VOTES FOR SALE

If reports from Washington are correct, it would seem that any hopes entertained that Congress would forget sectional jealousies in the face of depression, are to be frustrated. The extra-ordinary apropriationn needed at this time have apparently only whetted the appetite for perk. Senator La Follette's bill providing federal relief for local communities has been drawn up with this convicition in mind. Forty percent of the money appropriate will accordingly be divided on the basis of population. The actual needs of the communities will not be considered in regard to this forty percent.

It is well known that the effects of the economic collapse have not been equally acute in every part of the nation. The agricultural South and Southwest, which were not greatly involved in the inflation of values, have to a large extent escaped the penalties of it. In those states where the cities are small, no pressing problem of unemployment is felt. It would seem natural, therefore, that such states should receive a substantially smaller amount of governmental aid than those more seriously distressed. Natural, but it is hardly in accord with the hallowed traditions of Congress. Those traditions dictate that in regard to appropriations, votes are given only for value received. Senator La Follette has merely recognized the inevitable in drawing up his bill. But the fact that such a condition should be inevitable is a sad comment on the capacity of Congress to treat national problems in a comprehensive spirit.