organization. among other things. In
all of them the President will do the
steering.
Until now Mr. Roosevelt has been
interested In spending borrowed money
as q means of speeding up the wheels
Of private industry. But the advisers
who guide that spending for recovery
policy now tell him that, II he is to
bring that experiment to q successful
conclusion. he must, above all else.
achieve q balance of his budget and start
now to reduce the national debt held
by private investors.
The result Is that the major present
White House objective Is to check the
trend toward increased spending. That
objective means stepping on some toes.
1t involves saying no" to both Harry
Hopkins, with his ideas for relief appro-
priations, and to members of Congress,
with ideas for new public works for their
districts and for larger incomes for the
relief workers. The first pressure for
economy brought quick formation of q
bloc OF drought-State Congressman pre-
pared to log-roll with other groups to get
what they wanted.
+
But, If he really desires it. President
Roosevelt can get his spending program
IN order. At the same time, he should
have no difficulty inducing Congress to
extend his power TO- manage the dollar.
At one stage, the financial interests of
the country regarded the existence of this
power as most dangerous Yet, today,
Senator Carter Glass of Virginia, a con-
servative among the money conservatives,
Is expected to sponsor the bill to give
President Roosevelt continued power to
revalue the country's money and to man
age its use in world trade Old gold
standard ideas appear to be in the dis
card.
Business opponents Of the President
have shifted their attacks from relief
policy and money policy to tax policy.
They are chiefly interested in modifying
not paid out to stockholders in the form
Of dividends.
Their efforts are unlikely to be capped
with material success. The reason is that
this tax Is favored not only by the
Treasury Department because of the
revenue it promises to yield, but by the
White House policy advisers who are in
terested in reform. They look with favor
on the flood Of dividends that descended
on stockholders during December because
those dividends represented money in
motion. A major underlying New Deal
tenet is that the last depression resulted
in important part from too much cor
porate saving. So long as Mr. Roosevelt
is President, there is unlikely to be a
change in the principle of the new tax,
although technical changes are probable
Some Senators are hoping to gain the
limelight and to make names for them
selves in the field of foreign policy. Here
two important issues are confronting
Congress. One grows out of neutrality
legislation to replace that scheduled to
expire. The other springs from the
Presidents reciprocal trade program,
which must be renewed before July /.
Senator Vandenberg of Michigan, with
an eye already directed at the 1910 Re-
publican presidential nomination, is ex-
pected to lead the opposition to Mr..
Roosevelt on both issues.
The question is whether Congress
should legislate rigid formula for neu-
trality. or whether Congress should dele
gate to the President broad power to
apply q formula within rather broad
limits. Owing to the diverse interests
of this country, President Roosevelt pre-
fers that Congress provide him with
some discretion in applying a program
of neutrality. His opponents, however,
are ready to fight for a nlan that would