Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-10-26

N n EN- OF VISION IN congress, VINO
]" have caught the spirit be-
hind the fairy tales. have an
abiding faith that If they ac-
complish their Three Tasks" the
troublesome gnomes, witches and
other uncanny influences such as boil
shevism, social and labor unrest, will
scurry away at the dawn of the be-
neflcent future-and we will live long
and be happy and prosperous.
Their three tasks are:
First-make Uncle Sans house.
keeping accounts balance.
Second-promote industrial activity
and general prosperity.
Third-develop a foreign market for
Americas surplus and take in return
raw materials needed by American in
dustries.
They have confidence that by ad-
justing Uncle Sans finances so as to
decrease instead Of increase the bur-
den of taxation. by affording an OPP
portunity for honest days work to all
at decent living wage, and by max
ing 1t possible to buy an honest dol
lars worth of goods with the dollar
honestly earned-the causes Of unrest
will be removed. Then men will be
too busy in their work and in prop
erly bringing up their families to agi-
tate bolshevism or socialism or strikes
or to listen to those who would
spread any such propaganda
Has Made Good Start.
Congress, in spite of political d.
vision, in spite of many diverting in
fuences and advocacy of confusing
| measures, has made a good start or
these three tasks.
The first problem is to put the fam.
| lily finances on such basis that the in
come will at least equal the expenditure
A startling condition was emphasized by
Chairman Good of the House appropria-
lions committee when he announced
that there is deficit at the end Of the
present fiscal year of more than three
| and half billion dollars. and that the
| necessary expenditures for the next
year cannot be trimmed down below
| four billion dollars.
The horse-sense financiers in Con-
| gress realize that there are just two
| ways to meet this situation-(a) to
stop the leaks as soon as possible
and (b) to Increase the revenues.
While they are vexed over this
| stable problem in income and out.
| lay, along comes organized propa.
ganda against certain taxes on lux.
| uries, soda water, etc. Along come
also, sentimental appeals for state
aid to rehabilitate industrial Grip.
pies. etc. Their proponents say. "It
| will cost only a million" but it also
opens the gates to a horde Of sim
liar measures-old-age pensions and
| the like.
Here is a concrete example: Sena-
tor Sheppard has just introduced a
bill which proposes to encourage in
struction in hygiene of maternity and
infancy and to aid in extending
fancy and to provide for corpora
tion with the states in the promotion
Of such instruction and care. This
bill calls for s4so.000 at the start,
SO, 900 to each state and an annual
appropriation of 100000 year.
These millions have already been
spent. I'VE have done spent the
money" and the thrifty ones in Con-
gress, who in private or public life
believe in paying your way as you
go, are insistent that Uncle Sam
cannot afford any new toys or new
scientific implements until he had
paid for those fireworks he bought
to blow autocratic domination of
the map Of Europe before it could
sweep across the sea to the shores Of
America.
Spirit of Action on Budget.
So they are stopping the leaks. The
national budget bill was passed to do
this. 1t by law requires the executive
to clean house in the departments. That
is the first step. Having gone on record
::1us requiring executive thriftiness, the
Congress must in good faith next
change it's own rules through adoption
Sought to Harmonic
Capital and Labor