The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1918-05-01
A National Budget System.
D. MFpILL MccoRNlICK.

ANAAAAAAAAAa AAl[aAAAAAAA-aAAg
Colgressman-at-ldrge from Illinois,
Every man who has thought
about the question at al knows
that eventually this eoVntry win
adopt some sort Of national bud
get system. In that respect we
win be Just behind Mexico, the
latest nation to put into operation
this efficient machinery Of gov
ernment finance.
A great many persons argue
against making any change dur
ing the war. Such opposition,
sincere and honest though it is,
IS based upon the mistaken belief
that the necessary reorganization
ronld mean delay in the prosecH-
ton Of the war. Il is the same
pet reasoning that finds in the
phrase. Don't swap horses while
crossing the stream" q eonven-
tent argument against every
step forward. Il fails to grasp
the one significant fact that any
thing which replaces ineffieieney
With efficiency cannot cause de-
lay. On the contrary, it must
give Us speed, the one element
We need to win.
The United States Government,
il one year Of war, is spending
so, 900, 100000. Mr.. Frank Van
derlip has already pointed out
that that is more than the entire
cost Of this Government, including
the cost Of all the wars we have
heretofore fought. Yet the ma
ton entered upon this EtupendOus
undertaking without any adequate
system Of finance. Congress
voted appropriations piece meal.
The best informed among rs
could not have told at the begin
ming Of the last session what the
total bill would be. We had to
vote money blindly and trust to
Divine Providencs to see Us
through somehow. When the
greater part Of this money was
voted-then, not before-We had
to begin to devise means for foot
ing the bill. Could anything be less
businesslilce A bootblaek who
attempted to do business in this
way would have to shut up shop
after three months.
An Indictment
The mere detailing Of the every
day procedure under our present
system Is the most telling IN
dietment you could possibly bring
against #. What do you think
would become Of the Standard Oil
Company, for instance, If every
one Of its important departments
prepared its annual estimate Of
expenditures without regard to
the estimate Of the other depart
ments, without regard to any we'll
ordered system Of finance and IN
total disregard Of the company's
earnings? Yet that is not the
worst feature Of our procedure.
Consider that after our ten ex-
ecutiye departments have each
submitted their ten separate and
distinct estimates, these estimates
are considered and the financial
measures drawn by 300 men who
make I'D no less than twenty-nine
separate and distinct committees
q the two separate houses Of Con-
gress, each committee not know
ing what the other is doing and
the committeeman often in igno-
rance Of the technical require
ments Of the departments whose
finances they are supposed to pro-
vide.
As q measure Of war efficiency,
We ought to end this chaos. In
tact, ] think It i j safe assertion
that We VIII The lessons Of the
past few months have been taken
to heart By the American people,
and for the 6rst time they are in
sistlng upon the same measure Of
Efficiency IN public Office that
they demand in their private busi-
The Great Danger.
A simple illustration viii show
the danger Of our present slipshod