Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-04-02
NEW BUDGET COMMITTEE MAY
SOLVE GOVERNMENT RENE /,
NUE. PROBLEM.
PRESIDENT TAFT AND HIS
CABINET TO BLAZE TRAIL
House Proposes to Follow senate's Lead
in Conserving Public Funds and
Claim Some of the Lost Prestige
Macveash to Take Lead in Move
ment.
ment.

Washington, April at is apparent
that in both houses of congress there
is ITO be concerted movement, the ex-
ecutive department of the government
assisting, to reduce expenditures, this
to be one of the ways Of. getting rid
of the annual deficit in the past few
years. To what extent this movement
will be successful can not now be stat
ed, but it will be interesting to watch
the experiment. Senator Aldrich is
quoted as saying that the new budget
committee of the senate is to become
one of the most important, if not the
most Important committee of either
house of congress, and that 1t may be
helped to become such it contains the
names Of many of the senate's strong.
est and most enlightened members.
The sundry civil bill of the recent
session of congress contained a para
graph which was the start toward re-
trenchment. According to that para
graph. now law, the secretary of the
treasury, in the event of the likelihood
that the annual estimates of the sew
eral executives combined are to exceed
the revenues for that year. is to
transmit those estimates to the pres
ident, as we'll as to congress, to the end
that the president may, sin giving
congress information as to the state OF
the union, and in recommending to
at
he may judge necessary, advise the
congress how. in his judgment. the es-
timated appropriations could. with
least injury to the public service, be
reduced so as to bring the appropria-
tions within the estimated revenues:
/ or, if such reduction be not, in his
| judgment, practical without undue in
jury to the public service, that he may
recommend to congress such loans or
new taxes as may be necessary to COW
er the deficiency"
Macveaeh Takes Lead.
! 1t Is already apparent that Mr.. Taft
and his cabinet are TO conform not
only to the letter, but also to the spir-
it of this new law, as witness the an
nouncement already made by Secre-
tary MacVeagh of the treasury depart
ment, only a few days ago, and the
steps which other cabinet officers are
taking to adapt themselves to it.
/ In years past the secretary of the
| treasury has submitted the annual es-
! Inmates in congress in precisely the
form in which he received them from
his cabinet associates, without any
thought of revision, for authority to re-
wise was not vested in him. The re-
suit was that the estimates grew at
an alarming rate, year after year, until
they reached such proportions as to
| become serious menace to the coun-
try. Under the old system these esti-
mates always represented the maxi
mum expectations Of departmental
heads. and they We're made without
regard to the federal income. There
was no attempt at correlating income
and expenditure, or at otherwise ed
ting the estimates so as to see that
no one department was trying to get
more than its fair share and that all
of them We're keeping well in mind
economy of administration.
| Fortunately for all concerned, this
( haphazard method now seems likely
soon to be a thing of the past Under
the provision of the law above quoted,
not only the cabinet, but the president
himself, is charged with the respon-
sibility of not submitting estimates ex-
ceeding the probable income, or If do
ing so, to suggest where new revenue
may come from with which to meet
the extra outgo. The president will
scrutinize, thru a budget committee OF
three cabinet officers, all estimates.
with a view to harmonizing them to
the probable income, thus bringing
about, in the language Of Secretary
MacVeagh "a responsible relation be-
tween the expenditures and the reve-
nues.'
House Loses Rank.
i 1t is the opinion of public men in this
city that such a reform as is here out
lined should have been made many
years ago, and that, if it is put int
practical operation, it will reduce the
annual appropriations for the grea
executive departments many million!
yearly, thus in fact helping along the
important work of making both end!
meet. Considered in connection witt
} the creation of the senate committee OF
lpublic expenditures, the establishment