New-York tribune., 1912-01-19
rHE ECONONY ISSIE.

4 co1Iple Of weeks ago the information
was sent out from Washington that the
Democratic leaders in the House of Rep
rcSCntativcs had determined 10 Starve
out the President Economy Commits
sion. The Democratic majority in the
IIonse has shown itself capable Of ahys-
NAL folly, AS when II flung all its prom
ispS Of rctrenchment TO the winds just
before Christmas and passed 4 pension
bill which would saddle an additional
annual expenditure of $75,0O0.OOO on ,he
Treasury. Yet II will hardly venture 10
expose its hypocrisy further by dellher-
atclv blocking the administrations plans
for reorganization Of the executive Se"-
vice on a basis Of efficiency and economy,
in which the work still 10 bc done by the
commission must play a decisive part
If the Democratic party wants 10 raise
such an issue, the administration will
have no cause to worry, for the further
the discussion goes the more satisfied
will the country become that President
Taft is on the right track and that the
reforms which he urges and which the
Democratic party in Congress opposes Of
fer the only practicable solution of the
problem of waste in governmental OK
penditurcs Mr.. Taft has already done
notable work I'm stemming the current
Of extravaganza He is the first Presi-
dent in our time who has actually re-
duCpd the governments annual outlay
during his term. BY requiring tho heads
Of departments ana bureaus 10 scale
down their estimates and by vigorously
enforcing the provisions Of the budget
law passed by a Republican Congress he
has gained the satisfaction OF seeing the
estimates shrink from 81 .1O3 3S7 900 TO"
t9O9-lO TO S1026.2S7,OOO for 10ll'l2
and the appropriations from Sl!05J,6G3,-
600 for 19O0'1O 60 S1.O2J, $4,000 for
l91I-12. Under preceding administra-
tions there had been q steady increase
year by year in both estimates and ap-
propriations Now there Is n material
decrease in actual expenditure, for
though the total Of the appropriations
for 1911-12 was only about S1,OOO,OOO
below the total for 1901, there was an
additional nominal appropriation Of
about S12.JOO.OOO on the Postof'ice De-
parimcnfs account which will be met
entirely from increased postal revenues.
The saving I'm outlay 10 be met by taxa
tion was really S13,5OO,OOO.
When Senator Adrich said a couple
Of years ago that the governments cN-
penditurc could bc reduced S3O0oOOO 900
year if its affairs were conducted as
are those Of n private business he only
put in an exaggerated way the truth thai;
the total waste i'm governmental manage
ment is very large II will take years.
! of course. 10 eliminate that waste, n
great. deal OF which is inherent in our
| traditional system Of treating 50 many
administrative offices rs political patron
| age Yet i'm three years the Taft admin
| istration has Topped off S3O0OO0OO Of eX-
pcnditurc. and if the Economy Commits
sion is allowed 10 complete its task there
| is every reason to believe that il viii
point the way 10 further annual and
| large reductions
President Taft is trying 10 make the
taxpayers dollar 60 good deal further
| than it has gone heretofore The Demo
cratic party will invite an inquest If it
! attempts to interfere with that admi-
rablc purpose