The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1939-07-06
Copyright by The Baltimore Sun and
reprinted in The Republican by per-
mission.
Another China Egg

w dSulHSIoIl, July y.
Couched in the erudite language of
the White House economists and en-
ploying the novel terms lately inserted
in the New Deal lexicon which take
the place of spending, pump printing,
debt, deficit and other words grown
unpopular with the people, the Presi-
dents recent proposal that Congress
authorize a 'self-liquidating pro-
gram involving $3,600,0O0,00O, is
plausible only on the surface, and
only there to the notwithstanding.
R~~
Actually, it is as phony as the we'll
known china egg. Stripped of such
phrases as "stimulative investment"
and Compensatory fiscal policy" and
"contributive charges" (instead of
taxes, all of which have been recently
coined by the bright boys of the Gin
ner circle" operating on the idea adj
vanced generations ago by the great
Talleyrand, who wrote San important
art of politicians is to find new words
for institutions which under their old
names have become odious to the pub
lic"-stripped Of these phrases, what
has been handed Congress is another
spending program greater than any
that has preceded it.
*E#
Neither the elaborate argument Of
fered in his letter to Senator Byrnes
nor the specious pleas about buying
equipment for the railroads, nor the
emphasis laid on Government invest
ment", OF the utterly absurd state
ment that in the end this program
may not cost the Government any
thing, alter the fact that here is simply
a gigantic proposition to squander
more billions in the desperate effort
to conceal the failure of the billions al
ready squandered either to reduce I'M
employment or restore the economic
health Of the country.
In brief, it is an administration
move to hide the tragic failure Of 7
years of futile expenditures and carry
the New Deal through the 1910 cleo
ton. 1t comes from a man whose sole
remedy for everything today is to
spend. Literally, that is all that is left.
At a moment when the vital thing is
to regain control of the Federal finan-
ces; at time when we are about to
wind up the fiscal year with the ninth
consecutive annual deficit, estimated
at So ,400,0 100000 with another in pros
pect for next year even greater-at
such time as this, Mr.. Roosevelt pre-
sents to bewildered Congress and a
debt-ridden country a spending pro-
gram which, however, it may help GER
tain groups, will carry US still further
away from national solvency and i'm
pose the Government weight still more
heavily on private business.
$50
The things that make this program
worse than the others are-tirst, ex-
perience has already demonstrated the
complete futility Of spending to do
more than temporarily stimulate bust
ness; second, it is part of the 1910
strategy of the palace politicians;
third, there is no suggestion that new
taxes be levied so as to balance the
new spending with new revenues
fourth, the facts are not frankly pre-
scented, are hidden under the new
from the public by deliberately de-
ceptive setup. .:...
The argument is made that these
new billions will not increase either
debt or deficit, which is, of course,
nonsense, and the phrase "self-liqui-
dating" is used to convey the idea that
no loss will be incurred, which is
grossly misleading. If a private cor
poration were to make such state
ments with as little foundation, if
would find itself hauled before the
SEC, fiercely denounced, severely pen
allied. 1t is almost incredible that
after the experience of the country. it
can again swallow the story that be-
cause business will not expand and
banks make loans the Government
must take over the job. That is the
alibi and the new spending proposal
is in line with the main political issue
which the New Deal advisers expect to
force next year.
The appointment of Mr.. Jesse Jones,
in whom business generally has con-
fidence as head of the new Federal
. Loan Agency, and the effort to make
this new scheme bear a resemblance
to the well-run RFC, are expected to
give it strength in Congress. 1t is,
however, fake resemblance and While