Evening star., 1945-09-12

80 kzS&SSM 49, &&E3M
added the vari- Frank R. Kent
Gus proposals for increasing the
Governments expenditures and de-
creaSing Government revenues,
which have come from administra-
ton SpokeSmen and followers, one
can but conclude that this regime,
molding itself upon its predecessor,
has adopted the theory that outgo
has no relation to income, that the
size of the national debt is unim-
portant and the piling up of national
deficits is nothing to worry about.
There is no other way to view a
message which advocates a peace
time bill that, among other un-
toward things, easily may add 80
billions to a debt already above 300
billions and which, in addition, pro-
poses many other only relatively
small increases in costs, ending up
with a suggested doubling of con-
gressional salaries to $4,000 a year
which is more than Congress
members have suggested for them
selves. Immediately, there followed
proposal from a strong admins
tration Senator to reduce the hours
of Federal employees to 80 a week
but to pay them at the 40-hour rate.
This, Senator Byrd asserts, would
ruinously add some billions year
to Government, expense.
Tax Cut Proposals.
All Of this, of course, makes any
advocacy of cutting down costs, of
which there was a bare trace in
the message, rather ridiculous. But
it becomes even more absurd when
the proposals for increasing eX-
penditures are so quickly followed
by proposals for decreasing reve-
nue.
These range all the way from
Senator Georges idea that more
than S5,000,0 100000 can be cut from
the tax burden next year to Post
master Hannegan's snappy notion
Of curtailing post Office revenues by
reducing airmail stamps from 9 to
cents.
The total of all these things
simply makes no sense whatever
unless one of two theories is ac-
cepted. The first is that the admin
istration is run by cynical politicians,
who bank on the stupidity of the
people, care nothing about the future
and think the SureSt way to keep in
power is by unrestrainedly spending
the peoples money. The other is
that we are run by unbalanced men
who actually believe that, contrary
to all experience, the higher the debt
and the deeper the deficits the bet
ter off nation is
Quoting Lord Macaulay. this pro-
foundly unsound thought is actually
indorsed by Henry Wallace in
his newest book, which the radicals
of the country are boosting as an
other Bible.
It is disappointing to have PreSi-
dent Truman, who, though poll
tician, certainly is not cynical, turr
toward the other group, which
through its Journalistic organs anC
spokesmen now claim him as one
of them. 1t is particularly diSap-
pointing because Mr.. Truman knows
better. His closest friends inSiSt
that in neither head nor heart is ht
really in sympathy with the crack
pots of the New Deal who regarC
solvency as silly and think arith-
metic reaCtiOnary. Actually, hi
intimates say, he is a middle-o -of-the.
rnod follow yt-0n a. n 1It+1o o11cit,ncc
man, is inclined more toward the
right than the left.
Why, then, it is asked, has hi
apparently gone cleft of center" il
this his first peace message?
Two Answers Given.
Two answers are given. One !
that he was influenced partly by MI
Wallace. partly by Secretary o
State Byrnes and partly by ex
Judge Rosenman, who is said t
have written the message. Mr.. Wal
lace, of course, is the all-out spend
ing hero of the radicals and the pc
candidate of the CIO lobbyists. MI
Byrnes is a shrewd politician VIII
thinks Mr.. Truman's 1948 chance
depend upon keeping intact the in
congruous but formidable combina
ton which elected Mr.. Roosevelt
three times-to wit, the city bose.
labor leaders, Northern Negroes
radical elements and Souther.
Democrats.
Assuming undiminishd popula
gullibility, the argument is that
this combination worked for Roose
welt, it will work for Truman, to-
Mr.. Rosenman was exceedingly clos
to Mr.. Roosevelt and is natural
interested in the Roosevelt policie
upon which he has so often an
anonymously eXpatiated.
The other answer is that Nj
Truman, himself a politician O
parts, judging the Wallace radical
by the noise they make, has over
estimated their political impor
tance and underestimated the pub
lie sentiment against waste an
labor-union domination. Beside
being new to the presidency an
essentially modest man, he is NOR
inclined to lean for advice on tn,
ByrneSeS and Wilson's and one or tw,
others now than he may be later
and this time he did not get sucl
good advice.
OF course, the real test is tn
determination and force with whicl
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$SlNCE 1899