Evening star., 1938-04-19

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stance, the PreSi-
dent has under
taken to deprive the American people
Of tax revision legislation this year
by the simple device of compelling the
conference committee to stay in dead
lock Mr.. Roosevelt has control of
the House members of the joint con-
ference committee which, as J., is the
custom, seeks to iron out differences
between the House and Senate. He
does not control the Senate members
OF the conference.
The chief items in dispute relate to
the penalty tax on thrift and savings
which has been one of the major
causes Of the present depression and
which Mr.. Roosevelt refuses to allow
to be eliminated from the tax laws.
He thinks that the House bill which
changes the rates somewhat should
remain and that the principle of
taxing savings and thrift should be
retained
The Senate, on the other hand,
wants to wipe out the penalty tax on
thrift and give American business a
chance to function. Mr. Roosevelt
exercises some sort of powerful inf1u-
ence over the House members of the
conference because they refuse to per-
nit the matter to be submitted to a
vote of the House of Representatives
Unable to Get House Vote.
Again and again the Senate men,
bers of the conference committee
have suggested that the House men,
bers take the subject back to the
membership of the House Of Represen-
tatives for a vote but to no avail
The Senate passed its own bill by an
overwhelming vote and the Senate
conferees are united to a man. Dem
ocrats and Republicans, in favor of
eliminating the penalty tax on thrift
AS rule when deadlock like this
occurs there is delay and then an
attempt al compromise But, usually
too, members of the House and Senate
feel that they can exercise their inde-
pendent Judgment without pressure
from the Executive. In the present
instance there has been no formal
notification that the President would
veto the bill if it did not contain
the House provisions which he wants.
Certainly the conference is entitled
TO formal word on the Presidents posi-
ton If he Is to exercise pressure at
this stage of the proceedings. for it
will be recalled that he did not indi-
cate any such course when the measure
was before the Senate.
A President has right, of course,
to indicate what legislation he might
veto, but is under no obligation to do
so. There is, on the other hand, no
justification for his threatening secretly
to use the veto power As matters
stand today. by controlling the House
members and persuading them not to
take the matter back to the House,
deadlock can result in the failure OF
the whole tax bill to pass at this ses-
sion.
When to Use Pressure,
There is reason 10 believe that Mr..
Roosevelt is making use Of exactly
that argument through his henchmen
on the House committee. 1t would
seem that the President would hesitate
to use any pressure, direct or indirect.
with conference committee composed
Of men who are under obligations to
him.
Thus, for example, as we pointed
out recently in these dispatches, Rep
resentative Vinson of Kentucky, who
Is one of the leading members of the
House Conference Committee, already
has received from the President a life
Job as judge OF the Circuit Court
OF Appeals of the District of Columbia
He has delayed taking the oath so that
he could remain on the conference
committee though he was actually
confirmed as a judge early last De-
cember, most unusual proceeding.
The country can hardly look upon
the handing out of judgeships under
these circumstances as wholly free
from suspicion especially when the
President has precipitated a contro-
versy between the House and Senate
conferees and is in "a position to get
his way through the vote and influence
Of a man who has just been awarded
Q high Federal Office.
The pending Senate tax bill has
been regarded as one of the important
steps toward unemployment It's pas
sage has been awaited ever since last
autumn, when Nationwide sentiment
for tax revision began to crystalline.
Many people now out of jobs will be
benefited II Congress assumes a posi-
ton Of fairness toward the develop
ment and expansion of business. To
cause the proposed tax revision to fail
through deadlock of the conference
committee means that the present law,
with its vicious tax provisions, will
stay on the statute books.
It Is true Mr. Roosevelt could veto
the bill and then two thirds would
be required in both houses to override
his veto. But this is an election year
and two-thirds of the members of both
houses would rather record themselves
as being in favor of measures that help
instead Of retard recovery. What is
important, however, is that Mr.. Roose-
welt at the moment is preventing the
matter from coming to a vote in the
House and he is doing it by undue con-
troll over the House Conference Com
mittee, situation which only an
alert public opinion can possibly cor
rect.