Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-01-06
The 18th CONGRESS

possessed.
The 18th Congress
The major task of the new Con-
gress,. which makes its bow to the
country today, is to help win the
war. Next to that it is incumbent
upon the Congress to plan wisely for
the peace which is to come-perhaps
within the life of the Congress. OF
equal Importance is the need of pre-
serving within the United States the
freedom of the people from oppres-
slve RECOMMENDATION, imposed by bu-
reaucrats rather than the elected
representatives of the people.
In its political makeup, the Sew
enty-eighth Congress is far more
evenly divided between the two major
parties than at any time since the
advent of the New Deal administra-
ton. The Republican leaders in
both houses have pledged full CO.
operation with the President in the
prosecution of the war. Indeed, the
successes of the Republicans in the
recent congressional elections have
been interpreted by them as a man
date from the people for a more
efnclent prosecution of the war, par
tlcularly on the home front. Also
they consider that the election re-
suits embody mandates from the
people against unnecessary expendi-
ture and waste of the peoples money,
and against unnecessary regulations
supplemented by interminable cues
tionnaireS.
The impact of the elections, i'm
plying as they do a dissatisfaction of
the people with the methods of the
administration, has not affected
alone the Republican members of
Congress- Democratic Representa-
tives and Senators are fully con-
scious of the demands of the people.
This may make for greater unity of
action within the Congress-how-
ever it may affect the administration.
The Congress faces a long list of
problems whose answers must be
written in legislation. First among
them is the financing of the war
effort and Of the governmental es-
tablishment. This includes both the
appropriation of funds to be ex-
pended and the raising Of the money
to meet these expenditures by taxa
ton and by borrowing
A strong economy bloc in Con-
gress is expected to demand that all
appropriations. for non-war pur-
purposes be cut to the bone. Bu-
reaus Of the Government, which
have come to be considered nom
essential, may be eliminated. The
very number of civilian employees OF
the Federal Government, now esti-
mated to be 100000, has aroused
not only the Congress, but the public
Tax legislation, possibly including
pay-asyou-go income tax plan,
will be considered and enacted. This
may bring to the fore the Ruml plan
to forego one years income taxes in
order to put the taxpayers on cur
rent basis. The tapping Of new
sources of revenue, particularly
through sales tax, is within the
bounds of probability. The Congress
70 hit OF
the administration executive order
limiting salaries to $4,000, after all
certain expenses have been paid,
while the administration for its part
will seek the application of this prin-
ciple to all incomes, through taxa
ton.
The problems of food production
and distribution will hammer at the
door of Congress, with the farmers
demanding that they be allowed to
obtain and retain more adequate
farm labor and that new farm price
parity formula be written. Involved
is the question of proper distribution
of manpoWer, which impinges on
military service and industrial en-
ployment as we'll as farm production.
Despite the demands in some quar-
tiers for universal CONSUMPTION, in
Guiding labor, it is not believed the
administration or the Congress will
go to such lengths. Certainly this
will not be done before other meas
ures have been tried. Already sug-
gestions have been advanced for re-
leasing manpower by modification OF
the forty-hour work week, at least
for the duration of the war.
1t would be Utopian to hope that
all partisan politics will be laid aside
in this session of Congress. But the
hope of the country is that politics
will not be permitted to hinder win
ming the war.
Too Many Liqhts?