Evening star., 1938-03-15
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

1lANc pdoccu, ~ appears, even CHOuBu u
congressional election is just around the
corner. The President has seen the
overwhelmingly Democratic House turn
down the punitive tax on closely owned
and family corporations. And more re-
Gently he read, If he has not heard,
Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi,
chairman Of the Senate Finance Com
mittee, declare that the principle Of the
undistributed profits tax should be eradi-
Gated from the revenue law, and that
good deal should be done to modify the
capital gains tax-in the new revenue
bill.
What the tax bill will look like when
it finally emerges from the Senate FL
nance Committee, and later when 1t is
put through the Senate, Is not certain.
The chances are, however, that it will
not be satisfactory to the President.
There have been hints he might veto
the bill If it did not measure up to
specifications. If he did, that would
leave the existing tax law in effect
which would not be particularly pleasing
either to business or to the administra-
ton. Certainly, such situation might
lose the New Dealers quite few votes.
The use of the taxing power OF the
Government for punitive purposes and
for putting into effect certain social
ideas of the New Deal administration is
giving many of the voters a good deal
to think about. Furthermore, the con-
tinued depression in business and in
crease in unemployment is making the
workers wonder whether after all, the
administration has not been barking up
the wrong tree. There is nothing like
hard times to discourage the voters or
to make them take slap at the political
party in power.
The tenacity with which the admin
istration-ie. the President-holds to
policies and practices once decided upon
has been indicated over and over again.
1t has by no means retired from the
field as a result of the administration
defeat over the penalty tax on closely
held corporations. 1t sent Roswell Nc
Gill, Undersecretary of the Treasury,
down to tell the Senate Finance Com
mittee that it should restore the penalty
tax to the bill McGill has become the
tax man of the administration, taking
the place Of Herman Oliphant, general
counsel Of the department. Oliphant
was credited with having put across the
undistributed profits tax in last tax law
enacted.
With all the excitement abroad, both
In Europe and in the Far East, the naval
defense bill is expected by its supporters
to slide through the House and the
Senate with comparative ease. However,
the very fact that world war is threat
ened will lead also to stronger opposition
on the part of those who believe we
should do nothing which could involve
the United States In such a conflagration.
Not all of the peace advocates take
the same view of international affairs as
that of Senator Borah, Senator johnson
OF California and other stout isola-
tionists. For example. there is the Com
mittee for Concerted Peace Efforts. This
committee, representing many Of the
peace organizations of the country,
working actively against the naval bill,
which now bears the name of Chairman
Vinson of the House Naval Affairs Com
mittee, writing to the House committee
said:
I'VE believe that the proposed in
creased military expenditures of the
United States and of other nations are
the price the American people pay for
a policy OF isolation and non-co-opera-
ton and that others pay for failure to
fulfill their international obligations
Armaments are the result of isolation
and anarchy and, while the result of
fear, are in themselves the cause Of in
creasing fear"
These peace organizations claim that
the policy of isolation and the policy of
world cooperation are the only alterna-
tives of the United States in world af-
fairs. And they are strong for the latter.
Only by cooperation Of the nations, they
insist, will it be possible to secure respect
for treaties, to stop aggression and to
provide security. To them the failure
Of the United States to join the League
Of Nations may be blamed for the present
race Of armaments and what they call
growing world anarchy"
One statement at least these peace
organizations made which seems to be
worth remembering. I'VE cannot under
stand" they said, "how peace-loving
people can advocate policy of nom
cooperation and disarmament at the
same time And it is perfectly true
that some of the isolationists in this
country are also strong for disarmament,
which does not make sense.
y r.
The American people are great expert
menters They seem to be willing to try
anything-although so far they have
steered clear of the kind of international
cooperation embodied In the League of
Nations can think of two noble ex-
periments, however, which they did try.
One was the Eighteenth Amendment to
the Constitution for national prohibi-
ton. The other was the Washington
Conference on the Limitation OF Arma-
ments. The Eighteenth Amendment
has been repealed. The arms confer
ence, which began with high hopes in
1922, has not panned out the way
1t was intended.
The United States at that conference
made magnificent gesture. The richest
nation in the world-and particularly
so at that time-it also possessed the
greatest prospective Navy of all time.
To show its good faith, this country
agreed to scrap its naval advantages and
to maintain Navy equal to that Of
Great Britain and in the ratio Of to 3
to that of Japan. And that was that
In the years that followed, the United
States still pursuing the hope of inter-
national limitation of armament, failed
to appropriate the money to keep its
Navy up to treaty strength. When the
London Naval Conference was held sew
eral years later, in 1929 to be exact, the
United States was in no position to make
It's demands felt. It no longer held q
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