The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-03-22
FINANCIAL NEEDS
May ENFORCE CALL
OF EXTRA SESSION.
Secretary Glass Has Cabled
President Serious Lack
of Money
DEMOCRATS JOIN CALL
Cove rnment Departments Menaced
Unless Finances are
Furnished
DEMOCRATS JOIN CALL

Carter Glass, Secretary Of the !
Treasury, has sent to President Will
son in Paris a complete statement of |
the financial needs of the government
which disclose state of affairs so
serious as to make calling an extra
session of Congress within d few !
weeks almost imperative.
Secretary Glass said he had not !
recommended an early extra session
to the President but he did not hesi
tate to paint a gloomy picture Of
what will happen unless Congress is
convened so it can provide money TO
keep government agencies in opera
ton
It is believed by administration Of
ficials here that the President will be
compelled to call an extra session not
later than May 1, perhaps earlier.
Political pressure in favor of an
carly extra session also is being
brought to bear on the President by
his democratic advisors. They real
izc that essential government activi-
ties will practically cease unless
money is voted on in few weeks and
they fear the blame will be placed
upon MI. Wilson and his administers
ton.
So long as Congress was in session
it was easy for the President to blams
that body for not voting the funds,
but now that it has adjourned and
leaders in both houses are asking for
an opportunity to rccopvene and
grant the money, the situation is
reversed.
/. Secretary Glass cabled to the Pre-
sident for $5,OO0,OOO to continue
the War Risk Insurance Bureau.
However, he does not think the
money will be forthcoming, as the
President already has answered a
similar request from the Department
Of Labor, saying all the special war
fund at his disposal has been pledg-
ed.
Most of what is left of it is used
to defray the expenses of the Ameri-
can peace delegation at Paris.
Two thousand employees Of the
War Risk Insurance Bureau will be
discharged unless the money is found
This would bring the work of the bur-
eau practically to standstill.
Virtually every government depart
ment and agency is short of funds.
The QuarteImaster General needs
one billion dollars. Similar amounts
are required by the Shipping Board
and the Railroad Administration.
The United States Employment Ser
vice has been forced to turn over
most of its work of obtaining employ
ment for the discharged soldiers and
sailors to a voluntary organization.
Although the heads of the various
bureaus arc trying to put on an air
of confidence in public they are real
| ly much worried over the outlook.
I Democratic leaders known that re-
publicans in the House and Senate arc
preparing an array of facts regarding
the status of appropriation bills in
Congress at the close Of the last ses-
sion. These they will use as the
basis of a charge that President Will
son and the democratic majority a.
lone arc responsible for the failure
of the big supply bills. They will
contend, for instance, that such en-
ormous supply measures as the army
and navy appropriation bills, the sun
dry civil bill and the general def
cheney bill, carrying the $700,000,00O
fund for the Railroad Administration
were not reported by committees of
the Senate, which were in democra-
tic control, until the last few days
of the session, when, they will argue,
it was manifestly impossible to even
consider them.
Democrats realize it will be hard to
combat this sort of an argument, and
they hope President Wilson will call
Congress in plenty of time to vote
the money needed, so the republicans
can be deprived of this issue, which
they could employ in the next Presi-
dental campaign.
!