Evening Star Newspaper, May 22, 1935, Page 5

HOUSE OVERRDES BONLS BILL VO Acts After Personal Warn- ing Denouncing Infla- tion Evils. (Continued Prom First Page.) cruelly those like the veterans, who seem to be temporarily benefited. “The first person injured by sky- rocketing prices is the man on fixed income. Every disabled veteran on pension or allowance is on fixed income.” Mr. Roosevelt painted a picture of | what has happened in other cases | where governments have paid their debts through the use of “printing press money” and declared that every country that has tried this form of meeting its obligations has suffered strous consequences. The printing press money has not been retired through taxation, he said, and has been followed by new issue after new | issue. ending in the wiping out of the | fllicted country. He said that the | notes issued during the American Civil War did not result in actual disaster and collapse, but has “caused this Nation untold troubles, economic and political, for a whole generation.” Claims Sum Not Due. ‘The President's veto message at-| tacked the Patman bill because in | addition to its inflationary provisions, it sought to bring about the payment of the bonus to the veterans 10 years ahead of the date on which payment is due He pointed out that because cash payment was not made immediately to the veterans back in 1924 when the bonus act was passed, the veterans were allowed a 25 per cent increase because of the deferred payment and also interest compounded. “The result of this computation.” Mr. Roosevelt said, “was that an amount two and one-half times the original grant would be paid at ma- turity. This meant a $400 bonus due in 1924-25 grew to $1.000 in 1945. To- | day the amount due is approximately $750 The Chief Executive denied the Patman bill was a recovery measure, as urged by its supporters, or that it would really accomplish a material revival of trade. He pointed out that already retail trade has grown great- ly in volume in this country. He strongly urged Congress to follow his budgetary recommendations, which called for an excess of expenditures over receipts of about $4,000,000,000, to be used for work-relief. The vet- erans, he insisted, not only had been generously treated by the Nation, but would benefit along with all other distressed persons from the relief pro- | gram of the Government Hits “Fallacy.” “To argue for this bill as a relief measure,” the President said. “is to indulge in the fallacy that the wel- | fare of the country can be generally served by extending relief on some basis other than actual need.” | Mr. Roosevelt frankly said he did | not believe that by paving the vet- | erans’ bonus now, to the tune of $2.- | 200,000,000, would in itself bankrupt | the United States. The credit of the Nation today is safe, he said. But he added that it would not continue safe | “if we engage in a policy of vielding to each and all of the groups that are able to enforce upon Congress claims | for special consideration.” The President did not hesitate to predict that if the present demands | of the veterans for the payment of | the bonus were met, the veteran would, in the near future, start bring- ing pressure to bear on every member of Congress up for re-election to sup- port, in the name of patriotism, “gen- eral pension legislation for all vet- erans, regardless of need or age.” Quotes Borah. During his address the President quoted from & speech on the subject of the bonus made some years ago by Senator Borah, Republican, of Idaho, now an advocate of the Patman bill. | In that speech, Senator Borah said | the veteran cannot prosper unless the | whole people prosper; that he is wrap- | ped up in the welfare of the Nation | or its adversity. and that the handing out of a few dollars will not benefit him under such circumstances, where- as it will greatly injure the prospects of the country and the resoration of normal conditions. Mr. Roosevelt said he sympathized with the argument that many civil- jans who did not take part in the World War had profited greatly by increased wages and compensation. He said Congress should take care there should never again be such profiteering during a war. Smiles on Byrns. When the President concluded his message at 1:10 p.m, he turned with a smile and handed to Speaker Byrns the Patman bill, without his approval, and a copy of the message he had Just concluded. Mr. Roosevelt was given another ovation as he turned to leave the rostrum. During the reading of his message he was interrupted by ap- plause several times. The President read in a voice that carried to every corner of the House chamber. He read with emphasis and at times with great solemnity. He was appealing for aid to all the people of the country against aid for minority groups and it was upon that point that he laid a special stress. Members of the cabinet, who sat in a row of chairs immediately in front of the President during his address, included Secretaries Hull, Swanson, Wallace, Roper, Perkins and Morgen- thau and Postmaster General Farley. Among those in the executive gal- lery where Mrs. Roosevelt listened to the address was Josephus Daniels, Ambassador to Mexico. Daniels was Secretary of the Navy during the World War, while Mr. Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary. Mrs. Roosevelt in Gallery. Mrs. Roosevelt accompanied the President to the Capitol along with two of the secretaries, Marvin Mc- Intyre and Stephen Early, and his naval aide, Capt. Wilson Brown. The leaders of the veterans’ urgani- gations were in the throng which heard the President denounce the Pat- man bill and declare against tne cash payment of the bonus at this time. Even while the President was de- livering the veto of the Patman bfll there was talk of further moves to bring about the passage of bonus leg- islation at the present session of Con- ress. o The joint session of the two Houses today was provided for in a concurrent resolution of the House and Senate. A determined filibuster against the resolution by Senator Long of Louisiana was broken last night after Long had left the chamber during what he thought was a quorum call. Senator Connally of Texas obtained the floor and made the point against Long that he had spoken twice already on the same subject on the same legis- lative day, and that he could not make a third address under the rules. Vice President Garner sustained Con- nally. » THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., Text of Roosevelt Message Vetoing Bonus Bill ‘The text of President Roosevelt's bonus veto message to Congress today follows: Mr. Speaker, members of the House of Representatives: ‘Two days ago & number of gen- tlemen from the House of Repre- sentatives called upon me and with complete propriety presented their reasons for asking me to ap- prove the House of Represent- atives bill providing for the im- mediate payment of adjusted serv- ice cercificates. In the same spirit of courtesy, I am returning this bill today to the House of Repre- sentatives. As I told the gentle- men who waited upon me, I have never doubted the good faith lying behind the reasons which have caused them and the majority of the Congress to advocate this bill. In the same spirit I come before you dispassionately and in good faith to give you, as simply as I can, the reasons which compel me to give it my disapproval. And I am glad that the Senate by coming here in jeint session gives me opportunity to give my reasons in person to the other House of the Congress. As to the right and the pro- priety of the President in address- ing the Congress in person, I am very certain that I have never in the past disagreed, and will never in the future disagree, with the Senate or the House of Represent- atives as to the constitutionality of the procedure. With your per- mission, J should like to continue from time to time to act as my own messenger. Eighteen years ago the United States engaged in the World War. A nation of 120,000,000 people was united in the purpose of victory. ‘The millions engaged in agricul- ture toiled to provide the raw ma- terials and foodstuffs for our armies and for the nations with whom we were associated. Many other millions employed in indus- try labored to create the materials for the active conduct of the war on land and sea. Out_of this vast army consist= ing of the whole working popula= tion of the Nation, 4,750,000 men volunteered or were drafted into the armed forces of the United States. One-half of them remained within our American continental limits. The other half served over- seas, and of these 1,400,000 saw service in actual combat. Sacrifices Honored, ‘The people and the Government of the United States have shown a proper and generous regard for the sacrifices and patriotism of all of the 4,750,000 men who were in uniform no matter where they served. At the outbreak of the war the President and the Congress sought and established an entirely new policy, in order to guide the granting of financial aid to sol- diers and sailors. Remembering the unfortunate results that came from the lack of a veterans’ policy after the Civil War, they deter- mined that a prudent and sound principle of insurance should sup- plant the uncertainties and un- fairness of direct bounties. At the same time their policy encom- passed the most complete care for those who had suffered disabilities in service. With respect to the grants made within the lines of this general policy, the President and the Congress have fully recog- nized that those who served in uniform deserved certain benefits to which other citizens of the Re- public were not entitled and in which they could not participate. In line with these sound and fair principles, many benefits have been provided for veterans. Compensation Provided. During the war itself provision was made for Government allow- ances for the families and other dependents of enlisted men in service. Disability and death com- pensation was provided for casual- ties in line of duty. The original provisions for these benefits have been subsequently changed and liberalized many times by the Congress. Later gen- erous presumiptions for veterans who became ill after the termina- tion of the war were written into the statute to help veterans in their claims for disability. As a result of this liberal legislation for dis- ability and for death compensation, 1,140,000 men and women have been benefited. During the war the Government started a system of voluntary in- surance at peace-time rates for men and women in the service. Generous provision has been made for hospitalization, vocational training and rehabilitation of vet- erans. You are familiar with this excellent care given to the sick and disabled. Other Benefits. In addition to these direct bene- fits, Congress has given recogni- tion to the interest and welfare of veterans in employment matters, through veteran preference in the United States Civil Service, in the selection of employes under the Public Works Administration, through the establishment of a veterans’ employment unit in the Department of Labor and through provisions favoring veterans in the selection of those employed in the Civilian Conservation Corps. Many States have likewise given special bonuses in cash and veterans’ pref- erences in State and local public employment. Furthermore, unemployed veter~ ans as a group have benefited more largely than any other group from the expenditure of the great public works appropriation of $3,300,000,- 000 made by the Congress in 1933, and under which we are still operating. 1In like manner the new $4,000,000,000 work-relief act seeks to give employment to practically every veteran who is receiving relief. We may measure the benefits extended from the fact that there has been expended up to the end of the last fiscal year more than $7,800,000,000 for these items in behalf of the veterans of the World ‘War, not including sums spent for home or work rellef. With our current annual expenditures of some $450,000,000 and the liquida- tion of outstanding obligations un< der term insurance and the pay- ment of the service certificates, it seems safe to predict that by the year 1945 we will have expended $13,500,000,000. This is a sum equal to more than three-fourths of the entire cost of our participation in the World War, and 10 years from now most of the veterans of that war will be barely past the half century mark. Only Veterans Included. Payments have been and are being made only to veterans of the World War and their depend- ents, and not to civilian workers who helped to win that war. In the light of our established principles and policies, let us con- sider the case of adjusted compen-~ sation. Soon after the close of the war a claim was made by several veterans' organizations that they should be paid some adjusted com- pensation for their time in uniform. After a complete and fair presen- tation of the whole subject, fol- lowed by full debate in the Con- gress of the United States, a set- tlement was reached in 1924. This settlement provided for ad- justment in compensation during service by an additional allowance per day for actual service ren- dered. Because cash payment was not to be made immediately, this basic allowance was increased by 25 per cent and to this was added compound interest for 20 years, the whole to be paid in 1945. The result of this computation was that an amount two and one-half times the original grant would be paid at maturity. Cites Average Case. Taking the average case as an example, the Government acknowl- edzed a claim of 5400 to be due. This $400, under the provisioas of the settlement,” with the addition of the 25 per cent for deferred pay- ment and the compound interest from that time until 945, would amount to the sum of $1,000 in 1945. The veteran was thereupon given a certificate containing an agreement by the Government to pay him this $1,000 in 1945 or to pay it to his family if he aiea at any time before 1945 In cffect, it was a paid-up endowment bolicy in the average case for $1,000 pay- able in 1945, or sooner in the rvent of death. Under the provisions of this settlement, the total obliga- tion of $1,400,000,000 in 1924 pro- duced a maturity of face vaiie of $3,500,000,000 in 1945 Since 1924, the only major change in the original settlement was the act of 1931 under which veterans were authorized to bor- row up to 50 per cent of the face value of their certificates as of 1945. Three million veterans have already borrowed under this pro- vision an amount which, with in= terest charges, totals $1,700,000,« 000. The bill before me provides for the immediate payment of the 1945 value of the certificates. It means paying $1.600,000,000 more than the present value of the certifi- cates. It requires an expenditure of more than $2,200,000,000 in cash for this purpose. It directs pay- ment to the veterans of a much larger sum than was contemplated in the 1924 settlement. It is nothing less than a complete abandonment of that settlement. It is a new straight gratuity or bounty to the amount of $1,600,~ 000,000. It destroys the insurance protection for the dependents of the veterans provided in the orig- inal plan. For the remaining period of 10 vears they will have lost this insyrance. Upsets Careful Plan. This proposal, I submit, violates the entire principle of veterans' benefits so carefully formulated at the time of the war and also the entire principle of the adjusted certificate settlement of 1924. What are the reasons presented in this bill for this fundamental change in policy? They are set forth with care in a number of “whereas” clauses at the beginning of the bill The first of these states as rea- sons for the cach payment of these certificates at this time That it will increase the purchasing power of millions of the consuming pub- lic; that it will provide relief for many who are in need because of economic conditions; and that it will lighten the relief burden of cities, counties and States. The second states that payment will not create any additional debt. The third states that payment now will be an effective method of spending money to hasten recovery. These are the enacted reasons for the passage of this bill. Let me briefly analyze them. First, the spending of this sum, it cannot be denied, would result in some expansion of retail trade. But it must be noted that retail trade has already expanded to & condition that compares favorably with conditions before the depres- sion. However, to resort to the kind of financial practice provided in this bill would not improve the conditions necessary to expand those industries in which we have the greatest unemployment. The Treasury notes issued under the terms of this bill, we know from past experience, would return quickly to the banks. We know, too, that the banks have at this moment more than ample credit with which to expand the activities of business and industry generally. The ultimate effect of this bill will not in the long run justify the ex. pectations that have been raised by those who argue for it. Receives Other Assistance. ‘The next reason in the first “whereas” clause is that present payment will provide relief for many who are in need because of economic conditions. The Congress has just passed an act to provide work-relief for such citizens. Some veterans are on the relief rolls, though relatively not nearly as many as is the case with non- veterans. Assume, however, that such a veteran served in the United States or overseas during the war; that he came through in fine phy- sical shape as most of them did; that he received an honorable dis- charge; that he is today 38 years old and in full possession of his faculties and health; that like sev- eral million other Americans, he is receiving from his Government re- lief and assistance in one of many forms—I hold that that able- bodied citizen should be accorded no treatment different from that accorded to other citizens who did not wear a uniform during the World War. ‘The third reason given in the first “whereas” clause is that pay- ment today would lighten the relief burden of municipalities. Why, I ask, should the Congress lift that burden in respect only to those who wore the uniform? Is it not better to treat every able-bodied American alike and to carry out the great relief program adopted by this Congress in a spirit of equality to all? This applies to every other unit of Government throughout the Nation. Financial Question Raised. The second “whereas” clause, which states that the payment of certificates will not create an addi- tional debt, raises a fundamental question of sound finance. To meet a claim of one group by this de- ceptively easy methéd of payment will raise similar demands for the payment of claims of other groups. It is easy to see the ultimate re- sult of meeting recurring demands by the issuance of Treasury notes. It invites an ultimate reckoning in uncontrollable prices and in the destruction of the value of savings, that will strike most cruelly those like the veterans, who seem to be temporarily benefited. The first prices is the man on a fixed income, Every disabled veteran on pension or allowance is on fixed income. ‘This bill favors the able-bodied veteran at the expense of the dis- abled veteran. Wealth is not created, nor is it more equitably distributed by this method. A government, like an individual, must ultimately meet legitimate obligations out of the production of wealth by the labor of human beings applied to the re- sources of nature. Every country that has attempted the form of meeting its obligations which is here provided has suffered disas- trous consequences. In the majority of cases print- ing-press money has not been re- tired through taxation. Because of increased costs, caused by the inflated prices, new issue has fol- lowed new issue, ending in the ultimate wiping out of the cur- rency of the afflicted country. In a few cases, like our own in the period of the Civil War, the print- ing of Treasury notes to cover an emergency has fortunately not re- sulted in actual disaster and col- lapse, but has nevertheless caused this Nation untold troubles, eco- nomic and political, for a whole generation. “Fact” Is Disputed. The statement in this same sec- ond “whereas” clause that pay- ment will discharge and retire an acknowledged contract obligation of the Government is, I regret to say, not in accordance with the fact. It wholly omits and disre- gards the fact that this contract obligation is due in 1945 and not today. If I, as an individual, owe you, an individual member of the Con- gress, $1,000 payable in 1945, it is not a correct statement for you to tell me that I owe you $1,000 to- day. As a matter of practical fact, if T put $750 into a Government savings bond today and make that bond out in your name you will get $1,000 on the due date, 10 years from now. My debt to you today, therefore, cannot under the re- motest possibility be considered more than $750. The final “whereas” clause, stat- ing that spending the money is the most effective means of has- tening recovery is so ill considered that little comment is necessary. Every authorization of expenditure by the Seventy-third Congress in its session of 1933 and 1934, and every appropriation by the Seventy- fourth Congress to date, for rt covery purposes, has been predi- cated not on the mere spending of money to hasten recovery, but on }he sounder principle of prevent- ing the loss of homes and farms, of saving industry from bank- Tuptcy, of safeguarding bank de- Posits, and most important of all— of giving relief ‘and jobs through public work to individuals and families faced with starvation. These greater and broader con- cerns of the American people have & prior claim for our consideration at this time. They have the right of way. There is before this Congress legislation providing old-age bene- fits and a greater measure of security for all workers against the hazards of unemployment. We are also meeting the pressing ne- cessities of those who are now un- employed and in need of imme- diate relief. In all of this every veteran shares. Relief Phase “Fallacy.” ‘To argue for this bill as a relief measure is to indulge in the fallacy that the welfare of the country can be generally served by extending relief on some basis other than actual deserving need The core of the question is that & man who is sick or under some other special disability because he was a soldier should certainly be assisted as such. But if a man is suffering trom economic need be- cause of the depression, even though he is a veteran, he must be placed on a par with all of the other victims of the depression. The veteran who is disabled owes his condition to the war. The nealthy veteran who is unemployed owes his troubles to the depres- sion. Each presents a separate and different problem. Any at- tempt to mingle the two problems is to confuse our efforts. Even the veteran who is on re- lief will benefit only temporarily by this measure, because the pay- ment of this sum to him will re- move him from the group entitled to relief if the ordinary rules of relief agencies are followed. For him this measure would give, but it would also take away. In the end he would be the loser. The veteran who suffers from this depression can best be aided by the rehabilitation of the coun- try as a whole. His country, with honor and gratitude, returned him at the end of the war to the citi- zenry from which he came. He be- came once more a member of the great civilian population. His in- terests became identified with its fortunes and also with its misfor- tunes. All Must Share. Some years ago it was well said by the distinguished senior Senator from Idaho that “the soldier of this country cannot be aided ex- cept as the country itself is re- habilitated. The soldier cannot come back except as the people as a whole come back. The soldier cannot prosper unless the people prosper. He has now gone back and intermingled and become a part of the citizenship of the coun- try; he is wrapped up in its welfare or in its adversity. The handing out to him of a few dollars will not benefit him under such circum- stances, whereas it will greatly in- jure the prospects of the country and the restoration of normal con- ditions.” It is generally conceded that the settlement by adjusted gompensa- tion certificates made in 1924 was fair and it was accepted as fair by the overwhelming majority of World War veterans themselves. I have much sympathy for the argument that some who remained at home in civilian employ enjoyed special privilege and unwarranted remuneration. That is true—bit- terly true—but a recurrence of that type of war profiteering can and - must be prevented in any future war. I invite the Congress and the veterans, with the great masses of the American population, to join with me in progressive efforts to root a recurrence of such injustice out of American life. But we should not destroy privilege and create new privilege at the same time. Two wrongs do not make a right, The Herculean task of the United States Government today is to take care that its citizens have the necessities of life. We are seeking honestly end honorably to do this, irrespective of class or group. Rightly, we give preferential treat- ment to those men who were wounded, disabled. or who became ill as a result of war service. Rightly, we give care to those who subsequently have become ill. The others—and they represent the great majority—are today in the prime of life, are today in full bodily vigor. They are American citizens who should be accorded equal privileges and equal rights to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—no less and no more. Claims Budget Fixed. 1t is important to make one more point. In accordance with the mandate of the Congress, our budget has been set. The public has accepted it. On that basis this Congress has made and is making its appropriations. That budget asked for appropriations in excess of receipts to the extent of four billions of dollars. The whole of that deficit was to be applied for work-relief for the unemployed. That was a single-minded, definite rurpose. Every unemployed veteran on the relief rolls was included in that proposed deficit—he will be taken care of out of it. I cannot in honesty assert to you that to increase that deficit this year by $2.200.000,000 will in itself bankrupt the United States. Today the credit of the United States is safe. But it cannot ulti- mately be safe if we engage in a policy of yielding to each and all of the groups that are able to en- force upon the Congress claims for special consideration. To do so is to abandon the principle of gov- ernment by and for the American people and to put in its place gov- ernment by and for political coer- cion by minorities. We can afford all that we need; but we cannot af- ford all that we want. I do not need to be a prophet to assert that if these certificates, due in 1945, are paid in full today, every candidate for election to the Senate or to the House of Repre- sentatives will in the near future be called upon in the name of patriotism to support general pen- sion legislation for all veterans, regardless of need or age. Finally, I invite your attention to the fact that solely from the point of view of the good credit of the United States, the complete failure of the Congress to provide addi- tional taxes for an additional ex- penditure of this magnitude would in itself and by itself alone war- rant disapproval of this measure. 1 well know the disappointment that the performance of my duty in this matter will occasion to many thousands of my fellow cit- izens. I well realize that some who favor this bill are moved by a true desire to benefit the veterans of the World War and to contrib- ute to the welfare of the Nation. These citizens will, however, real- ize that I bear an obligation as President and as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy which extends to all groups, to all cit- izens. to the present and to the future. I cannot be true to the office I hold if I do not weigh the claims of all in the scales of equity. I cannot swerve from this moral obligation. Thinks of Others. I am thinking of those who served their country in the Army and in the Navy during the period which convulsed the entire civ- ilized world. I saw their service at first hand at home and over- seas. I am thinking of those mil- lions of men and women who ine creased crops, whe made muni- tions, who ran our railroads, who worked in the mines, who loaded our ships during the war period. I am thinking of those who died in the cause of America here and abroad, in uniform sad out; I am thinking of the widows and orphans of all of them; I am thinking of five millions of Amer- icans who, with their families, are today in dire need, supported in whole or in part by Federal, State and local governments who have decreed that they shall not starve, I am thinking not only of the past, not only of today, but of the years to come. In this future of ours it is of first importance that we yield not to the sympathy which we would extend to a single group or class by special legislation for that group or class, but that we should extend assistance to all groups and all classes who in an emergency need the helping hand of their Governmeat. I believe the welfare of the Nation, as well as the future welfare of the veterans, wholly justifies my disapproval of this measure. ‘Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I return, without my approval, House of Representatives biil No. 3896, pro- viding for the immediate payment to veterans of the 1945 face value of their adjusted service certificates. A natural cians for o JOE HIGH -INCORPORATE 'OUR PLUMBER To relieve Combating the Pain of RITIS V. famous corrective Step In for your sample. Our $reat. Deliciously Different MARTHA WASHINGTON ICE CREAM Fancy moulds and nov- elties specially designed for parties. 507 12th St. N.W. 3507 Conn. 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