Evening star., 1938-08-14
Relief and Subsidies
As Political Factors.
Rv OWEN L. SCOTT.


of several hundred thousand w. p. A.
workers In the South. Then, few days
later, Mr.. Hopkins went down to Men,
phis and announced that quarter OF
million farmers were going to get
chahce to increase their incomes by part
time w. p. A. jobs.
Just before Congress went home to face
its campaigns. the two houses ordered
the Treasury to add 1912 900 900 to the
$500, ,00O. 900 already scheduled to be di-
vided up among 100000 farmers. A
whole new wage schedule now Is offered
to the 5000 900 individuals who are get
ting a living out of w. p. A-with the
schedule higher rather than lower.
Candidates for Congress. nearly every
where, are finding that political success
and popularity lie in promises of larger
pensions and easier pension terms for the
aged destitute. The rolls Of these PEN
sioners are approaching 1000 900.
Yet some people and some political
leaders still are wondering what is the
big political issue now confronting this
country and to confront the country In
the future.
w. p. A. Administrator Hopkins Is
ready and willing to clear up any linger-
ing doubt on that subject Mr.. Hopkins
points out that big business long has OBJ
tanned direct and indirect subsidies from
the Government. One group got tariff
privileges worth billions. Another group
received patent privileges worth other
billions. The railroads in years past re-
celved land grants that involved an area
as large as France, and cash subsidies in
addition. individuals were given the
privilege of acquiring and exploiting vast
natural resources. gaining immense per-
Sonal fortunes in the process
For many years political power lodged
in the hands of business groups who util-
lied Government to obtain privileges and
subsidies of one kind or another.
And yet" asserts Harry Hopkins,
some individuals try to create the i'm
preston that Federal spending 20 help
people and to help business is something
strange and new"
What is strange and new Is another
discovery. This discovery first was made
by organized war veterans, who learned
that Government could provide them
with privileges extending from free med
ical treatment to monthly checks. Then,
in 1888, the discovery was made by mil
lions OF farmers and millions of unem-
ployed who found that. through an exer-
else OF their power to vote, they could
induce Congress to provide cash sub
sides and privileges OF other kinds
BY 1885 the aged INDECENT had cracked
into this circle and added other millions
to the total who found in Government a
source of direct help.
~
The result is that today nearly l3. .OOO.-
600 individuals are drawing checks that
come either directly out OF the Treasury
or from funds provided by the Federal
Treasury. What started as an indirect
form of subsidy to special business groups
and as direct subsidy to industries that
Government wanted to develop. finally
has made the circuit all around to the
point of direct subsidies to millions of
individual voters.
Here Is where today's developments
take on special significance Subsidies
in the past went to few industries and
to relatively few business men. Sub
sides now are going directly to nearly
one-third of the Nations families. In
cluded are 100000 farmers, 5000, 900
w. P. A. workers, more than 1000. 900 old
people and dependent children half
million in c. c. c. camps. nearly q mil
lion war veterans and nearly million
Federal Government employees. Two mil
lion others are getting State and local
relief.
In addition there are a million farm
owners who have their farms financed
through Government credit and who
have used their political power to obtain
q c,,hcili1AA i,<a
million home owners-having borrowed
through H. O. L. C.-who are waking up
to realization of what political pressure
did for the borrowing farmers.
Multiplied millions OF votes are
wrapped up in these subsidies. A show
OF generosity by Mr.. Hopkins. a vote by
Congress for more cash to distribute to
farmers, promise of higher pensions
for the old people or the veterans-all
such moves have dollar-and cents
meaning to nearly third of this Nations
| electorate
This raises what to Senate campaign
investigating committee is more than an
academic question:
Can democratic form of Government
be maintained when not far from a
| majority of the voters have direct or
indirect interest in Government subsidies
which. as human beings, these voters
want to have progressively increased?
y X
Individuals have been denied seats in
the United States Senate because as
much as 100000 had been spent to
finance their campaigns for election.
Yet today millions of dollars in Govern
ment funds-whether Willingly or not
| play their part in elections So long as
| Government subsidies could be confined
to special industries and to special groups
In the population, principally war vet
erans the rest of the Nation carried the
load and elections revolved around other
issues than cash.
Whether subsidies of the size and scope
| Of those now provided can be maintained
in .democracy-with group pressures
irresistible to a politician-seems to de-
pend on whether or not the Nation can
find way to finance the subsidies in
some other way than borrowing. If Gov
eminent revenue can be raised to level
sufnciently high to finance the subsidies,
then these subsidies represent means
for bringing about a partial redistribu-
ton of the national income.
X X
But, so far as can be determined. there
Is no special urge to pay the bill for
| today's growing subsidies. Harry Hop
kins can raise w. p. A. wages with a
wave of the hand and Congress can step
up farm subsidies by the hundreds OF
millions, but neither can seem to develop