Evening star., 1913-04-13
GIGANTIC STRUGGLE
T0COME IN HOUSE
Plan on Foot to Put Appropria-
tiOnS in Power of One
Committee.
MILLIONS MAY BE SAVED
If SCHEME is ADOPTED
Representative Fitzgerald Would
Curb Two Hundred Men With
Keys to Treasury.

While the tariff holds the center ~
the stage at the Capitol, "A few quiet
but influential representatives are
planning to put over" one OF the big
gest changes which the House has ever
seen. In fact. 1T will mean that tr.-
mendous power will be taken from
eight active committees and center.d
in one appropriating committee. Ii this
plan ever reaches the floor OF the
House the fight for and against IL
will perhaps go down In history IA
in class with such gigantic strug-
giles as the fight on Speaker Cannon
and If 1t is carried through its pro
ponents claim that the country Will
be saved millions of dollars a year.
Fitzgerald May Start II.
II he carries out his present intention.
Representative Fitzgerald OF New York.
chairman of the appropriations commit
tee. will start the House thinking about
the matter at some time during this eN.
ira session. II is not an entirely new
subject with him. He has argued for it
time and time again with his associates
on the committee. and he had "A firm
friend in his views in Representative
Cannon, who recently stated in conyer-
sation that there would be no scientific
economy in government appropriations
until the House broke away from it's
''ha haphazard method of spending money
anG placed the responsibility fairly and
sduarely on one committee.
In other words. the proposition is to let
one committee do the estimating for the
whole Congress. Representative Fitzger-
aid own personal idea is that Congress
should not figure out how much money
the country will have next year and then
go ahead and try to squeeze within that
n .aSti
its expenses on what the country actually
needs and no more.
Two Hundred Keys to Treasury.
The enemies OF the present system say
that inasmuch there are now about
2Oo men in the House who are on com
mit.ees which appropriate money. there
are 200 keys to the Treasury Depart
ment. The men on these committees are
in influential positions. They are pow
ers in the House and in the politics Of
the country. but the charge is made that
they make their appropriations with an
eye single to their committee and not TO
the good of the country. and that, there
fore, there should be a central author
ity for casting up the accounts OF the
United States and to determine just how
much should be spent in all branches.
The expenses of the country during the
last Congress amounted 10 81 1,69s. .o0o0O,
teen bills. to wit, the agricultural. the
army. the diplomatic and consular. the
District of Columbia. fortitications. In
dian, legislative, executive and judicial,
pensions, sundry civil and deficiency In
addition the rivers and harbors bill has
been enacted annually during the past
three years. and carries amounts i'm ad-
dition to the contract requirements OF
the sundry civil bill The committee on
appropriations has charge OF the District
bill. fortifications. pensions. sundry civil
deficiency and the legislative, executive
and judicial bills. The others are taken
care of by eight different committees ''all
unrelated to one another, without
operation" as one representative puts II.
Fitzgerald's Views.
Says Mr.. Fitzgerald:
In my opinion all of the appropriation
bills should be prepared in one commit
tee. 1t is the only logical method Con-
sidering our system of government, other
schemes designed to accomplish the de-
sired end will not succeed. 1t would he
just as sensible to distribute control Of
tariff rates on articles i'm the various
schedules to different committees as to
continue the present control of appro-
priations.
unfortunately whenever it is proposed
to consolidate the appropriation bills in
one committee the suggestion Is construed
as reflection or a criticism on the per-
sonnel of some of the committees of the
House. 1t Is neither a criticism nor a
reflection on any committee or any indi-
vidual. The trouble is not with COM
mitteeS or with individuals; ii is with "A
system that necessarily is bad and il
cannot be operated under any check or
regulation to improve conditions that
cannot be bettered while the system con-
tinueS