The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-11-27
CONGRESS- TO
FORCE CUT IN
WAR EXPENSE
Appropriations. Committee
Will Begin Scrutiny
of All Items.
BAKER Is CALLED FIRST
Omnibus Bill Will Revoke Any
Expenditures Found to
Be Unnecessary.
specai Despateh 70 TIE suN.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26.-Determined
to provide a policy Of retrenchment
in the absence OF one formulated by
the executive branch Of the Govern
ment. the House Appropriations Com
mittee will begin next Monday a close
scrutiny OF every branch of the Gov
ernment preparatory to taking from
them by law the excess money given
for war purposes, but which Congress
cannot be convinced are now neces-
sary.
The Secretary OF War is expected
to appear before the committee first.
He has been asked to be there Mon
day. The billions granted the War
Department ungrudgingly by Congress
when the war was being conducted
will be laid before the Secretary on
paper, he will be questioned item by
item, and the committee will force
down to the lowest point the amounts
OF the appropriations and authorize
tions already granted.
The committee will remain con-
stantly at work. going into the naval
appropriations and the enormous
amounts already given for the thou
sand and one war activities OF the
Government. to learn the minimum
these agencies will require. The com
mittee in the end will repeal the
authorizations in great omnibus
bill.
Hope for Wilson Statement.
The work OF the committee will be
rushed. Congressional leaders have a
faint hope that the President in his
coming message to Congress- may
give some sort Of an outline of a
retrenchment policy to be followed,
but they have had nothing from the
White House yet to indicate It.
Chairman Sherley OF the Appropria-
tions Committee sent letters to-day to
the heads Of every executive depart
ment and every bureau. commission
and board which has received a single
dollar of Government money for war
purposes and advised each Of the In
tention of the committee and OF Con-
gress to cut of every dollar that could
ON SdNVhs AAC 4CANCl tNN ASNh A.ItSc ut-
partment and commission heads Of the
hearings to be started next Monday,
them that strict accounting
OF what has been spent and Of every
possible penny that can be saved is 10
he demanded.
President Wilson. II Is understood,
las been advised Of the frame OF mind
OF Congress and Is not out OF sNn-
pathy with it.e 1t is understood MAT
Mr.. Sherley went over the situation
with him in some detail and demon
strated to the President that some
means OF damming the economic waste
must be supplied IN short order
Cuts Were on Future Work.
Mr.. Sherley and his Appropriation
Committee associates have not been
with the talk OF cuts made
by the War and Navy Departments
In almost every instance, they pointed
out, 1t is future contracts on WHICH no
money has been expended and no work
done which have been called Off II
is TO stop the daily throwing away OF
enormous sums or existing war con-
~ pNtS "liINA ilON IIldI
the committee plans its action. Cut
ting 1919 estimates means no saving,
as not a penny OF the contemplated
appropriations sought by those esti-
mates could in any circumstances be
made available before July l next.
The only moves made day by the
Administration were not toward stop
ping war work, but toward enlarging
the field for the employment Of war
workers in non-war productive indus
tries. The War Trade Boa I'd virtually
threw overheard all export restrictions.
At the same time II became known
that It is the intention OF the Admin
to wind UP the activities Of
the War Industries Board about Jan
uary l. BY that time all agreements
between the board and various indus
tries will be at an end, but dissolution
Of the board will end the one agency
through which a uniform executive
policy Of retrenchment might we'll have
been exercised had it existed.
BILLION IN CONTRACTS CUT.