New-York tribune., 1919-10-27
House Measure Is Declared
To Be Ineffective, as 1t
Contains No Provision
for Reducing Estimates
Glass Approves Changes
Secretary Favors Making
Finances the Sole Busi-
ness of His Department
NeW York Tribune
WASHINGTON Bureau

w VuSnW0tON buTeUN
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26.-The budget
bill recently passed by the House soon
will be considered by a special commit
tee of the Senate Of which Senator
Medill Mccormick, of Illinois, is chair
man. According to members of the
committee modification of the House
measure is sure to be recommended by
the Senate. Two defects were pointed
out to-day in the bill as passed by the
House.
The first is that it does not provide
for a real budget in that 1t does not
empower any official to revise and re
duce estimates of expenditures. The
second objection is that it does not Gre
ate a sound budget system now, but
urges the President to recommend true
reforms couple oil years hence II ne
sees fit to do so.
According to members Of the Senate
committee all the House measures If
enacted into law would accomplish IS
the transfer of certain existing powers
with regard to the assembling OF eX-
penditure estimates and their trans
initial to Congress from the Secretary
of the Treasury to director OF the
budget serving Immediately under the
President, and creation of new sys-
tenn of auditing expenditures which iii
no way would control their volume.
Route of Estimates Changed
Under existing law the Secretary of
the Treasury receives the estimates
from the departmental heads and sub
mits them to Congress. Under the
House plan the estimates would be
collected by director of the budget,
serving Immediately under the presI-
dent, and submitted by the President
to Congress.
Senate advocates Of budget reform
insist that the basic feature OF the new
system should be the power of the
Treasury Department to revise, CO.
ordinate and reduce estimates OF ex-
penditure offered by the bureau and
departmental chiefs. The House bill
does not confer this power upon the
director of the budget. Because of ITS
failure to do so Senators insist it
cannot be rightly called budget
measure Merely to transfer from the
Secretary of the Treasury to a director
serving under the President already
existing power to collect estimates and
submit them to Congress will not, &C
cording to Senators, effect any economy
in. the business Of government. But to
vest in the budget officer, whether 1t
be the Secretary or tne reaSuIy OF Il
Presidential director, power to review,
and if need be reduce, estimates Of the
bureaus and departments would be the
first step in the direction of bringing
governmental expenditures within gov
ernmental income.
New Draft in Preparation
Senator Mccormick expects to have
ready for his colleagues consideration
draft of a measure placing in the
hands Of the Secretary of the Treasury
the power not only to receive from
departmental and bureau heads their
estimates for expenditures for each
fiscal year, but the power to review
these estimates and revise them down
ward if the Secretary sees fit, and also
to eliminate duplication, or to decide
between two departments or bureaus
estimating for the same purpose.
Under the Mccormick plan the Sec
retary of the Treasury would be re-
sponsible for the financial administra
ton of the government to the game
extent as the Secretary Of State is
responsible for the administration Of
foreign affairs. The President, OF
course, would be the final authority
but the Secretary of the Treasury, a.
the chief financial officer Of the govern