The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-03-10
BUSINESS IDEAS IN GOVERNMENT

affairs OF tie government lie wants
TO cut down the expenditures to the
level of the receipts, or below them.
Recognizing that the treasury deficits
are a detriment to the government
and an embarrassment TO the Repub-
lican party, he aims to abolish them
and to bring back the SURPRISES CT the
old days OF his party's dominance
Senator Aldrich has just said our
present methods OF conducting the
governments affairs involve a waste
of at least $100.00o0OO a year, and
added that if the job were in his
hands he could run it for $500, coo
year less than the present cost.
With the purpose of abclishing this
needless drain the S.nator proposes
a commission of ten members, five
from each branch of Congress, to
study fiscal systems in vogue abroad,
to inquire into the workings of our
governmental departments and bu-
reaus, and to see how far Europe's
scheme of economies could be applied
to our own government finances. AS
Mr.. Aldrich is the head of the Sen
ate's Finance Committee, and as he is
largely endowed with business sense,
his words carry weight.
Without mentioning the Rhode
Island Senator, Mr. Taft advocates the
commission idea As he has been
urging economy from the beginning
OF his term. and as he has been the
means Of putting some of his counsel
into concrete shape, his words will at
tract attention. Probably the Sena-
tors assertion that, if he had free
hand. he could run the government
for $300,000.000 less than the present
cost, is intended to be a piece of IA
cetious extravaganza His averment.
however, that there is a waste of $780,
000, 900 year is very likely to be with
in the mark The President evident
ly believes that it is. In accordance
with his ideas the department heads
have cut their estimates 100000. 900 be-
low those of year ago, and S50OO0,-
600 below the appropriations which
were made in that year 1t is not at
all certain that the economy program
will be carried out by Congress to any
such extent as the President and Sen
ator Aldrich desire Several of the ap-
preparation bills. as passed by the
House, are below those enacted year
ago. Other appropriation bills. how
ever, will make increases which would
wipe out much of this saving. AS Mr..
Aldrich will have charge of those
measures when they come to his cham
Der, he will have an opportunity to
put his counsel into practice. Usually
| heretofore the Senate has added some
thing to many of the money bills, and
thus has prevented economies which
the House has attempted Possibly
Mr.. Aldrich will reverse that custom
this year. While ne has said that he
would not accept the task of running
| the financial end OF the government
even if il were offered to him. his
countrymen would be glad TO see him
cut off that S100.000,00O annual waste
which he speaks of. A Reduction of
even S50.000,000 would be gratefully
received by the people. especially by
the Republican party.
The Secretary of the Treasury says
| that the deficit for the year ending
June 30, 1910, will be only S34,000,OO0.
| This estimate is based on the new
system of bookkeeping. and leaves out
the expenditures for the Panama canal.
which are to be met by bond issues.
The S34,000,000. therefore represents
| the amount which the ordinary reye-
nue. of the government is expected to
fall short of the ordinary expenditure.
The country is glad TO hear this. I'm
der the budget plan of running the
financial affairs of the government
which is in operation in Great Britain
| and most of the other countries. the
same body has supervision over in
come and outgo, and can reduce the
outgo to the dimensions of the in
come. In our system these functions
are separated, the Ways and Means
Committee in the House and the FL
nance Committee in the Senate keep
ing track of the revenue, while the ap-
propriation committees of each cham
Der. without any consultation or as
ISOLATION with the other bodies, have
charge over expenditures. Under this
absence of correlation broad divergen-
cies between receipts and expenses are
inevitable In this vital detail of gov
ernmental management the United
States has something to learn from
England, Germany, France and other
Old World countries Probably more
money is wasted in running our gov
eminent annually than is lost in this
way by half dozen Of the big Euro
pean nations combined. The economy
program meets an urgent need. AS
Taft, Aldrich, Cannon, Tawney and
the rest of the Republican leaders IA
vor a swing toward economy in govern
mental management the change in
methods ought TO be easy to accom-
plish. The advent of monthly SURPRISES
in the year which begins on July 1
would be a large asset for the Repub-
lican party in the Congressional cam
paign.=St. Louis Globe-Democrat.