National Affairs: Garner v. Wagner v. Hoover

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Federal relief for the fourth winter of the Depression last week became a matter of three-way compromise, with the House, the Senate and the President all at odds. Individual pride of opinion ran high. The White House threatened a veto if its will were denied. The Senate had "principles" it swore it would never surrender. The House, through its Speaker, raged and cursed to have its own way. Meanwhile the destitute of the nation trembled in fear lest they in their plight get nothing from a quarrelsome capital. Early this month the House passed (215-to-182) an omnibus relief bill backed by Speaker Garner. Using this bill as a parliamentary frame, the Senate struck out all the House provisions and substituted a measure of its own devised by Senator Robert Ferdinand Wagner, New York Democrat. Last week the Senate by an overwhelming but unrecorded vote passed the Wagner bill. As they went to conference, the Garner and Wagner bills were alike only in that each called for a public outlay of about $2,300,000,000 to make jobs, stimulate government construction and feed the hungry. The principal provisions of the two bills which had to be compromised by the House and Senate conferees were: Wagner Bill Garner Bill A $500,000,000 Treas-A Treasury Bond is-ury bond issue to be sue of approximately spent on Federal public $1,200,000,000 to be works already author-spent in buildings some ized. Major items (in 3,000 postoffices and millions of dollars): other government struc roads. 120: rivers tures, improving rivers harbors, 30; govern-& harbors, constructing ment buildings, 100: Federal roads, and to floodized. Major items (in 3.000 postoffices and millions of dollars): other government struc roads. 120: rivers tures, improving rivers harbors, 30; govern-& harbors, constructing ment buildings, 100: Federal roads, and to flood control. 15; Army be otherwise invested in & Navy housing, 25. a national public works The President was given program returning no $168,000,000 to spend revenue. A gasoline tax on public projects as he of Y^ per gal. is pro saw fit. None of this vided to amortize the c o n s t r u c t i o n w o u l d r e i s s u e . turn An revenue. increase of $1,-An increase of $1,- 500,000,000 in Recon 000,000,000 in R. F. struction Finance C.'s capital for loans sale"Corp.'s of its capital by the securities to ing"an}'State,person"—corporationormean- (which are indirect ob-individual, ligations of the U.S.) This is fund would be lent to States , counties , cities or public corporations to finance such self-liquidating projects as toll bridges, tunnels , via ducts, waterworks , docks and canals . Only two forms of private industry could borrow from this fund: limited- profit housing corporations fors lumeradication: construction concerns engaged to execute public works programs. Set aside also was $40,000,000 for the R.F.C. to help the Farm Board finance the export of its surplus. A $300,000,000 R. $100,000,000 worth F.C. fund to be lent only to States on the be President as distributed he by sees the fit basis of population for direct relief of the job among the jobless and less and needy.* needy. Chief defender of the Senate bill throughout the long nerve-wracking debate was its author and sponsor. Senator Wagner. German-born, he had served as a Supreme Court justice in New York City where he knew by experience the ex tent of destitution.