Evening star., 1947-06-13

Ddf1u LdWTtIlCC, tIOll dliS way e1IlA
that drains on the American treas.
ury cannot be limitless. Many Re-
publicans who have been goint
along with Senator Vandenberg or
the bipartisan foreign policy have
not enjoyed that course of actor
and have done so only because OF {
fidelity to his leadership.
The Michigan Senator has beer
telling the administration, however
that he cannot keep the Republican
in line unless there Is mutual re-
spect and trust. Up to now many
Republicans feel that the Presiden
has been playing politics even witt
the foreign situation and that th'
personalized emphasis on the phrase
Truman Doctrine"-after the Re
publicans agreed to the policy as bi.
partisan-has been merely fore.
runner of an attempt to build up {
crisis in international affairs tx
assist Mr.. Truman's prospects of re.
election in 1948.
Not Easy for Lawmakers.
However absurd these suspicious
may be, it certainly will not be easy
for many members of Congress te
vote to help Europe with billions
while the Truman bureaucrats keer
on spending extravagantly at home
and distributing billions abroad-al
without reducing the domestic bud
get or giving the taxpayers the
benefit of the savings that already
have been mare on the domestic
budget.
Mr.. Truman has refused to CO.
operate In reducing the budget. He
has insisted on a high level OF
spending. The Republicans have
voted this year to cut the budget
substantially but they have en-
countered jeers from the Democrats
who have been SO accustomed tc
New Deal spending habits that they
do not like to see any budget cuts
made.
Now, when the President himself
since January last, has made a mis-
calculation on both receipts and ex-
penditures and there is to be ar
excess Of receipts over expenditures
amounting to more than $1,250,0 ,000,-
900 for the present fiscal year end
ing June 30-although Mr.. Truman
predicted a deflcit-it is natural fol
the Republicans to point out that
the next budget will show a surplus
many times larger and that this
should be used in part for tax reduc-
ton and in part for debt reduction
Veto Argument Seen.
The argument Of the President in
the veto Is expected to be based or
the contention that all appropriation
bills have not yet been passed by
the Senate. Could 1t be that the
Administration hopes by the veto
to encourage the Senate to restore
cuts made by the House and to con-
tinue the high-level spending of
the past?
The American people every day
are learning more and more about
their fiscal affairs. President Tru-
man and Secretary Marshall will
find it hard to get a majority in
Congress to support their requests
for appropriations to help Europe
If the tax bill is vetoed and there is
no sign of any control on bureau
cratic spending
incidentally, the stock market has
started upward for the probable
reason that the defeat of the tax
reduction measure may be the big
gest single infiationary influence
since VI day. II there is to be nc
tax reduction there will be, OF
course, little or no debt reduction
either. For the real stimulus to cut
ting budgets comes from the modifi-
cation Of tax rates. If the Admins
tration is to postpone tax reduction
to take effect in 1949, as seems to
be the probable effect Of a veto,
there will be no impetus to debt re-
duction. If politics is going to pre-
vent realistic handling of the bud
get, America, on the long-range side
Is in for steady initiation.
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