The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-19
DEMOCRATS URGING
 MORE ECONOMY IN
 NATIONS EXPENSES
Underwood Points Out Im- portance of Centralizing All Appropriations by
 Congress
By HIGH W. ROBERTS.

Washington, November 1S.-lSpeclaL} Democratic leaders, having admitted that on account of the exigencies of war, vast sums of money were unwisely and per haps unnecessarily expended, are now urging Congress to cut appropriations to the bone, and in other manner, regorousiy to economize.
 Some days ago, Senator Martin, chair man of the appropriation committee declared in unequivocal terms the abso- lute, necessity of returning to basis of sanity in the matter of spending the peoples money.
 Senator Underwood, the chairman s chief aid on his committee, now urges the Senate to abandon it's practice Of permitting other than one central con- mittee to propose legislation carrying appropriations.
 He speaks of the necessity of budget system similar to that advocated in Ala bama by Governor Elect Kilby, and in the Senate by MT. Kenyon of Iowa.
 TAXATION VERSUS ECONOMY
 In part, Senator Underwood spoke as follows:
 'Mr. President, there can be no doubt that a vast amount of money has been appropriated in the past year that was unnecessary because there was not an absolute coordination of effort on the part of one set of men with a view to protecting the treasury against waste. When you scatter your appropriation bills among number of committees there is not the check and balance that you have when they go to one committee.
 ITO certain extent that has already been done by the rules of the Senate. The very fact that the House and the Senate undf their rules have deprived the gen. eral appropriations committee of part of it's jurisdiction and have scattered the power to legislate in reference to appro- priations is one of the reasons why we hear continual talk through the country to the effect that we should have some system of control of the treasury ex- penditures, some budget committee, or some plan of that kind. It Is because you have lost control where control ought to be placed.
 Now that we have reached an era in the history of this country, with the war over and war expenditures still hanging the nation, when the battle cry of the people of the United States of neces- sity must be retrenchment and reform in these matters. There can be no other t course. It is idle to say that we will increase taxation when we can accom- plish it with the same result by proper expenditures and reach it by economy.
 THE ONE WAY OUT
 My criticism is not directed to this particular case, because if this point reso- lution does not go to the appropriations committee I admit that it was properly referred to the committee on Pacific Is- lands and Porto Rico; but if you will al- low measures of this kind to be scattered throughout the committees of the Senate you give an opportunity to those who are anxious to secure appropriations to pick the committee where they will get favor able reports and steer bills in that di- rection.
 sThe only way you are going to con- serve the treasury of the United States, the only way we are going to meet this situation that is going to confront the people of the United States in the next decade, of economy in order to meet past war expenditures. is to have committee that has the power and the juridiction and the ability to properly conserve the great appropriations of the govern ment, and by that I mean the small as well as the great appropriations that come before us purely as matters of ap-