Evening star., 1939-06-26

thesis that what
Charles G. Ross. really got us
into the World War was the hood
winking OF the American people oy
the munitions makers and the in
ternational bankers; it was all, in
Mr.. Nye's opinion, as simple as that.
But the meat of his address, so far
as the convention was concerned,
was what he had to say about the
Townsend scheme to give S2O0-a-
month pensions to the old folks, out
OF the proceeds of a transactions"
tax.
Mr.. Nye was all sympathy. He
may not have given the delegates
all that they wanted to hear-as
Henry Mencken reports, he was
very cagey" in his specific allu-
sions to the Townsend plan-but he
showed that his heart was In the
right place. He was all for the prin-
clple OF the thing, and he thought
that the Job at hand was mot to
debate whether such a system "a
national old-age retirement plan)
should be established. but to find
that kind OF system which will
Work He praised the Townsendites
for their persistence in advocating
"a principle that is as right and as
honest as any principle ever laid
down."
"Cagey" Is the Word for 1t.
Mr.. Mencken had the word for all
this-it's cagey. 1t doesn't commit
MIR. Nye to voting for the Townsend
plan or any specific plan; at the
same time it is calculated to gain
MIR. Nye the applause of the Town
sendltes. The fine shades of mean
ing in a speech drawing a distinc-
ton between the principle of thing
and the method Of applying the
principle are likely to become blurred
at the receiving end.
In themselves, however, Mr.. Nyes
verbal nuances are of no particular
interest to the public at large: the
political device which they illustrate
Is familiar. What is of great inter-
est is the fact that Mr.. Nye, by ap-
pearing before the Townsendites at
Indianapolis and feeding them SYM
pathetic words, has done his bit
and, as he Is an important Senator
OF the United States, considerable
bit-toward increasing the pressure
on Congress for the enactment of a
scheme that would impose on the
country, as Chairman Doughton of
the House Ways and Means Com
mittee said in the recent debate on
the Townsend bill in the House, mot
only a new tax, but the heaviest
tax ever levied in the history Of this
or any other country" Whatever
his intention, and however cagey
his words, the effect of Mr.. Nyes
speech is to encourage the old folks
to keep on pouring out their nickels
and dimes for propaganda, in the
belief that the good DR.. Townsend
will produce the millennium.
What Will Be the Result.
When men highly placed in the
Government, like Senator Nye, give
aid and comfort to the Townsend
ties; when candidates Of both par
ties play up to them, as did, notably,
some of the New England Repub-
hcans in the last congressional elec-
tions; when the Townsend bill now
commands the support Of nearly
100 members of the House, as shown
in the vote by which it was beaten
early this month-when such things
are possible. who will say that this
fantastic scheme, or any other
scheme by which politicians may
hope to profit, cannot be put over in
America?
have lately been reading Henry
Haskell's book, THE New Deal in
Old Rome"-a fascinating book and
not, as might be supposed from the
title, a blanket indictment of the
New Deal. He tells of q conversa-
ton with the Governor Of a State
who remarked that he was terri
fed" over the outlook for democratic
institutions In the United States.
The Governor is quoted as saying:
I'm these days we have to make
promises that we know we can't
carry out. We have to promise the
old people pensions that would
bankrupt the State If we paid them.
We have to promise higher wages,
higher prices to tho farmers, bigger
allotments Of public funds from the
Federal Government. am ashamed
OF what I have done. But wanted
to win"
Mr.. Haskell appends the comment:
TN the last days of the republic
many Roman politicians could have
made the same confession. The
American Governors remarks were
cynical and extreme. Still, In view
OF what happened in Rome, we can
not dismiss them as simply fanciful."
Certainly we cannot, and there
Is proof that we cannot in the con-
tinuing support which the Townsend
scheme receives from a large pro-
portion Of the candidates for ONCE
OF both the major parties. Forty
Democrats and SIS Republicans, or
nearly one-fourth of those recorded,
voted for it In the House this month.