Evening star., 1914-11-15
Chairman Page of Subcommit-
tee Will Have Printed
Measure Tomorrow. a.
ECONOMY is DEMANDED
BY THE ADMINISTRATION
Legislative, Executive and Judicial
Budget Also Ready for Pre-
liminary Discussion. !.

The first steps have been taken to-
ward the presentation Of the District
appropriation bill and the Legislative.
executive and judicial appropriation
bill to Congress at the opening OF the
December session. These two great
supply measures. OF such great i'm
portance to Washington. in all prob
ability will be the first to be passed
by the House. Work on the District
bill will begin tomorrow. Committee
work on the legislative bill will follow
in a few days. although the chairman
of the latter subcommittee. Representa-
tive johnson of South Caroina. is ready
to plunge into the work.
Chairman Page OF the subcommittee
handling the District bill. will have
a printed committee bill tomorrow and
will go over the measure carefully be-
arrive. He is not disposed to take any
action. or to have important hearings
alone. but If his colleagues. Representa-
tives Sisson, Davis, McAndrews' and
Hinebaugh. are slow in reaching the cap
itaI 1t may be necessary to do consid-
cradle of the preliminary work without
them.
There's many slip 'twixt Gun and
paragraph fraught with grave responsi-
bilities for Washington and the 80, 600
employees OF the government provided
for In the two bills. but at present there
is no thought of any extra legislation in
either bill
No "Section 8" Contemplated.
There is no thought in Representa-
tive Pages mind today of placing a
section s" in the Forthcoming District
bill. This section. it win he recalled.
hi,h
fight In the session previous. provid
ing that the District should give to the
United States the money raised by the
District and left over after Congress
had pared the estimates and appropria-
tions 1t was an encroachment on tho
half-and-half plan, but was not en-
acted.
Neither is there any present inten-
tion in the subcommittee handling tho
legislative bill to include any legisla-
ton changing the civil service status
of any clerks of the government, and
no intention to present legislation en-
dangering the tenure Of office of the
older employees
Any one with merely half an eye
could see that the appropriations com
mittee is going to give lesson in stin
economy this year, and the gossip about
the Capitol yesterday was that the ad-
ministration has given orders all along
economize.
I'm not talking to see my name In
print" said an old-time congressman
yesterday, a democrat at that. but the
administration is scared badly at the
walloping We got everywhere in the
campaign on the subject of extrava-
gance. Therefore, this year We will
see estimates come from the depart
ments which really spell economy 1t
was different last year"
Asked for Needs.
The difference this anonymous demo-
crat mentioned was this: The previous
estimates came from departments that
saw what they wanted and asked for
it. The estimates were high. The House
appropriations committee looked souriy
at the sums written down in the re-
quests, and started slashing merrily.
cut to the bone" was the description
given to the various supply measures
as they went to the House. and then
the House boosted the bills with Will.
They tackled on ten thousand here and
fifty thousand there, and in spite or
the warnings of various democrats or
the Senate and House committees the
total of the appropriations was higher
than the republicans had ever made
them. 1t remains to be seen how the
warnings of the administration will
affect the forthcoming appropriation
acts.
The warning is widespread. Repre-
sentative Page, chairman of the District
appropriation bill subcommittee. ven-
tured the opinion yesterday that the
rather small District estimates found
authority for their impoverished ap-
pearance in that direction. He said
also that there would be no extended
hearings on the bill.
For the first time the estimates in
clude detailed accounts of the ex-
penditures under the previous act. and
large amount of information as to the
actual manner of spending the gov
ernment's money. Representative Page
is also anxious to see what effect on
street paving estimates the Borland
amendment has had.