Evening star., 1949-01-06
The Political Mill
Truman Message Held J
Frankly SociuIistic'
Little Congress Enthusiasm Seen for
Many of His Proposals
By Gould Lincoln

Judging from the reception given President
Truman's state-of- the Union message, the
Chief Executive may find 1t easier to lead this
Democratic Congress to the trough than to
make 1t drink. While Congress gave the Presi-
dent personal ecognition-because of his great
tight for election-when he appeared before IT.,
Its enthusiasm for many Of his proposals was
at most restrained The very size and charac-
ter of his program with the huge costs it may
entail, made some of his own party gasp.
In addition, Mr.. Truman's message was the
most frankly socialistic ever presented by Q
President Of the United States. At the very
outset he said that: I'VE have abandoned the
trickle-doWn concept of national prosperity.
Instead, we believe that our economic system
should rest on a democratic foundation and
that wealth should be created for the benefit
OF all" The trickling down in the future will
come from Washington as 1t pursues the al
ready well-established Democratic custom of
Government handouts. His statement is con-
strued as the very foundation of system
under which the Government takes wealth
from the people-all the people, for all pay
taxes IN one form or another-and redistributes
1t as 1t sees At.
RED Herring" Seen.
The President requested Congress to author
ize an immediate survey of the adequacy Of
production facilities, particularly of steel, for
the purpose of authorizing Government loans
for the expansion Of production and of author
izing Government construction If action by
private industry fails ito meet our needs" This
may have been, made at the request Of CIO
President Philip Murray-whose steel workers
will be interested-but it proposes long step
toward the Specialization Of industry. Yet the
President continues, in his message to proclaim
his affection for the free-enterprise system, and
in so doing seems to be dragging "red her
ring" himself.
Except for this proposal to have the Govern
ment go into the steel business-if necessary
the myriad recommendations submitted by the
President are not new, from the repeal of the
Taft-Hartley labor law down to providing
standby authority to impose price and wage
controls.
Apparently the President recognizes that the
program is going to cost more money, for he
recommends an increase In taxes designed to
bring in an additional $4,000 1000 revenue.
That, however, might be a mere drop in the
bucket if the entire Truman program we're
carried out. His tax recommendations are de-
signed to fall upon the medium wel-to-do and
the wealthy rather than upon the great mass
of workers But even so the sound of in
creased taxes, in peacetime, does not sit well
even upon members Of his own political party.
Other Discrepancies Noted.
How long Mr.. Truman will be able to make
such recommendations as contained in his
message and not openly commit himself to
state socialism remains to be seen. Already
British and other foreign commentators are
interpreting his present remarks as lining him
up, on al-fours, with the socialistic govern
ments Of Europe They can see little differ
ence for example, between Mr.. Truman's
proposals and those of the Socialist govern-
ment in Britain. One cynic remarked that,
at any rate, If the Truman program goes
through, the American people will be so busy
will not have money to spare to continue
support of the British system.
Mr.. Trumans devotion to the free-enterpriss
system while offering a socialistic program Is
not the only discrepancy in his message. His
determination to keep up farm prices and
wages of industrial labor and at the same
time bring about reduction in the cost Of
living will be a good trick, If he can work 1t.
He opened his message with statement that
he was happy to report the state Of the Union
Is good and then listed a long series of ills
from which the American people are suffering.
Also Mr.. Truman's message sounded just as
optimistic as that of President Hoover in 1929,
in that Mr.. Truman said the American people
and himself-have decided that poverty is just
as wasteful and just as unnecessary as pre-
ventable disease. Mr. Hoover spoke Of a
chicken in every pot and the elimination Of
poverty.