The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1938-03-31

NOW tIlaC Tue OcpreSS1Ou Is On US
again, corporations obviously are
scared stiff. Wage cuts are CROP
ping up here, there and everywhere.
and every time there is q wage
cut the nations buying power is re-
duced to that extent. But what is
an employer going to do? Go
broke, In order to keep his payrolls
up?' That Is hardly human, 1t seems
to me, since everyone desires to pro-
tect whatever funds he may have,
be it q dollar or million.
So, when Senator Harrison spoke
out boldly that something was go
ing to be done to eliminate some Of
the obstacles which wishful thinking
New Dealers have built up In their
experimentation, it means, be-
lieve, that Senator Harrison pro-
poses to do just that.
The politics Of the situation IS an
other matter. That phase Is equally
important and significant. Senator
Harrison would not have spoken out
few years ago, or even q year
ago, as he has done lately. The
house year ago would never have
rejected what has been called the
third basket" Of taxation. (The So
called third basket was q new type
Of tax that would have made the
rates sky-high on corporations held
by only q few stockholders, family
owned corporations Like thousands
Of small companies usually are.)
No, the house would not have killed
that year ago, but it did this year.
And, when Senator Harrison dared
to say congress will do thus and so,
Senator Harrison was simply voic-
ing q fact. He was saying, in eff
feet, Whether you like it or not,
Mr.. President, we will write the tax
law in the interest of the country as
we see it."
In the course of the tax bill de-
bate in the house, there was q curl
GUS disclosure, rather biting piece
of debate. Representative Tread
way, who would be chairman of the
ways and means committee II Re-
publicans were in the majority In
stead of being only handful, told
the house that the father Of the
surplus earning tax had never come
before the committee since the
time he laid out the silly scheme
which led to its enactment. Pro-
fessor Oliphant has been so silent
about his sponsorship Of the plan
that it has become almost thunder
GUS. And Mr.. Treadway thought It
was unusual that q parent should
shrink from acknowledgement Of
parenthood He obtained no answer
or explanation. The surplus earn
ings tax, in q modified form, was
still in the bill as reported to the
house, however, and there was suf-
ficient New Deal strength in the
house to hold it there. It will be
different in the senate, and the
speech by Senator Harrison simply
Is an announcement in advance.
h Healthy Sign
It has been interesting to me to
review these facts because I am In
Ginning to the opinion that the sit
uation in congress is more or less a
reflection of the opinion in the en-
tire country. The November cleo
tions lie ahead. Mail from home Is
pouring In, and the character Of
that mail is always closely studied
by the politician seeking reelection.
That is to say, the average house
member or senator is keeping very
close tap on what the feeling is back
home. They were not put to that
necessity during the first four years
of Mr.. Roosevelt's administration.
All that was needed was for MEM
Der to say that the President wants
this or that, and vote that way.
So clearly has all of this been
made apparent that few who so de-
sire are afread any longer to assert
themselves-to say what they think
even if that is in administration OPP
position. It is a healthy sign. It
means that congress, while going