Evening star., 1939-05-08


can be made, but he has not as yet
used his influence to prevent a num-
ber of expenditures, such as the pro-
posed appropriation for the Florida
ship canal, which involves some
where between 5000, 100000 and $780,
100000 and which is sponsored by
the members of his own party in
Congress.
If the ship canal project should
be approved, then the whole fight
over whether S1OO0O0,0OO or $780,
100000 should have been given the
w. P. A. for the present fiscal year
will become transparency super
fluous. For as between giving the
w. P. A. workers an additional $50
100000 and squandering somewhere
between 100000 900 and 100000, 900
on ship canal. most people would
say the w. P. A. workers ought to
have the edge.
Opinion in State Divided.
The ship canal project has been
up before in Congress and has been
defeated largely through the mill
tant tactics of Senator Arthur Van
denburg of Michigan. North and
South Florida people are divided as
to the wisdom of the project. The
War Department three years ago
said the canal had no military value,
but today is backing the project as
of some possible use in national de-
fense, though the Navy experts ad-
NIT no battleships can go through
the canal anyway and the President
is represented as believing the canal
should be built by w. P. A. labor
over a period of Is years. The mill
tary value of a canal to be COM
pleted IS years hence is not easy to
foresee.
The status of the project is that
the Rivers and Harbors Committee
of the House of Representative has
reported favorably to the House a
bill, which if passed, would appro-
pirate money for the canal. The
Senate Committee on Commerce, by
a vote of 10 to 9, has reported the
bill without recommendation"
The issue, therefore, is now before
both houses of Congress and 1t will
be an interesting roll call to watch.
A vote for the canal project may
become significant of the whole
trend of the administrations for
tunes for it is difficult to persuade
the administration folks here how
expenditure-consc the American
people are rapidly becoming. The
issue is taking effect in the middle
class, however, where the propa-
ganda carried on by taxpayers dur
ing the last three years is at last
being taken seriously.
There was a time when the out
cry about taxes could be brushed
aside by radicals as being merely the
plaintive voice of the rich in the
upper brackets but, little by little.
the facts have begun to percolate
that taxes are the chief obstacles
to wage increases for labor and to
the creation of jobs for the unem-
ployed. Business men, especially the
smaller ones, are able to convince
their neighbors and friends that
business is being choked by taxes
and that recovery cannot come until
something is done about the spend
ing in Washington. Unquestionably
there was a noticeable current to
this effect in the 1888 congressional
elections and history shows that,
when a tide of that sort sets in, 1t
does not diminish but rises to maxi
i,, n1antjnY1C
Wants Check on Expenses.
Anybody who examines the Fed
eral budget dispassionately and
without political bias will be COM
PEELED to concede. Of course, that a
balanced budget Immediately is not
possible unless one wishes to start
a defationary movement and rlsk
the social disorder which might
follow abrupt cancellations of Gov
ernment spending or lending. But
what the Nation is beginning to de-
mand is that some attention be pald
to the other expenses which are
creeping in under the tent just be-
cause of a feeling of defeatism about
cutting the budget at all.
If the administration were carry
Ing out a spectacular program OF
repressing expense additions and II
projects like the Florida ship canal
were boldly and aggresslvely at
tackled as superfuous, the President
would be credited far and wide with
a desire for economy, whereas al
the moment the popular impression
is that, needful as some OF the eH-
penditures are, the administrator
never intends to stop spending or TO
balance the budget.
For several weeks now the foreign
situation has occupied the headlines
and public attention, SO that some
domestic issues have been side
tracked. The Republicans, who have
lust as much of selfish interest IN
forcing domestic questions to the
front as the Democrats may pos
sibly have in wanting the foreign
questions to be emphasized, are by
no means asserting themselves or
domestic affairs as was believed
would be the case at this session.
The Republicans spend most OF
thier time accusing their opposition
of playing politics with the wal
issues, though they are doing aoou'
the same thing themselves, and the
Republicans whom the country has
been expecting to make a light on
economy of expenditures and a re-
duction of taxes have not as vel
manifested any such concerted &C
ton.
1t may be too early but certainly
If there is to be any record made Of
efforts to prevent waste in public
expense the time is passing rapidly
when such a record can be made
Perhaps the Democrats are indif-
ferent because they observe the Re-
publicans relatively Indifferent, too
but by every test of public senti-
ment there is evidence that the tax
payers are by no means Indifferent
Hence some surprises may be in
store for members of Congress in
1910, when both houses may &c