Evening star., 1917-11-25
CONGRESS IS HOPING
FOR LESS EXPENSE
Leaders Expect Appropria-
tions fer 1919 Need Not
Be So Large.
OPENED PURSE TO WAR

I The estimates for the government eS-
penditures for the fiscal year 1919.
which officially will be submitted TO
Congress by the Secretary of the Treas
ury on the opening of the session, are
in large part already in the hands of
the House ard Senate committees on
appropriations. where they are being
sorted and filed away for the use Of the
| subcomnittees which must handle the
various appropriation bills.
1t is reported tbat the estimates are
very large reaching into the billions
Of dollars. They will be very carefully
scrutinized by the members of the COM
mittees and by the Senate and House
1t is the hope and expectation Of the
leaders in Congress that the appropria-
tions for the fiscal year 1919 need not
be SO large as they were for the pres
ent fiscal year, which ends next June
so, when provision was made for the
expenditure in one way or another OF
more than twenty billion dollars.
Give for Needs of War.
There is no disposition on the part
of Congress to be niggardly or to re-
fuse money which is needed for the
proper conduct of the war to speedy
victory II will give. as it did in the
last session. everything that is de-
manded of it by the military and naval
heads.
However, there is a keen desire on
the part of democrats as well as re-
publicans to know how the vast sums
appropriated last session are being ex-
pended The sky-high wages that are
being paid labor. the seemingly ex-
orbitant prices being paid for lun-
ber and other material in the construe-
tion of cantonments and other gov
ernment structures made necessary by
the war; are matters of knowledge to
many members of Congress and they
want to know why For Congress not
only has to appropriate the money 50
expended. but it has to provide for
raising the money through taxation
and the issue of bonds.
The democrats realize that If extrav-
agant expenditures are to be made from
the peoples money their party will be
held to blame for it when the reckon
ing comes They-do not wish to be
put in this awkward position. nor do
they want the public moneys to be
sQuandered.
Critical of Method.
One of the leading democrats of
Congress said last night that in some
instancese he did not believe the gov
ernment was getting 33l5 per cent OF
value for the money expended. He
was particularly critical OF the methoo
adopted whereby contractors are paid
on a percentage basis. This practice
In letting contracts for Army canton
ments has cost the government mil
lions of dollars which might otherwise
be saved. he said.
TT is obviously to the advantage of
the contractor to pile on the expendi-
lures, which must be paid for by the
government, since it will increase the
size of the contractors own commits
sion," said the senator. Il happen to
know that many contractors would
have been perfectly willing to take the
contracts for these cantonments with
a lump sum commission for them
selves, and some of the contractors pro-
tested against the percentage basis.
knowing that it would result in the
generalization Of wages for labor and
the market for materials. What they
feared has followed. Labor has been
paid wages that were not in reason,
and material has reached an exorbitant