Shadows

The shadow of personal worry which had hung over the President for twelve days had lifted with old Martha Truman's dogged recuperation. But last week, as Harry Truman flew back from Kansas City, Kans. to Washington, the shadow of public responsibility deepened.

A Republican Congress was about to thump on to his desk the long-awaited tax and labor bills (see The Congress). The President's decision whether to sign or veto would have a profound effect on the nation's economic and social future--and on Harry Truman's own political fortunes.

For the time being the problems were still in the hands of his advisers. Among them: Secretary of Labor Lew Schwellen-bach, Treasury Secretary John Snyder, Presidential Counsel Clark Clifford. Clifford produced the yardstick for measuring the labor bill: Does it disturb the rights of labor? According to his answer to this question, the President might or might not veto the Taft-Hartley bill.

Taxes were another matter. Harry Truman had put himself solidly on the record against any tax cut at this time. So had John Snyder. Clark Clifford agreed. They could think of several reasons for vetoing: Congress had not yet completed action of major appropriation bills, did not yet know how much revenue it would need; tax cuts now might exert new inflationary pressures; future foreign commitments would probably knock all budget plans into a cocked hat. But tax reduction was a political inflammable, and dangerous to tamper with. Truman's veto of the tax bill might singe his political fingers. Asked Manhattan's Daily News: "Will Truman shoot Santa Claus?"

While these major decisions waited, the President closeted himself in the White House, free of callers, to attack his backlog of other urgent business. He signed without ceremony the $350 million foreign relief bill. He had a long talk with the members of his commission to study universal military training, spent most of one day reading their report (see above).

But he could not for long avoid the crucial issues of labor and taxes. At week's end John L. Lewis sharpened one of them still further when negotiations over a new coal contract broke up without results. With such an example before him, the President might well convince himself that the pending bill did not overly disturb the rights of labor. Besides, Congress would probably pass it over his veto. But a tax cut was directly up to Truman. The Republicans did not have the votes to beat a veto there.

Last week the President also: P: Sent to Congress the draft of a bill permitting the U.S. to train & arm her sister republics of the Western Hemisphere, a step long urged by the War & Navy departments, vigorously opposed by some factions of the State Department.

P: Asked Congressional approval of a new Housing & Home Finance Agency, to put a permanent roof over the temporary consolidation of independent housing agencies.

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