The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-09-04
A HALT CALLED?

NtCAANStAA
mission.
A HALT CALLED?
AS rule, it is easy to forecast Con-
gressional action about certain things.
For example, there is the established
fact that no omnibus soldicr-pension
proposal has ever been permanently
defeated. Rejected once, twice, and oc-
casionally three times, they always
pass in the end. 1t is the same way
with farm legislation. Since the for
nation of the first farm bloc, back in
the Taft Administration, Congress has
never been able to resist the demands
of the unified farm lobby.
**#
But in many other matters the ways
of Congress are inexplicable and I'M
practicable. Take the question of APP
propriations When this session opened
last January, it did so with the Presi-
dent laying down the extremely sound
doctrine that while many billions
would be needed for defense it was es-
sential that every non-defense eXpen-
diture be cut. With that practically
everybody, except the ultraNew Deal
group, was in accord. 1t seemed as
clear that the President should be de-
MED nothing needed for national de-
Tense as that every other appropria-
ton should be reduced to the mini
mum.
&##
In crisis such as he had outlined
to the nation, nothing else made sense.
Yet, the astounding fact is that not
only did Mr.. Roosevelt run counter
to his own recommendation but Con-
gress made no single serious move in
that direction. On the contrary, while
the latter enthusiastically complied
with the tremendous defense demands,
at the same time it cravenly yielded
to farm, labor and other pressure
groups, so that the normal monde
tense expenditures for this and the
next fiscal year are greatly increased
instead of greatly reduced. For this
there was some excuse for Congress
though not much. In addition to hay
ing no White House leadership, it had
the very bad example of President
whose acts nullified his words.
###
To those who have been concerned
over the increasing unsteadiness of
the Federal financial structure, as
year by year debt and deficit piled
higher and grew deeper, the situation
hardly could have been worse. Recog-
nizing the unintelligence of stinting
land not desiring to stint)--defense
funds, they were appalled--fiist, by
the refusal of both Congress and the
Executive to retrench in the obvious
and indicated directions; second, by
the inadequacy and unsoundneSs of
the tax program. With all restraint
removed and no brakes holding, it GER
tainly looked as though the runaway
could not be stopped short of terri
BILE and inevitable bump at the bottom
of the hill.
And then, suddenly, last week the
Senate Appropriations Committee, by
unanimous vote, cut a billion and a
quarter dollars out of the Administra-
tons first supplemental defense APP
preparation bill for the new fiscal year.
Part of the cut was, to be sure, re-
stored later on. The Senate itself ac-
copied the committees reduction, but
an appeal by the Secretary of War
while the bill was in conference re-
suited in an agreement to put back
$3.50, 100000. Even with this restora-
ton, however, the final bill was some
$500,000,000 below the original re-
quest. The full significance of this
seems not to have been grasped. 1t is
the first time that any big defense APP
preparation has so much as been ques
toned. 1t is the first time an appro-
priation committee has failed prompt
ly to approve Presidential request
made in the name of defense. 1t is
the first slash made in a major defense
request for either Army or Navy.
#*#
What does this mean? 1t seems to
mean that there is a limit beyond
which blind compliance will not be
carried. 1t seems to mean that a
sense of responsibility is about to be
regained and that the rubber-stamp
days for defense appropriations are
over. The grounds upon which the cut
was made were that the Army had
lost all sense of proportion-that, TAX
ing advantage of the situation, it was
asking for fantastic sums for un-
needed purposes. This may or may
not be true, but it is fine thing to
have a Senate committee call a halt
and compel the Army, the Navy and
the President to justify their requests
for these enormous sums, made on the
heels of other enormous sums al
ready granted. No doubt it is a temp
tation to the Army and Navy bureau
Gratis to grab all they can while the