THE CONGRESS: Sacrificial Mood

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By democratic design, the lower house of Congress is bound close to the U. S.

people. Senators with six-year terms enjoy a certain insulation from popular sentiment, but two-year Representatives are never farther than the next election from the horny, hovering hands at home. And Representatives, who alone may initiate tax bills, have traditionally refused even to think about new taxes in an election year.

But last week,'a bare five months before the 1940 elections, Republican Bruce Barton informed his colleagues in the House: "Our people today are in a mood for self-sacrifice. The desire to do something, to give something is well-nigh universal." Recognizing this spirit, Chairman Robert L. Doughton's Ways & Means Committee proposed to give about 8,336,000 more U. S. citizens the opportunity of filing a Federal income tax return, to give some 2,000,000 of them an opportunity actually to pay. "Muley" Doughton & colleagues proposed to lower the minimum taxable income from $1,000 to $800, reducing the exemption for married citizens from $2,500 to $2.000. Effect of these and other changes in the Rearmament revenue measure which Chairman Doughton introduced last fortnight was to up its prospective annual yield (for the next five years) from $656,000,000 to $1,004,000,000-a little more than a fifth of the total Army-Navy estimates which House and Senate last week rushed toward passage.

Equally significant was the Republican minority's strategy. Nine of the ten G. 0. P. Ways & Means committeemen abstained from voting-but not because they opposed new taxes. The Republicans thought the House should go much further in overhauling and broadening the tax structure. Democrat Doughton agreed in principle, promised to attempt a major overhaul (including additional taxes on excess Defense profits) at the next session of Congress.

The prevailing U. S. mood affected Congress in other ways. Compulsory military training, partial peacetime conscription to hurry expansion of the Regular Army from 280,000 to 400.000 men-these drastic departures from U. S. tradition were gravely discussed, raising hardly a ripple of the horror which would have surged in waves six months ago. About the means of Defense (appropriations, taxes, man power) there was no hesitancy, no serious question in Congress last week.