The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1937-05-26
ADJOURNMENT
BIG INTEREST
OF BUSINESS
BY EARL GOODWIN


Most important among Wash
ington news to the business men
does not concern the Supreme
Court, or the Presidents grip on
the party, or what the Treasury
plans to do about taxes-but the
business men Of the country are
asking their washington repre-
sentatives:
when is Congress going to
quit and go homer"
The reason is clear: Business
is now ready to get up off the sick
bed and take a long and brisk
walk toward much better things.
Bigger volume and bigger profits
but it doesn't intend to take one
step out of the ordinary limp un-
til it knows what it can depend
on in the way of laws, experiments,
regulations, threats, fights and
whathave-you.
Business Is Able
BuSineSS-Say half Of the Big
Business representatives around
the Nations Capitals well able
to take care Of itself under all the
burdens imposed on it now, but
what it fears is uncertainty.
Business representatives who
have been better advised Of the
Administration wage and hour
legislation than most newspapers,
have said within the past two
days that business can handle this
proposed standardization of wages
and shrinking of hours; business
can take all this in its stride if it
can be allowed to frame program
for the next three years, but it can
not lengthen its stride and start
off on a boom if it feels that it is
going to be hobbled with some
thing new in the next month or so.
Social Security Views
Business has q view of the Su-
preme Courts favorable opinion
on Social Security which Is en-
tightening. Business has been
portrayed as groaning under the
contributions it must make to the
Treasury as its half of the social
security pool-but the current |
feeling Of business now is that the
taxes and contributions for social
security will pour a billion dollars
into the Treasury in caSh-which |
will be cash on the nail for the |
Secretary Of the Treasury to use.
The business man sees the
fact that a billion in cash in
the Treasury means no imme-
date Scrambling for taxes and
borrowings. There is a $400, 000,.
900 deficit in the Treasury. The
billion in social security cash
wipes that out, because the bill.
lion comes into the general fund.
The law requires that the social
security funds be invested, so
the present Administration fig.
ures there is no better invest.
ment than retiring some Of the
present Indebtedness. In other
wordS-a billion in social Sc.
curity cash becomes Government
securities overnight, figuratively
speaking. It helps the bond sit
uation. because there Is a grow
ing reluctance to take any more
Government bonds right now.
No New Taxes?
This all adds up to q sort Of
comfortable conservative feeling
among business men that there
will be no new taxes now. Bust
ness also reads that Chairman
Doughton, of the House Ways
and Means Committee, intro
duces a bill to extend the va
rious excise and nuisance" taxes |
another couple Of years and that
means half q billion dollars a
year. But while these latter taxes
are imposed on business trans
actions. business has now be-
come accustomed to them and
these taxes are q part of the
routine matter Of doing bust
ness.
This is a good example Of the
reason why business would breathe
a deep sigh Of relief if it knew
that the wage-and-hour legislation
is to be the end Of the current pro
gram.
Business would then know ex-
actly what to expect.