The Daily Worker

ROOSEVELT THREATENS TO VETO RESTORATION OF ANY CUTS TO VETS
Senators Forced to Put Up Sham Fight As Hunger Congress Nears Close
Bill to Aid Mortgage Sharks and Rob Small Home Owners Signed by President

WASHINGTON, June 13.—With floods of telegrams and other messages pouring into Washington demanding that senators and congressmen take a stand against the savage cuts imposed upon the veterans in the Roosevelt "economy" act the White House is taking measures to finish its legislative program in time for an early adjournment.

Roosevelt stated today that he would veto any measure to reduce the amount of the cuts imposed upon the veterans still further. The only reduction made was that of $50,000,000 for Spanish-American war veterans, which left the total yearly amount of the relief and compensation taken from the veterans $400,000,000.

The house of representatives has already approved the Roosevelt demands, but the senate is balking because one-third of the members of that body are up for re-election next year. They are afraid that if they do not at least put up a sham battle against all the cuts they will meet with general hostility of the veterans.

James F. Byrnes, democrat of South Carolina, has notified Roosevelt that democrats could not muster enough votes to put the bill through the senate without some alteration that will enable them to plead for veterans' support in the next election.

However, this opposition on the part of senators is another move in the game of political trickery that has characterized the whole course of both houses in putting through the attacks upon the veterans. If Roosevelt vetoes a bill containing amendments opposed by him it will go back to the senate, where it will not be possible to obtain the necessary two-thirds vote to override the veto. The outcome will be final acceptance of the Roosevelt plan and still enable the politicians to claim before the voters that they opposed the bill.

Help Mortgage Sharks

The so-called home mortgage relief bill was signed today by Roosevelt and he issued a statement appealing to mortgage holders not to foreclose mortgages "until full opportunity has been given to make effective the refinancing provisions of the act."

In his statement wherein he repeated the deception that the bill will aid home owners he said: "The act extends this relief not only to people who have borrowed money on their homes but also their mortgage creditors."

As a matter of fact it aids only the mortgage sharks by placing at their disposal $2,200,000,000 while at the same time enabling them to continue to prey upon the home owners by having the support of the full power of the federal government to force interest payments.

At a late hour this afternoon the Senate was still debating the so-called "industrial recovery bill" but it will be passed before the day is over by a large majority.