Evening star., 1947-05-23

Party Is an Op- Dsvso
structionist party and does not want
really to cut down Federal SPEND
ing, the only thing left for the Ma
tion will be to increase the Repub-
lican majority In the 1948 election.
The argument for postponing
tax reduction until later in the
session Is based on the belief that
the budget cutters should have their
inning first and that tax reduc-
ton should then be confined to
what savings are left. This Is q
faHacious line of reasoning. Ac-
tually the only real way to get the
spending down Is to pass a tax
reduction bill first and commit Con-
gress to the lowering OF expendi-
lures.
The advocates of postponement
are not all IN favor Of the BUREAU
Gratis. Men like Senators George OF
Georgia and Byrd Of Virginia simply
differ with their Republican col
leagues as to which should come
first-passage OF appropriation bills
or the tax bilI--and these two DEM
ocratic Senators favor waiting. Their
theory Il that this will require Con-
eress to come to grips with the TX
ing of the budget of appropriations.
Actually, for several weeks now the
cutting OF Federal expenses has
been blocked by the hundreds OF
bureaus in the Government, aided
and abetted by the Truman admin
istration, which committed itself
last January to the spending OF a
S37, 7,500, ,000, 900 budget, and now 1t
IA conceded that not only were the
expenses for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1947, overestimated but
the receipts were sl1r1derestfmated-
q mistake OF $500, ,000, 900.
Democrats Lined Up.
The Democrats have lined up their
party members solidly behind post
ponement till mid-June, and the
significance OF the maneuver lies IN
the fact that If the tax-reduction
bill doesn't pass before then and
reach the White House for action,
July / will have arrived and the
administrative difficulties Of making
a tax cut effective on that date
will be multiplied.
Every day OF postponement now
inperils tax reduction this year.
The administration Democrats are
aiming for tax reduction for 194S,
when they hope it will be to the
political benefit Of the Truman ad-
ministration. The Democrats who
usually do not vote with the ad-
ministration are playing along with
the strategy, because they conscien-
tiously believe the appropriation
bills should be passed first and that
cutting of the Federal budget should
in some respects be deeper than 1t
has been.
But the truth is the Senate Is get
ting ready to restore many cuts
which were made in the House ap-
preparation bills. This means that
back of the drive to postpone tax
reduction is a conviction that Sen
ate majority will not uphold Federal
budget cutting to any important ex-
tent. The real budget cutting Will
take place in conference.
So the real issue is whether the
budget will be cut, and those Demo-
cratic Senators who favor no further
cuts are working for postponement
along with those Democratic Sena-
tors who think this is one way to
put the Republicans on the spot and
force them to cut the budget or ad-
NIT they cannot meet the goal they
set for themselves.
Test Of Party Loyalty.
The Republicans in the Senate are
lining up defensively, but there are
only 81 OF them, anyway, so a de-
lection of three or four Senators
who have consistently deserted
their party heretofore could lose The
motion for the Republicans and
sidetrack tax reduction.
This will be a real test of party
loyalty and Of Republican cohesion.
Those who stray from the party
will not easily justify their right to
wear the party label If, on a meas
ure wherein the Democrats vote
solidly. the Republicans do not mus
ter their full strength.
Defeat of the Republican effort to
press for tax reduction now cannot
hurt the Republicans as much as
the Democrats, for the incident may
serve only to emphasize still further
that the spenders Of New Deal days
are strongly entrenched and that it
may take another Republican land
slide to- give the taxpayers the relief
they thought they were going to get
when they voted as they did in the
1916 congressional elections.
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