The Washington times., 1910-02-08
Intended to Shade Expendi-
lures 1t Finds Duties
Difficult.
ITS GOOD OFFICES
NOT TAKEN KINDLY
Appropriations Committees Re
sent Interference From
Outside.

The Senate Committee O., Ds1hiic Ex-
pendftures, which was organized at the
opening Of this Congress. with a long
and loud flourish o. trUmpets and many
promises that il would effect important
economies. IS having ~ sorts OF din
Guilty 10 justify its existence and live up
Tc the advance notices
As a matter Of fact, the committee
I'D to this time has accomplished little
OF nothing II is the general OPTION
about the Senate that II viii accomplish
N the future little more than IL has IN
The past
The other day Senator AIdricE made
4 report from the committee IN favor
Of the selection OF q business methods
commission. composed Of three Seua-
tors, three members OF the House and
three parsons named by the President
The resolution, which Senator Aldrlch
sought TO have passed at once, was
blocked for the time being by objection
OF Senator Elkins, who thought the
proposed commission was calculated 70
usurp functions belonging TO the Sem
ate committees
Commission Criticised
The proposed commission is being
SHARPLY criticised by a good many Sen
stors as being intended TO let the Com
rnittes on Public Expenditures down
easily and gracefully from q place that
II finds hard 70 I'll The joint Commis-
sion Is supposed 20 Inquire into the
question whether improvements can Be
made in the business methods OF the
Government
Il was generally thought TINS was
what the experts retained by. the Senate
Committee on Expenditures were doing
last s7lmer and fall Former Senator
Hemenvay, Of Indiana. was an expert
IN the employ Of the committee at
fat salary and was credited with az
fording the committee a great deal OF
enlightenment on the matter Of how 70
sConomfze-
The difficulty with the Senate Com
r7frtee on Public Expenditure from the
first has been that II has no control
over the appropriations committees,
ana there seems 70 be no praCticai
av in which II can acquire control
The sreat Senate committees which
control appropriations are more power
fuI than the Public EzDenditu-es Com
ulittee-
Sources Of FavOrs-
one reason for this IS that Senators
1ool- to such committees as that on Ap-
propriatiOnz on POst0fices, on Asr1cuL-
1JIre on Military Affairs, on Naval AZ
fairs. on InCian Affairs. on Comnnerce,
and on Pubic Buildings, for 1avors-
They do not. as a rule, so ABOUT aHtas-
cnfzfnz these committees needlessly-
Moreover. q committee that makes Up
an aDpropriation bill has . insight
into all features pertaining 10 II that
could be acquired by the Committee. on
Public Expenditures only DE an ellisSs
amount OF hard work and dlsEinE-
80. when an appropriation bl-l comes
10 the floor. II Is not 10 be expected the
Committee on Public Expenditures can
successfully interfere TO reduce IT or
II II can that IL IS likely 10 do So
When II comes TO making the depart
rnents overhaul their business methods,
this, too, Is job attended with diff
When the Committee on Public tx
rreudiuUreS began It's career. one OF the
foremost advocates Of IL was Senator
tor Bourne, who Is OF second elective
term fame. was probably the most en-
thusiastic man in Congress on the sub
Jet He fOresaw large savings
Unwinding Red Tape.
BIS idea was that experts ought 70 be
called in from such great corporations
as The STANDARD OF Company. tiIv Uni
ted States Steel Corporation, and the
AXE, and suggest methods or unwinding
red tape and simplifying governmental
ways Of dong business.
named as head Of q subcommittee TO
supervise the inquisition into the de
partments- he got IN experts. Among
other things. experts got busy on the
Government Printing Office They rum
mayed around. and before they got
through cost the Government $500
The first full meeting Of the commit
tee was held early this session Of Con-
Eress- Senator Hale thought So well of
this business Of having experts inquire
into the best ways Of ecOnomizing the
Government business that he took Sen
atoT Bourne 70 task for the expense en-
IaNe1 IN getting the experts 20 plOw
into printing Office affairs
At this same meeting subcommittee
were named which were 20 keep IN
touch with the ApDrOpria tons Commit
\Sees and seek 10 help along the cause
OF economy.
Subcommittee Idle
The other day the Committee or. Pub
lie Expenditures held its second. meet
ing. Some one raised the question
whether the subcommittee were ready
10 report Then II developed that the
subcommittee had done nothing As Of
yore, the Appropriation Committees are
being left 10 go ahead at viii.
No Appropriations Committee would
thank Subcommittee Of the Public *
penditures Committee TO try TO coupeI
Il 70 ecOnOmize- 10 drop out this item
here and shade down that one there
The subcommittee know this perfectly-
and so have lapsed into a state OF
lnnocuous desuetude-
Under the circumstances. there Is nc
large amount Of stock being taken about
the Senate IN the proposed business
created. Senator's. with few exceptions
do not expect any large reforms tc
spring from IT