The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1940-01-23
TASKS BEFORE CONGRESS

The third session Of the 10th Congress, which
ss.arls I'll 1s start 70 be making very little in
washington faces problems which certainly not
Less important tnan most that Congress has faced
n 1ls past decade. Though the country has been
in number q months the g-hoped-for con-
daii0u Of recovery. though We have escaped direct
involvement II The tragedy Of war. positive measures
must b taken Il that recovery is to be maintained
ard extended and L neutrality is to be preserved
and OH national ability 10 resist aggression assured.
Doubtless tie frs. major business for the third
session viii be expansion OF the national defense
forces The great problem here will be that of
ing adequate defense without involving ourselves in
excessive expenditures. The war in Europe has
created world in which it is vital to us to be
fully prepared than it has been any time in the
past 20 wears On the other hand the S1650 900
which we spending for the Army and Navy for the
current fiscal year is already record appropriation
for peacetime No one questions that next years
appropriations for natural defense will exceed this
record The problem is to decide how much this excess
shall be- and rounded defense program requires
To make this decision need to consult both the
military experts and those who fiscal and
national needs as a whole Until Congress has fuller
information it should be properly suspicious of those
among its own members who assume that their
patriotism direct proportion to the tonnage of the
capital ships the size of the total defense expend
lures which they advocate.
AS the budget problem is directly involved in the
question of national defense so it will be involved in
most of the other questions that likely to come
before Congress This applies particularly, of course,
to the relief and to the agricultural programs just
as we cannot frame our budget until he know what
these programs are so these individual programs must
be framed with view to the total budget that they
will help to make up
sderation the present session One is the proposed
revision of the National Labor Relations Act the other
the renewal of the act under which Secretary Hulls
reciprocal trade agreements have been made. Agree
regarding the need of revising the Wagner act
is almost universal; the real danger is that this
revision may be haphazard and too quickly impro-
vised and that the problem may be viewed too
narrowly What are REALLY concerned with is not
the effects of this that particular clause in the
relations and the respective spheres of Federal and
local governments in dealing with them Though the
investigation of the Labor Board may help tc
give partial this broader question, more
rounded answer would be likely to result only from
careful and impartial study
The facts regarding the effect of the reciprocal
trade agreements are already reasonably established
The relevant statistics are available and need only tt
be interpreted by common sense The Administration
need have fear of what any fair study will show
But the gains of the reciprocal trade agreements arr
net to be measured solely by the expansion of trad
they have made possible. Important as the economic