The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1939-01-19
Continued Spending Makes
Some Democrats See Red

There are prospects of opposition
to his arms program confronting
the President, therefore, among the
Borah-J Johnson school of thought, as
well as among those representative
and senators from inland areas
where there never has been much
fear from attacks by other nations.
There will be ridicule of his arms
program, too, on the basis of his
indication that it will provide work.
That ridicule will be justified. Work
can not start on ships for a year
and half or two years after they
are authorized, and supplies for the
army, even an expanded army, will
not call so many men back to fac
tories.
Proposals for continued spending,
as outlined by the President, made
number of strong Democrats see
red again. Men of the type of Sem
ator Byrd of Virginia and Bailey of
North Carolina, and others in the
senate and house. They can not be
reconciled to such a program and
they will have the Republican mi
nority backing them up wherever
and whenever they attack continued
spending of government funds.
The proposal to continue spend
ing, of course, is linked like tam
gle of yarn with the whole question
OF relief administration, and there
is no telling what may come of that
row. Senator King, Utah Democrat
and anti-New Dealer, already has
bill in the hopper to eliminate the
entire federal relief setup. He
would turn it back to the states,
providing only for grants of federal
money when the states can't meet
their obligations.
On top and alongside of the DEM
ocrats who, for one reason or an
other, will differ with Mr.. Roose-
velt's program will be found almost
a solid Republican phalanx. There
are 1859 of them in the house, now,
and rs in the senate. This is far
from enough to control, but when
that number is coupled with any de-
fections from the Democratic ranks,
the answer spells out into the words
trouble for Mr.. Roosevelt"
Use of Subject of Religion
Causes Some Comment
From the standpoint of political
considerations, there were numer-
Gus published comments, after the
message was delivered, in which
members of the house and senate
openly chided Mr.. Roosevelt for at
tempting to capitalize politically
upon sentiment among the church
people. I relate that because it il
Illustrates how no political leader can
be quite sure when he makes a
statement whether it will be re-
ceived favorably or not. It is so
easy, and every politician knows It,
to make perfectly sincere state
ment, only to learn two days later
that it was being held up to ridi-
cule as bunk or being torn to pieces
as being unsound, fundamentally.
Those who have been razzing Mr..
Roosevelt's use of the subject of
religion recognize, of course, that
destruction of free religion has
been one of the keystones of dicta-
torship. They recognize further that
the actions of Hitler and Stain and
Mussolini in this regard have been
responsible, as much as any other
one thing, in creating bitter resent
ment in the United States. Obvious
ly, then, they look upon the Roose-
welt appeal in this regard as being
good politics, but they are unwilling
to let him get away with it.
In summary, then, it seems prop
er to catalogue Mr.. Roosevelt's 1899
message to congress as one of his
best state papers, but it must be
added that it stands to create
greater difficulties for him than any
other annual message he has deliv-
cred. Whether one agrees with all,
or only part, or none of its pro-
posals, it is great improvement
over the Incorporate character of
some of his earlier efforts.
GWestern Newspaper Union.