The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-04-19
TO CURB APPROPRIATIONS.
President And Congress Working To-
ward Definite Budget System to
Keep Expnditurcs Within The Gov
crnment'S Income.
washington Correspondence
Brooklyn Eagle.)

Representative John j. FITZGERALD
mas had two talks with Presyident
wilson on the matter of Government
expenditures. Mr.. Wilson is just as
much interested in the problem of
trying to establish a sane relation be-
tween Government revenues and ex-
penditures as was President Haft. 1t
seems assured that some action will
be taken at the present Congress to
establish a more logical system.
The United States is peculiar among
nearly all of the great powers in that
1t has never developed budget sys-
tenn Of government. Revenues have
been raised without regard to expen-
ditures, and expenditures, on the 9TH
er hand, have been authorized with
out the least regard for income.
This happy -go-luck system has al
ternately resulted in surplus and de-
ficiencies in the Treasury. President
Wilson regards it as one Of the initial
problems Of his administration.
The chief duty of the Presidential
Commission on Economy and Eff
cheney has been laying out budget
system
The Democrats in the House, how
ever have already undertaken reform
in the matter of appropriations. At
the caucus committee cf seven was
appointed to consider changes in the
House rules with regard to preparing
annual bills for support Of the depart
ments. The committee consists Of
Underwood, the Democratic leader;
Fitzgerald, chairman of the Appro-
priations committee, and Sherley, of
Kentucky; Hay Of Virginia; Garrett,
Of Tennessee; Davis, Of West Virginia
and Stevens, of New Hampshire. Its
task is finding a way to reduce an
nual expenditures and avoid duplica-
ton Of appropriations. 1t is to in
quire as to the advisability Of COM
mitting the work Of preparing appro-
priation bills to one committee.
Under the present system of sub
mitting estimates Of expenditures to
Congress, the Secretary of the Treas
ury is made the responsible executive
officer On October Is he is supposed
to prepare statement of the money
each of the 10 executive departments
will require for the ensuing fiscal year.
More recently it has become the duty
OF the Secretary to present an esti-
mate of revenues. But, in fact, in the
preparation Of estimates each Cabinet
officer acts on his own responsibility.
The Secretary of the Treasury has no
authority to revise. Each Cabinet Of
ficer is jealous of his authority.
Prominent Democrats support the
Shereley plan of giving to the Secre-
tary of the Treasury the power to re-
wise estimates, which would give the
President and his cabinet power to
compel consideration of estimates as
a whole.
A further change may be required
in Congress. At one time the House
Appropriations Committee had COM
plete Jurisdiction over all the annual
supply bills. This is no longer the
case. There are as many different
roads to the Treasury as seven or
eight. The result has been that Con-
gress is no longer in a position to
consider appropriations as whole.
Mr. Sherley htas submitted a plan
which approaches a definite budget
system He would create a commit
tee of estimates and expenditures,
composed Of the chairman, three
ranking majority members and one
ranking minority member Of both the
Ways and Means and Appropriations
committees and the chairmen and
ranking minority members Of the 9TH
er committees which now have charge
Of annual supply bills This commit
tee is to report to the House the
amount of revenue which seems avail
able for the ensuing fiscal year, and
thereupOn decide what amount OF
money each of the annual appro-
priation bills shall carry.
The whole theory Of Mr.. Sherlev's
proposition, to speak roughly Is &c
prevent the Federal Government from
voting away each year more than its
annual income. In other words il is
an attempt 20 prevent the Government
from running into debt. Having de.
termined how much money the Gov.
ernment will take in during a giver
year this committee will turn around
and say to a committee in charge OF
the appropriation for a particular de.
partment: Your allowance for mex,
year is so much. Keep within it,
one of the big problems of the new