The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1939-08-17

tocaster)-The first session of the
18th Congress adjourned with
two events attesting further
spread of anti-New Deal senti-
ments among Senators and Rep
resentatives alike.
The Presidents bill to authorize
the borrowing of 3 3-4 billions OF
the securities of Government-con-
trolled corporations and agencies,
for the purpose of lending the
funds for a wide variety of pur-
poses in the effort to stimulate
business, was killed by the refus-
al of a coalition of Republicans
and Conservative Democrats to
permit its consideration by the
House, even after the Senate had
agreed upon the measure in a
modified form, involving only
about half as much money as the
President had asked for.
Another important measure be-
hind which all the forces of the
Administration lined up against
the opposition, met the same fate.
That was the bill to double the
borrowing and lending powers of
the U. S. Housing Administration,
engaged in so-called "slum-clear-
ance" projects of building low
rent homes for the poor.
A combination of motives en-
tered into this final revolt against
the Administration. There was a
genuine feeling on the part of
economy-minded members of
both houses that the time had
come to stop Government spend
ing-or-recovery.
Widespread Revolt
There was an even more wide
spread revolt against the idea of
increasing the national debt by
borrowing in the name of corpo-
rations or agencies, whose debts
would not be included in the Of
fetal Public Debt statements, on
the theory that the proceeds Of
their lending would be used to
finance self-liquidating projects.
Besides economic objections to
the Presidents program, further
opposition was inspired by OBJ
jections to the Presidents policies
in general.
There was also an element of
personal revenge on the part of
certain Democratic Senators and
Representative who were the OBJ
ject of the Presidential enmity in
last years elections, and who
survived his so-called purge" of
the party leadership.
All those things combined with
previous actions of the Congress
to make the ending of this ses-
sion a fairly complete defeat of
the New Deal.
The way is now cleared for
consideration of the prospects for
the 1910 Presidential election, and
that is what will engage the
whole attention of official Wash
ington and of the Senators and
members back in their home
states from now on. The battle
for delegates to the nominating
conventions of both major parties
is already beginning.
Fear Roosevelt
1t can be set down as a GER
tainty that the man whom all
Republicans fear most as the De-
mocratic candidate is President
Roosevelt himself. If he does de-
eide to break the precedent first
formulated by the founder of his
own party, and run for a third
term, it is conceded that he will
be the hardest man for the OPP
position to beat.
There are careful observers,
processing to be able to read the
political signs, who hold that the
President is merely waiting until
the time is right to announce that
he will not be a candidate to sue
coed himself. Such tactics, it is
pointed out, would prevent too
great concentration of delegates
behind any other individual who
might be distasteful to the Pres
ident, and SO increase his chance
of having a candidate of his
choice named, in the last-minute
confusion just before the conven-
ton.
The candidate who is now COM
ing to be regarded as the Presi-
dents choice is Security Admin
istrator Paul V. McNutt. He is the
only Democrat with any consider
able vote-gathering ability who
might have Mr. RoOseVelt's bless
ing. In actual political strength at
the moment, however, Vice-Pres-
ident Garner is away out in the
lead, on the Democratic side.
On the Republican side, the
outstanding candidate of the mo-
ca