Evening Star Newspaper, May 27, 1940, Page 11

Situation In U. S. Held Critical Administration Is Castigated for Defense ‘Blunders’ By DAVID LAWRENCE. The “home front”—namely, the situation in the United States—is more critical than the average man knows. Mistakes and blunders of immediate con sequence to America’s na- tional security are being made. Weeks or months hence, when it is too late to remedy them, alibis will be heard and scapegoats cre- ated. Outside of! Washington is a Nation ready to co-operate. The rank and file of David Lawrence. labor is loyal, unselfish, eager to aid national defense. The rank and file of business and industry is in the same mood The big battle in Washington to- day is not whether America can be saved, but whether the New Deal can be saved This is but a realistic way | to describe the contest between the members of the administration who want to retain control over every phase of defense preparations and the businessmen of the country, mostly anti-New Deal, who want to see reforms sidetracked wherever the national defense requires it. In betweer are the Army and Navy. Under the rules of military discipline, these officers are muzzled. Sense of Security Propaganda. Efforts to get at the truth through congressional investigation are choked off by the New Deal major- ities in both houses of Congress. The whole machinery of Govern- | ment propaganda is turned on to give the people a sense of security ‘when there is no security. What are the facts about Amer- fca’s defenses? aircraft guns, hardly any tanks, a small standing Army, and a Navy| that is too little for the job that may have to be done to defend America in the next 18 months. Almost the entire American fleet is at present in the Pacific Ocean. ‘There it will remain frozen in and around Hawaii, watching for a Japa- nese “blitzkrieg” in the Pacific aimed at the Dutch East Indies or the Philippines or even Hawaii. Cer- tainly the fleet cannot get back into the Atlantic quickly if the Panama Canal isn't defended. Our defenses in the Canal Zone area are inade- quate. The Nazis have strong fifth col- umn units in Brazil and the north- ern part of South America. If Italy enters the war, it means Portugal and Spain will be enveloped within Nazi rule and then the Cape Verde Islands—nearest to South America— will be a short hop for Italian air forces. Northern coasts of South America have bases which . the United States cannot now defend without more aircraft and a more aggressive policy. The British Fleet, If England should be invaded and defeated the most important piece of defense strategy the United States could effect would be to keep the British fleet afloat. Pre- sumably the British fleet would be- come part of the Canadian govern- ment. In the face of this gloomy pic- ture, what is the policy of the United States? The militarists in Japan are working hand in glove with the Nazis. There is a substantial ele- ment in Japan which would wel- come a friendly, working arrange- ment with the United States. Peace in China can be brought about by American diplomacy. It is an es- sential part of our defense strategy. Friendship with Japan would _re- lease America’s fleet for use in the Atlantic. Battleships cannot be built overnight. The biggest requirement, however, on the home front is to get faster production for aircraft and mech- anized weapons. This is a job for industry and labor. It can be ac- complished only if the class warfare engendered by New Deal reform laws is stopped at once. The Presi- dent can stop it. But he cannot be effective until he restores fair play inside his own administration. Example Cited. This very week, under orders from the White House, the administra- tion leaders in Congress are work- ing tooth and nail to prevent the ousting of labor board members already demonstrated to be unfit to hold public office. The President’'s latest “co-ordi- nating” plan whereby experts from business, communications, finance, etc., are being brought to Washing- ton is, therefore, doomed to failure for a simple reason. It's because business and industry know the scheme is mere window dressing. It {s a dramatic effort to cover up the real crisis, but the real reason why *“co-ordination” will not work is be- cause the co-ordinators will have no authority or power. The White House has already announced that these outsiders will be merely “ad- FRRRREXRE SAVE UP TO 40% ! leven years ago Star Carpet Works | presented to Washingtonians High- . est Quality Rug Cleaning Servios at [ & great saving. . You can’t get better service at any price. $1-50 X xi2 Domestie Gleaned ...... Washed ..... ORIENTAL RUGS Washed and Repaired by Experis [ 4 i ALL RUGS FULLY INSURED ; FIREPROOF STORAGE C MICH. 2220 et e dede e de ke de e dedrde A Ak Aok A dedede dede Aok A etk ' CARPET WORKS % STAR X s s we X3 A We have a pitifully | small air defense, hardly any anti- | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., MONDAY, MAY 27, 1940. We, the People : The Republicans and the Crisis By JAY FRANKLIN, Both politiclans and newspaper writers have completely missed the meaning of President Roosevelt's overtures to Col. Frank Knox, ex-Gov- ernor Alfred M. Landon and other Republican leadery. These incidents have been interpreted—and denied—as a move for a “coalition” in the national defense crisis. The reaction of the G. O. P. and their week-end blasts against the New Deal have revealed the depth of their misunderstandirg. High spot of the situation was Gov. Landon’s statement after his recent lunch with the President. Presuming to speak for the continuity of our political traditions, the Republican 1936 candidate made the astounding proposal that there should be a typical G. O. P. deal in which the man who is already the choice of the majority of the delegates to the next Democratic National Convention and who enjoys the support of the mafjority of the citizens should be debarred from consideration for the presidency. Gov. Landon followed this up with a similarly blunt breach of tradition by proposing that Republican co-operation in the crisis be achieved by a prior “treaty” with the New Deal, under which the national policy would be laid down in advance for the benefit of the minority party, without the formality of allowing the people to decide the issue in the elections. Wants All Patriotic Men Enlisted What President Roosevelt has in mind is national unity, outside of parties and above partisan politics. He wanted—and wants—to enlist the service of all patriotic and able men, on a high plane of disinterested public service. Just as in 1933, he followed his election by appointing such Republicans as Wallace and Ickes to his cabinet—without discussion of a “coalition” with the defeated G. O. P.—just as Roosevelt called for and obtained the services of patriotic Americans, without thought of party affiliation, in the fight against the depression through the N. R. A. and other measures of national recovery—so in this far greater crisis, the President feels that he should be able to call on all loyal American citizens to help serve the country’s need. So far as the Republican party itself is concerned, its supporters are draining away from the G. O. P. in whole-hearted patriotism and unques- tioning allegiance to the President’s leadership in this defense crisis. Even granting that Mr. Roosevelt miscalculated the military ability of the French and British to withstand Hitler's blitzkrieg and hence stands in- dicted of having failed to quadruple instead of double our defense prepa- rations, for the last 20 years the Republican party has been 100 per cent wrong on every phase of the international situation and is in no position to plead that it holds the secret to national defense, when it has put itself on the record as decrying, denying, befuddling and befogging every New Deal effort to promote the internal security of our people and to warn against the rising danger i Europe. Those who called Mr. Roosevelt a “warmonger” and “alarmist” in 1939 have no right to claim public confi- dence in their leadership in 1940, Absolutely Right on Foreign Policy The people sense this and on a recent trip to Ohio I was told from many different sources that the mass of the Republicans were saying: “We're still against Roosevelt's domestic program, but he’s absolutely right on foreign policy and we must back him up to the limit.” Whatever this means to the national welfare, it means that the Republican party is losing its grip on public opinipn and on its own members. Its best chance for effective survival and utllity in the crisis is to go along with the President and give him every support. ‘Whatever the Republicans’ belief concerning the “third term” issue and whatever their hopes for the November elections, it is a plain fact that Mr. Roosevelt is President now and will remain President until January of 1941, and that the crisis is now, in 1940, and must be met now. The American people will have scant patience with any group of men—capital or labor, Republican or Democrat—who see in this emergency only a chance to do a little economic or political trading at the expense of the public safety. Released by Consolidated News Features, Inc, visers.” They will be able to issue no orders. They will have no au- thority to decide things. Precisely sucn a plan known as the “Council of National Defense” was under way in the early part of the Wilson administration’s experi- ence after the World War began. It was a tragic failure because the advisers had to try to teach cabinet officers the rudiments of industrial production. The new scheme wil] fail much quicker this time because the present cabinet is incompetent and it is through the present cab- inet that the war machine is sup- posed to function. Either American businessmen can be trusted to decide what ought to be done to accelerate production or they ought to be brgshed aside and the New Dealers put in charge of factories and management. President Roosevelt may be think- ing that he cannot be re-elected if he puts industry in the saddle inso- far as war preparations are con- cerned, if he listens to the earnest pleas of high Navy and Army offi- cers for relaxation of certain laws that hamstring industry today. But the President would stand a far bet- ter chance of re-election if he re- nounced ambition and did not con- cern himself with political maneuv- ers. And until politics is swept from the Washington scene and the fresh air of genuine patriotism begins to guide decisions, America will drift along while her Government fiddles in the midst of the biggest challenge democracy has ever faced, involving the biggest potential threat that has ever come to the United States of America. When will the people wake up to the crisis in Washington? Text of President’s Defense Report to the Nation Roosevelt Gives Accounting of Money Spent Since He Took Office And Declares Social Gains of Last Seven Years Won't Be Sacrificed The text of President Roosevelt’s radio report to the Nation on the defense program: At this moment of sadness throughout most of the world, I want to talk with you about a number of subjects that directly affect the future of the United States. We are shocked by the almost incredible stories that come to us of what is happening at this moment to the civilian populations of Norway and Hol- land and Belgium and Luxem- bourg and France. I think it is right on this Sab- bath evening that I should say a word in behalf of women and children and old men who need help—immediate help in their present distress—help from us across the seas, from us who are still free to give it. Tonight over the once peaceful roads of Belgium and France millions are now moving, running from their homes to escape bombs and shells and fire, without shel- ter, and almost wholly without food They stumble on, knowing not where the end of the road. will be. T remind you of these people because each one of you that is listening to me tonight has a way of helping them. The American Red Cross, which rep- resents each of us, is rushing food, clothing and medical sup- plies to these destitute millions. Please—I beg you—give according to your means to your nearest Red Cross chapter, give as gen- erously as you can. I ask this in the name of our common hu- manity, Events Abroad Concern Us. Let us sit down again, together, you and I, to consider our own pressing problems that confront us. There are many amornig us who in the past closed their eyes to events abroad—because they be- lieved in utter good faith what some of their fellow Americans told them—that what was taking place in Europe was none of our business; that no matter what happened over there, the United States could always pursue its peaceful and unique course in the world. There are many among us who closed their eyes, from lack of interest or lack of knowledge; honestly and sincerely thinking that the many miles of salt water made the American Hemisphere 50 remote that the people of North, Central and South Amer- ica could go on living in the midst of their vast resources without reference to, or danger .from, other continents of the world. There are some among us who were persuaded by minority groups that we could maintain our physical safety by retiring within our continental boun- daries—the Atlantic on the east, the Pacilc on the west, Canada on the north and Mexico on the south. I illustrated the futility— the impossibility—of that idea in my message to the Congress last week. Obviously, a defense pol- fcy based on that is merely to invite future attack. Partisanship Causes Some of Opposition. - And, finally, there are a few among us who have deliberately and consciously closed their eyes because they were determined to be opposed to their Government's foreign policy, to be partisan, and to believe that anything that the Government did was wholly wrong. To those who have closed their eyes for any of these many rea- sons, to those who would not ad- mit the possibility of the ap- proaching storm—to all of them the past two weeks have meant the shattering of many illusions. They have lost the illusion that we are remote and isolated and, therefore, secure against the dangers from which no other land is free. In some quarters, with this rude awakening has come fear bor- dering on panic. It is said that we are defenseless. It is whis- pered by some that, only by abandoning our freedom, our ideals, our way of life, can we build our defenses adequately, can we match the strength of the aggressors. I did not share those illusions. T do not share these fears, Have Done With Fears And Illusions as Well. We are now more realistic. But let us not be calamity-howlers and discount our strength. Let us have done with both fears and illusions. On this Sabbath eve- ning, in our homes in the midst of our American families, let us calmly consider what we have done and what we must do. In the past two or three weeks all kinds of stories have been handed out to the American pub- lic about our lack of, preparedness. It has even been charged that the money we have spent on our mili- tary and naval forces during the last few years has gone down the rat-hole. I think that it is a matter of fairness to the Nation that you hear the facts, We have spent large sums of money on the national defense. This money has been used to make our Army and Navy today the largest, the best equipped and the best trained peacetime military establishment in the history of this country. Let me tell you just a few of the many things accomplished during the last few years. I do not propose to go into every detail. It is a known fact, however, that in 1933, when this administration came into office, the United States Navy had fallen in standing among the navies of the world, in power of ships and in efficiency, to a rela- tively low ebb. The relative fighting power of the Navy had been greatly diminished by fail- ure to replace ships and equip- g\ent, which had become out of ate. Money Spent on Navy, And What it Bought. Between 1933 and 1940—seven fiscal years—your Government will have spent $1,487,000,000 more than it spent on the Navy during the seven years before 1933. What did we. get for this money? The fighting personnel of the Navy rose from 79,000 to 145,000. During this period 215 ships for the fighting fleet have been laid down or commissioned, prac- tically seven times the number in the preceding similar period. Of these we have commis- sioned 12 cruisers, 63 destroyers, 26 submarines, 3 aircraft car- riers, 2 gunboats, 7 auxiliaries and many smaller craft. Among the many ships now being built and paid for are eight new bat- tleships. Ship construction costs mil- lions of dollars—more in the United States than anywhere else in the world, but it is a fact that we cannot have ade- quate naval defense for all Amer- ican waters without ships—ships that sail the surface of the ocean, ships that move under the surface and ships that move through the air. And, speaking of airplanes that work with the Navy, in 1933 we had 1,127 use- ful aircraft and today we have 2892 on hand and on order. Nearly all of the 1933 planes have been replaced by new planes be- cause they became obsolete or worn out. Navy at Record Peak Of Efficiency, Strength. The Navy is far stronger today than at any peacetime period in the whole long history of the Nation. In hitting power and in efficlency, I would even make the assertion that it is stronger today than it was during the World War. The Army of the United States in 1933 consisted of 122,000 enlisted men. In 1940 that has been practically doubled. The Army of 1933 had been given few new implements of war since 1919, and had been com- pelled to draw on old reserve stocks left over from the World War. The net result of all this was that our Army by 1933 had very greatly declined in its ratio of strength with the armies of Eu- rone and the Far East. That was the situation I found. Since then great changes have taken place. Army Expenditures And the Results. Between 1933 and 1940—seven fiscal years—your Government will have spent $1,292,000,000 more than it spent on the Army the previous seven years. What did we get for this money? ‘The personnel of the Army has been almost doubled. And by the end of this year every exist- ing unit of the present Regular Army will be equipped with its complete requirements of modern weapons. Existing units of the National Guard will also be largely equipped with similar items. Here are some striking exam- ples taken from a large number: Since 1933 we hl:ve ufnwllléy purchased 5,640 airplanes, includ- ing the most modern type of long-range bombers and fast pur- suit planes, though, of course, many of these which were deliv- ered four, five, six or seven years ago have womn out through use and been scrapped. These of it. For example, one ern four-engine long-range Bombing plane costs $350,000; one modern interceptor pursuit plane costs $133,000; one medium bomber costs $160,000. 1,700 Anti-Aircraft Guns, And 1,700 Tanks. In 1933 we had only 355 anti- alrcraft guns. We, now have more than 1,700 modern anti- aircraft guns of all typas on hand or order. And you ought to know that a 3-inch anti-aircraft gun costs $40,000 without any of the fire-control equipment that goes with it. In 1933 there were only 24 modern infantry mortars in the entire Army. We now have on hand and on order more than 1,600. In 1933 we had only 48 modern tanks and armored cars; today we have on hand and on order 1,700. Each one of our heavier tanks costs $46,000. There are many other items in which our progress since 1933 has been rapid. And the great pro- portion of this advance has been during the last two years. In 1933 we had 1263 Army pilots. Today the Army alone has more than 3,200 of the best fighting flyers in the world, who last year flew more than 1,000,000 hours in combat training. This does not include the hundreds of splendid pilots in the National Guard and organized Reserves. Within the year the pro- ductive capacity of the aviation industry to produce rnilitary planes has been tremendously in- creased. This capacity today, however, is still inadequate. But the Government, working with industry, is determined to in- crease this capacity to meet our needs. We intend to harness the efficient machinery of these manufacturers to the Govern- ment’s program of being able to get 50,000 planes a year. Unity of Con‘lrol And the Air Force. One additional word about air- craft. Recent wars, including the current war in Europe, have demonstrated beyond doubt that fighting efficlency depends on unity of eontrol. In sea operations the airplane is just as much an integral part of unity of operations as are the submarine, the destroyer and the battleship; and in land warfare the airplane is just as much a part of military operations as are the tank corps, the engineers, the artillery or the infantry it- self. Therefore, the air forces should be part of the Army and Navy. At my request the Congress is voting the largest appropriation ever asked by the Army or the Navy in peacetime; and the equipment and training provided by them will be in addition to the figures I have given you. The world situation may so change that it will be necessary to reappraise our program at any time. In such case I am confi- dent that the Congress and the Chief Executive will work in har- mony as a team—as they are doing today. Won't Hesitate to Ask More Funds If Needed. I will not hesitate at any mo- ment to ask for additional funds when they are required. In this era of swift, mechan- ized warfare we all have to re- member that what is modern to- day and up to date, what is ef- ficient and practical, becomes ob- solete and outworn tomorrow. Even while the production line turns out airplanes, new ones are being designed on the drafting table. Even as a cruiser slides down the ways, plans for improvement, plans for increased efficiency in the next model, are taking shape in the blue prints of designers. Every day’s fighting in Europe, on land, on sea and in the air, discloses constant changes in methods of warfare. We are con- stantly improving and redesign- ing, testing new weapons and seeking to produce in accordance with the latest that the brains of science conceive. We are calling upon the re- sources, the efficiency and the ingenuity of American manufac- turers of war material of all kinds — airplanes, tanks, guns, ships and all the hundreds of products that go into this ma- terial. The Government of the United States itself manufac- tures few of the implements of war. Private industry will con- tinue to be the source of most of this material, and private in- dustry will have to be speeded up to produce it at the rate and ef- ficiency called for by the needs of the times. I know that private business cannot be expected to make all the capital investment required for expansions of plants and fac- tories and personnel which this program calls for at once. It would be unfair to expect indus- trial corporations to do this, when there is a chance that a change in international affairs may stop future orders. Government to Help Finance Expansion. Therefore, the Government of the United States stands ready to advance the necessary money to help provide for the enlargement of factories, the establishment of " new plants, the employment of thousands of netessary workers, the development of new sources of supply for the hundreds of raw materials required, the develop- ment of quick mass transporta- tion of supplies. The details of this are now being worked out in ‘Washington, day and night. We are calling on men now en- gaged in private industry to help us in carrying out this program and you will hear more of this in the next few days. * This does not mean .that the men we cal' upon will be en- gaged in the actual production of this material. That will still have to be carried on in the plants and factories throughout the land. Private industry will have the re- sponsibility of providing the best, speediest and most efficient mass production of which it is capable. The functions of the business- men whose assistance we are call- ing upon will be to co-brdinate this program—to see to it that all in their special fields are coming to Washington to help the Gov- ernment with their training, ex- perience and capability. it is our purpose not only to speed up production but to in- crease the total facilities of the Nation in such a way that they can be further enlarged to meet emergencies of the future. No Breakdown In Social Gains. But as this program proceeds there are several things we must continue to watch and safe- guard, things which are just as important to the sound defense of a Nation as physical arma- ment itself. While our Navy and our airplanes and our guns may be our first lines of defense, it is still clear that way down at the bottom, underlying them all, giv- ing them their strength, suste- nancg and power, are the spirit and morale of a free people. For that reason, we must make sure, in all that we do, that there be no breakdown or cancellation of any of the great social gains which we have made in these past years. We have carried on an offensive on a broad front against social and economic inequalities and abuses which had made our society weak. That offensive should not now be broken down by the pincers movement of those who would use the present needs of physical military defense to destroy it. There is nothing in our present emergency to justify making the workers of our Nation toil for longer hours than now limited by statute. As more orders come in and as more work has to be done, tens of thousands of people, who are now unemployed, will receive employment. Nothing to Justify Lower Working Standards. There is nothing in our present emergency to fustify a lowering of the standards of employment. Minimum wages should not be reduced. Tt is my hope, indeed, that the new speedup of produc- tion will cause many businesses which now pay below the mini- mum standards to bring their wages up. There is nothing in our present emergency to justify a breaking down of old-age pensions or un- employment insurance. I would rather see the systems extended to other groups who do not now enjoy them. There is nothing in our present emergency to justify a retreat from any of our social objectives —conservation of resources, as- sistance to agriculture, housing, and help to the under-privileged. Conversely, however, I am sure that responsible leaders will not permit some specialized group, which represents a minority of the total employves of a plant or industry, to break up the continu- ity of employment of the major- ity of the employes. The policy and the laws providing for col- lective bargaining are still in force. And labor will be ade- quately represented in Washing- ton in this defense program. No War Millionaires Wanted This Time. Also our present emergency and a common sense of decency make it imperative that no new group of war millionaires come into being in this Nation as a re- sult of the struggles abroad. The American people will not relish the idea of any American citizen growing rich and fat in an emer- -gency of blood and slaughter and human suffering. And, finally, this emergency demands that the consumers of America be protected so that our general cost of living can be maintained at a reasonable level. We ought to avoid the spiral processes of the World War. The soundest policy is for every em- pioyer in the country to help give useful employment to the millions who are unemployed. By giving to those millions an increased purchasing power, the prosperity of the whole country will rise to a much higher level. Spies and Saboteurs Must Be Dealt With. Today's threat to our national security is not a matter of mili- tary weapons alone. We know of new methods of attack. The Trojan horse. The fifth column that betrays a nation un- prepared for treachery. Spies, saboteurs and traitors are the actors in this new strat- egy. With all of these we must deal vigorously. But there is an added tech- nique for weakening a nation at its very roots, for disrupting the entire pattern of life of a people. It is important that we under- stand it. The method is simple. First, discord. A group—not too large —a group that may be sectional or racial or political—is encour- aged to exploit their prejudices through false slogans and emo- tional appeals. The aim of those who deliberately egg on these groups is to create confusion of counsel, public indecision, politi- cal paralysis and eventually, a state of panic. Sound national policies come to be viewed with a new and un- reasoning skepticism, not through the wholesome political debates of honest and free men, but through the clever schemes of foreign agents. As a result of these new tech- niques armament programs may be dangerously delayed. Single- ness of national purpose may be undermined: Men can lose con- fidence in each other, and, there- fore, in the efficacy of their own united action. Faith and cour- age yleld to doubt and fear. The unity of the state is so sapped that its strength is destroyed. Americans Not Easy Dupes for Propagandas, All this is no idle dream. It has happened time after time, in nation after nation, during the last two years. Fortunately, American men and women are not easy dupes. Campaigns of group hatred or class struggle have never made much head- ‘way among us, and are not mak- ing headway now. But new forces are being unleashed, de- liberately planned propagandas to divide and weaken us in the face of danger as other nations have been weakeped before. ‘These dividing forces are un- diluted poison. They must not (Bee TEXT, Page A-14.) Taxes to Pay For Defense Big Problem Congress Action This Session Seen Unlikely By CHARLES G. ROSS. ‘The national defense program now on its way through Congress, em- bracing the appropriations which had already been scheduled and those added at ) the urgent recommendation ;. of the President, will cost in the neighborhood of $3,300,000,000. ! sum — three i times the entire public debt of the United States when we entered the first World War — drives home the neces- sity for new taxes. We cannot go on forever borrow- ing, barrowing. The gross public debt is now $42,786,500,000. It has in- creased more than two and a half billions in the last year. The deficit for the 11 elapsed months of the current fiscal year is over $3,000,000,= 000. Now it is all to the good that Con= gress and the President should be doing first things first—getting the preparedness program started with- out time-consuming discussion of the ways of flnancing it. As the Presi- dent has said, when your house is burning you concentrate on putting out the fire. But the preparedness bill has got to be pair, and the sooner we face squarely up to the problem of paying it the better. It can only be met out of taxes. Either we pay these taxes now or we weakly pass | them on to be paid later—and paid at a heavier rate because of the | piled-up interest on our borrowing. | We have done enough—far too | much—of passing on the costs of Government to posterity. Broader Tax Base. ‘We ought to have begun earlier to get a larger proportion of these costs out of current taxes. For one thing, as Senator La Follette has long been urging, we ought to have “broadened the base” of the income tax structure by lowering the exempe tions. Whatever reasonable excuse may | have existed for delay -in revising |our revenue law is now gone. En- | tirely apart from the question of |how much longer we can g0 on | borrowing without destroying the national credit is the question of how much longer we can g0 on coddling ourselves, by putting off the payment of our debts, without de- stroying the national character. The plain duty rests on Congress to enact a tax measure that will pay in whole or at least in sube stantial part the cost of the emer= gency defense program. | Strong Expressions. It is gratifying to note that in the House discussion of prepared- ness last week there were several strong expressions to this effect. Some of these may have been in- spired partly by a desire to embar= rass the majority. That doesn't matter. The conclusion as to taxes is sound. Said Representative Rutherford, Republican, of Pennsylvania: “The administration should bring out & special tax bill for the purpose of raising a substantial part of this expense, and it could do it if it would. But I know that it will not be done, as this is election year.” Representative Treadway, Repub- lican, of Massachusetts: “We should share in paying for this national defense by a new tax bill at this session of Congress. * * * There are limits beyond which we cannot g0 as regards taxes, but we should completely exhaust the tax field be- fore borrowing further. Since the money is to be used for presente day defense, it should be raised by present-day taxes. * * * We should not pass on the whole burden to future generations.” ‘Wants Action This Session. Representative Johns, Republican, of Wisconsin: “Let us vote money for national defense, and before this Congress adjourns enact legislation that will bring in sufficient funds to take care of the amount appro= priated. I am ready to pay my share. I am sure all loyal American citizens feel the same way about it.” Representative Hoffman, Repube lican, of Michigan: “Taxes some= time there must be. Let us meet our duty here and now and not confine our activities to the making of patriotic speeches, the appropri- ating of billions of dollars, to be repaid with interest by future gen- erations.” It was not only Republicans whn spoke in this vein. Representative Ferguson, Democrat, of Oklahoma declared it was “the responsibility of Congress to pass a tax bill to finance our preparedness program” and Representative Boehne, Demo- crat, of Indiana said: “The debt limitation must soon be raised, but under no condition should that be done without the imposition of ad- ditional taxes. * * * Whatever may be the method employed, I am pri- marily interested in making a start now, & study that will be trans- lated into immediate action. The House of Representatives has the sole right to originate bills for rais- ing revenue and there is no valid excuse for us to shirk our responsi- bilities in that direction now.” Heartening Signs. These are heartening signs that the issue will be faced. It is wholly unlikely, however, that a tax bill will be passed at this session. The leaders' of Congress and the rank and file, in the main, are eager to get home and into the campaign. That desire is understandable and not, in our political system, to be condemned. It takes time, more- over, to write a tax bill. will not be derelict if it defers final action until the next session. What the country has a right to expect is thorough study of the tax question by the appropriate com- mittees of Congress during the ad- journment, and prompt passage of a revenue bill in January. To & great extent, certainly, this biil should levy on incomes, and it should apply to incomes being earned in 1940. It should bfln{ new taxpayers into the fold and i should impose rates, up and down the line, sufficient to pay at least 4 large part of our cost of prepared- ness. Charles G. Ross. 4