Omaha daily bee., 1919-02-12
On a Financial Drunk
Kansaa Civ Star.

News comes from Washington that the gov
eminent plans to spend Sl8,0OOOOOOO0 this IS
cal year and $l0000,000,000 next year. The
figures are staggering Twenty-eght thou
sand million dollars.
That means enormous taxes this year and
next and the year after, with bond issues be-
sides, Normally this money would be available
for the reconstruction and expansion of bust
ness. Only a fraction of the countrys big in
come goes for personal expenses. The bulk is
reinyested in productive industry But all the
way from so to 80 per cent OF these incomes
must now be diverted to the government in
taxes, and a good deal Of the rest must be in
vested in Liberty bonds for government pur-
poses-not merely this year. but next year as
we'll.
OF course this is tremendous handicap on
the nations prosperity. But nobody would COM
plain If the expenditures were necessary and le-
Ultimate. What hurts is the feeling that money
is being foolishy spent and wasted
Here are the railroads. Their latest state
ncnt show'them to be in worse financial condi-
ton than they were when the government took
them over, and this in spite of great increases
in freight rates and passenger fares: Nobody
would be surprised to see deficit of S50000O,-
600 to be made up out of taxes this next year
Yet the administration is asking for five years
more of the same thing
The Navy department has suddenly burst
out with a ship building program with the
avowed purpose of beating England. Germany
has surrendered her navy and the United States
hasn't fought England for hundred years and
doesn't expect to for several hundred more,
There seems no particular reason for haste in
expanding our program beyond anything our
big navy" men had ever thought necessary.
Yet congress is proposing naval appropriation
bill carrying $750000000.
Somebody has had the brilliant notion Of
spending $400,000000 at once on waterways. No
body would be surprised to see an application
for Sl,000,000,000 for public buildings. So far
as the country knows the Creel bureau is still
operating hotel or two in Paris, and there are
all sorts of expensive bureaus that were devised
during the war by persons with theories they
desired to exploit, which are absorbing the
country's money.
Just to mention specific instance of the Law
ish way in which money has been handed out,
the head of one department, before the armis-
tice, obtained $350000 to investigate plans for
industrial reconstruction. A month later the
president told congress no plans were neces-
sary. But he had not told the gentleman with
the $350000 who had been busy spending it.
This country has been on financial drunk
the last two years. 1t has been necessary to
spend money in undreamed of sums on war
equipment. People have become accustomed to
talking of billions where once they talked of
millions. The result has been to breed a gen.
era disposition for extravaganza in every de-
partment of the government.
Congress used to check up an item of ST 00O.-
OOO pIOpOSSu lot some department and ask
whether it was absolutely necessary But where
thousands of millions are being spent, who cares
for such fly speck as million or a hundred
millions?
The whole atmosphere of Washington has
been permeated with extravaganza There is !
objection from old-fashoned congressman 10
enlbarking on naval program of $1,000000,000l
q year to fight shadows with. The president ca
bles dark and mysterious message on the ne
cesslty OF it. Only few favored souls even see
the cablegram. Yet the house committee |
recommends this terrific expendi- |
tire
Now the suggestion comes from Paris that
America must be prepared to assume the ex-
pense OF garrisoning and administering the ter |
ritories of backward peoples in every part of |
the world. What the cost may be nobody in |
authority seems to know-or care.
Where is this sort of thing going to end? |
The money must be found. 1t doesn't grow on |
bushes. 1t must come out of the pockets of the |
people.
Money that ought to be spent in building fac
tories and paying wages and improving farms is |
being diverted to all sorts of governmental ex-
travagancies proposed or conducted by persons
with theories who do not have to foot the bills
The American people haven't yet realized |
what is being done with their money. When
they do the government is going to hear from
them No public men and no political party or
can afford to be responsible for
continuation OF this money spending orgy that
has been in progress for the last two years in |
Washington.