Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-04-03
BUDGET
BEFORE HOUSES
Economy and Efficiency Com
mission Files Its Report
For Legislature

The State Economy and Efficiency
Commission last night sent to the
Legislature in response to a resolution
passed last week the first budget or
estimate of the money needed to run
the state government for two years
from next June l. The budget is only
partial and the commission explains
in letter that it was prevented from
doing more by absence of Legislators.
The commission also says it will make
a report giving its recommendations.
While the commissions recon-
mendations eliminate nearly $44, ,000, 900
from the $65,O0O,000 estimate, they
mark an actual cut of only between
S4,0O0,000 and S5,000.0O0. The dis
crepancy in figures of the reduction
is caused by the fact that the proposed
! highway appropriation of $4,000, 900,
the requested school appropriation of
S1S,000,000, the requested appro-
priation for new armories of nearly
| S3,0OO.000 and requests of SS50,000
from the Department of Forestry for
land purchase and new employees come
| under the head of new legislation and
are not ordinary expenses of the gov
ernment. Therefore these items were
simply left to the discretion of the
! Legislature without recommendation
! by the commission. The report as
submitted is incomplete in that investi-
| cations were not made into the re-
quests of all departments. One of
these is the Public Service Commits
sion.
Some of the actual cuts made by the
commission in department requests
were:
Department of Agriculture-Ind
nifty fund for condemnation of dis
eased animals reduced from 100000
| to 100000.
Attorney General - Fund for en-
ploying special attorneys reduced from
$4,000 to $4,000.
Auditor General-Increased fund for
collection of delinquent taxes from
$50, ,O00 to $4,000 and added recon-
mendation of $25, 900 for carrying out
| of economy and efficiency and $4,000
for publishing monthly general and
sinking fund statements.
Board of Public Charities-Reduc-
! from 100000 to $2S,000 and of travel
ing fund for commissioners and officers
from $4,000 to $4,000.
/ Vocational education - Increased
from $677,S0O to $739,3O0.
Distribution of documents-Cut in
item for shipping documents from
SIS, 900 to 5000 and contingent fund
from $40, 900 to $4,000.
Fishery Department - Cut from
$467,200 to $323,000.
Free Library Commission-Cut of
$1,000 from travelling library fund.
l. Health partment-Voluntary cut
by Health Commissioner Dixon of es-
innate from So. 5.543, 602 to $5,412,2S4.
Highway Department = Contingent
fund cut from 100000 to $4,000 and
salary item from 100000 to 1882, 900.
Insurance Department-Conti
fund cut from $50. 900 to $4,000.
Labor and Observation-Disclosures and
1921, 500 and 100000 eliminated from
Bureau of Employment, leaving
$6S,000 for that work.
Moving Picture Censors-Contingen
fund increased from SIS, 900 to $20, 900.
Department of Public Grounds and
Buildings-Special furniture, and sup
| ply item cut from $165, 900 to $4,000
and general supply item from s5OO,0O
to $450,000. Emergency bridge con-
struction item cut from 100000 to
$4,000.
The chief recommendations are as
| follows:
Adjutant General, sss1,7so; Agri-
culture, $910,S00; Attorney General,
$1S4,200; Auditor General, $459, 900;
Banking, $4,000; vocational educa-
tion, $739, 800; Executive, $90,760; Fire
Marshal, $203.20O; Fisheries, 1925, 900; /;
Forestry, $4,000; Game, $36S,S00;
Health, '$5,412,2S4; Highway. $685.
900; Insurance. $4,000; Labor and
Industry, 81 1,S43, ,S93; Mining, $539, 300;
Censors, $92.92O; Public Grounds and
Buildings, $1,326,6S0; Public Printing.
$1,20S,025; Public Service, $969,160;
Board Of Education, $433,000; State,
| $315. 900; State Police, $S04,635;
Treasury, $230,940; Valley Forge Park,
surance fund, 100000.
In the cases of the Agriculture, La
Dor and Industry and State Board of
Education the items are contingent
upon the enactment OF pending legis-
lation. In the cases of the Armory
Board and Forestry Department the
appropriations made are contingent
upon an increase in the States reve-
nue..
Accompanying the figures was this
letter from the commission, signed by
the Governor as chairman:
II beg to hand you herewith the sta
tistical data compiled by this commits
sion in pursuance of the mandate of
your resolution.
This information in full was ready
! for submission to your honorable
! bodies at the time indicated. You
were not then in session. Meanwhile
| arrangements were made to nave
meetings of the Economy and Eff
ficiency Commission and the respect
i've chairmen of the appropriation
committees of the Senate and House
with the heads of the eeveral executive
and other State departments. These
| meetings began on March IA, 1917,
upon the return of the appropriation
committees from q tour of the insti-
tutions throughout the state seeking
appropriations. The commission,
! therefore, did submit this information
in this manner to your responsible
! chairman and have steadily since with
them sat in conference to hear the
reasons for departmental appropria-
| tions and to secure such reductions as
! a sound economy and q due efficiency
could support, based upon the reve-
nues of the Commonwealth.
I'VE have also prepared and will at
an early date submit report suggest
ing such notifications in the organ
ization of the several departments as
will promote greater economy or eff
ficiency or BOTH
"Your commission has sought by
careful investigation to assist you in
your work and thus to lessen the
laborious task of ascerta lining the nee
essary data to guide you in making
appropriations to those departments.
Our general report has been post
| poned by reason of the fact that we
have not as yet received any informa-
tion from you of the amount of addi-
| tional revenue you intend to provide
for the next two fiscal years as a result
of taxing measures proposed by the
Revenue Commission created for that
| purpose by your honorable bodies.
Information of the approximate