HIDE THE CANDY BOX

The popular reception to the Soldiers' Bonus Bill is a curious commentary on the psychology of a representative form of government. One newspaper is bold enough to say that Mr. Mellon is right and that because it will be bad for the people it should be withheld from them; another, making a bid for favor among its readers consequently is for it; still others, playing entirely upon sentiment, and having no regard for economic laws or anything else of even a semi-logical nature, will openly and blatantly advocate a bonus--the bill to be footed by Wall Street in some mysterious manner. But what is the general feeling of the people about the question? It is unfortunately true that when any such proposition is before the public mind, sentiment is the most influential in determining its opinion. The sentiment behind giving World War Veterans a present is very nice; from this and other evidence one may conclude that a referendum would see the bonus favored by the majority.

If this is the case, there is still the problem of the advisability of giving the people what they want. Is Congress strictly a representative body obligated to obey every whim of the people, or should it, when occasion arise, hide the candy box? This is a case where the public is not capable of judging for itself, because the facts have not been presented in a manner uncolored by the prejudices of innumerable newspaper editors. Does Congress want to be right in the light of subsequent developments, or right only at the time of the next elections?