The National tribune., 1909-11-04
GOVERNMENT FINANCES.
The Chairman of the Appropria-
ton Committee and Officials
Studying Ways and Means.

The Government has been and is
building the Panama Canal, upon which
1t will soon be spending about S40,0 0OO.-
0G0 a year Part of this expenditure
has been paid from the current Treas
ury funds, and part of it has been paid
from the proceeds of bond sales. Hence
forth, with the Treasury funds running
so low, there will certainly be further
issues of Panama Canal bonds. which
means that the public debt of the Unit
ed States will be increased. The Gov
eminent these days, and, in fact, for
the last few years. has not been ma
terially reducing its public debt.
The House Appropriations Commit
tee. headed by Chairman james Taw-
ney, is leaving Washington and New
York this week for a trip to Panama
for the purpose Of making up the an
nual budget fcr the canal. The COM
n1ittee holds hearings on the Isthmus
for several days, and calls in canal Off
Gals TO question them about the opera
lions and to ascertain better than ii
could by sitting in Washington what
the financial needs OF that project are.
The proceeding is identical with that
followed in making up all appropria-
fion bills, except that in case of the
other bills the hearings are had at the
Capitol, and officials interested in the
appropriations or having a hand in
disbursing them are called before the
committee at its regular meeting place
Chairman Tawney tarried in Wash
ington several days before departing
Tor the lsthmus, and laid the founda-
ton for the work he and his Appropria-
tions associates have to do. The Treas
Ury Department furnished to him In
advance the proof sheets of estimates
for the canal. These will be studied
and reviewed on the way down to the
1sthmus. It is not feasible, of course,
Ia ffIFt a II IN. f1tac Of
canal There Is no thought on the
part of the committee or of Congress of
economizing there. The people want
the canal dug as expeditiousiy as may
be, and the only object is to furnish
money as fast as it can be wisely and
pFOftably used.
But on Government appropriations in
general Chairman Tawuey is to be a
stern economy advocate this Winter He
had talk tn Assistant Secretary Of
the Treasury Norton. who has given
study to the waste in Government ap-
DroDriations and gathered some new
suggestions as to where the pruning
knife can be applied at the coming ses-
Sion of Congress.
The Forestry Bureau.
The Treasury watchdogs would like
Go cut down the supply of money for
some of the Bureaus that have grown
Gp anu NOuTiSneu uuuCf the Roosevelt
Administrations. such as the Forest Bu-
Teau. The receipts of that Bureau are
about Sl,S00.000 a year. ch eny from
grazing permits and from the sale OF
timber; but the expenses of the Bureau
fof administration run far beyond that
and constitute quite a tax upon the
Treasury 1t was only few years ago
that the Forest Bureau comprised
foHce Of IL men, two of whom were
trained fOresters The cost of main
timing the Bureau and its field force
was less than 100000 a year. Now
tho employees of the Bureau are 5000
and there are about $50 trained forest
CTS IN the 81. The critics on the APP
preparations Committee say that Forest
e. Pinchot is dictator over an area
larger tilan George Washington ruled
Rs President, and that there is pracri-
caily. no way of interfering tn Chief
Binchots rule The area of National
Z" ests has been tremendously aug
E4shted in recent years. and includes