Evening star., 1939-01-24

eSe~~A SASSS
ional Radio Forum.
not afford to come to the financial
assistance of millions of unemployed
through creation of beneficial public
work in the absence of private work.
The deficits incurred in 1881, 1892
and 1888 cannot be considered as
being of what Senator Byrd chooses
to call the pump printing" variety,
because they resulted largely from
decreased Federal revenues rather
than from increased Government
expenditures. During this period we
had no increase in the national in
come. In fact during this period
the sum of the annual losses in the
national income, compared with the
1929 level, amounted to $l20, 900 ,000,-
600. This staggering loss, to which
Senator Byrd makes no reference,
resulted from our failure to utilize
our idle human and material re-
sources. This is the kind of waste
that the Nation can i'll afford. We
had no increase in the national in
come until a comprehensive lend
ing and spending program was
launched, beginning in 1884, giving
aid to farmers and home owners
and creating jobs through relief and
public works.
Income Again Rising.
Let us now consider the years
1884 1887, inclusive. In this period
the Government made cash loans
and expenditures, including the SOL
diers' bonus, of $11 900 900, 900 more
than it collected, including pay roll
taxes This largely resulted from
deliberate policy of stimulating
recovery in private activity. During
this period the national income rose
from approximately $4,000, 900 900
in 1888 to about $4,000 900 900 in
1887. The combined increases in
the national income for these four
years, as compared with 1888, ag-
gregated $4,000, 0,0O0,O 900, or more
than six times the Governments
cash deficit of $1l 900 900 900 for the
same period.
And then what happened? During
the year 1887, the Government con-
tributed about $3000.000 10000 less to
the buying power of the public than
it did in the year 1896, so that its
cash receipts were only about $780,
10000 less than it spent. This too
rapid withdrawal of the Govern
ment's stimulus was accompanied by
other important factors, including
sharply increased construction costs,
large scale speculative inventory
buying, a too rapid expansion of
short-term installment credit, Sc
rious conflicts between capital and
labor, and a widening spread between
agricultural and industrial prices
The result was another period of
rapid deflation in the fall Of 1887,
which continued until the present
| spending program of the Govern
ment was begun last summer. The
national income has been rising
steadily ever since that time.
Stimulus to Consumption.
In the light of this record of the
last nine years-a record which Sen
ator Byrd denounces as one of fiscal
insanity"-does it seem reasonable
| to believe that, as the Senator said
in his letter to me-and I quote
For every dollar the Government
borrows and spends in pump-prim-
ing, private enterprise is deferred
from spending two? If Senator
Byrd really believes this, he should
be exerting all of his influence in
| fighting for an immediate, instead
of a gradual, balancing of the bud
get, in order to reduce Government
expenditures by at least $4,000, ,OOO,-
600. Such reduction, according
to his unequivocal statement, would
bring about an expansion in spend
ing by private enterprise of $6,O0O,-
600, 900 year. I am convinced that
the exact opposite is true. Accord
ingly, believe that the country can
we'll afford to have the Government
continue its stimulus to consumption
and thus to business at this juncture
We might have had the same re-
suits with less Government spending
had some of it been directed into
other channels or had it been better
timed, or if private activity had not
felt that there were deterrents due
to Government policy, but of one
thing I am certain-Mhatever the
deterrents have been, Government
spending has not been one of them
Private Debts Also Burden.
AS to the burden of the Govern.
ment debt on our children and oul
children's children, which also dis.
turbS the Senator, if they reduce
the national debt it will probably be
because their national income jus.
titles the reduction, and it will be NJ
more of a burden on them than wa.
the reduction of 100000 900 O.
the war debt during the 20s. Ir
fact we could have paid off much
more OF the war debt If we had not
had three major income tax reduc.
tions which helped to encourage
stock market speculation and the
making of uncollectable foreign
loans.
Why not worry also about thu
burden of all of the private debts
on our children and their children
because these debts will also be
passed along to future generation.
who will have to pay the cost of serv.
icing or paying these debts just a.
in the case Of the Government debt
We should know that all debts, both
public and private, are passed along
from one generation to the next
just as all assets, both public anc
private, are handed down from ont
generation to the next. It may bt
that Senator Byrd would be les!
worried If there were no debts, but
in that case, there would be NJ
banks, insurance companies, or othel
financial institutions.
The Senator has warned you tha'
the total debt of all public bodies II
the United States now amounts tt
$430 for every man, woman ant
child, that it Is a mortgage on yol
and your property, and that you
- = = ~ T.