The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-09-30
BUDGET SYSTEM
 GROWING IN
 GENERAL FAVOR

Nember of the Bridgeport Cham ber of Commerce will be interested to learn that considerable progress is be ing made toward the adoption of a national budget system whereby it is believed great economies may be ef- feCted in government expenditures. Some time ago, after careful study, committee headed by Samuel B. Beardsley and comprising Arthur Comley. Lynn W. Wilson, Ralph M. Sperry and Peter w. Wren, reported in favor of a national budget plan and the Chamber has joined with oth- CT organization in urging the plans adoption.
 The Chamber of Commerce of the United States. through a committee of which W. L. Clause of Pittsburgh, Pa, is chairman. is participating in the national budget system hearings before the House committee on ap- propriations These hearings, just starting in Washington, perhaps will | last two weeks, and the sentiments of the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce will be impressed upon legislators. The war made necessary an eXpan- sion of government expenditures to an extent hitherto not only unprecedent- ed, but almost unbelievable. This in turn gave rise to a comparative eX- pansion of taxation and issuance of government loans. The immense i burden thus placed upon the people | in general, and upon business and in i dustry in particular, has led to a ! greatly increased interest in the man | ner in which the government eXpends i it's funds and a demand for stricter | and more intelligent methods of ap- | propriating and accounting. Conse- | uuently, in the judgment of the Ma | tional chamber of Commerce, the time | has arrived for pressing upon Con i gress the need for adopting budget i procedure with far greater hope of ! success than at any time in the pESt- Not only the organizations which ! in the past have supported the na- i tionaI budget are becoming, more act i've. but new organizations -a-& the i solep urpose of supporting the budget | propaganda are springing into exist ence If all these agencies can be
 brought to work with a common pur- pose for the same end. it is to be eX-
 pected that Congress, in which sup
 port for a budget plan has been con stantly growing, will give heed to this i expression of popular opinion and . demand for financial methods which have long since been approved in
 every other enlightened country on
 the globe.
 The present President of the United States some years ago expressed to a Budget Committee of the chamber his
 support of the plan, and quite recently
 in a cable to the then chairman of
 the Appropriations Committee of the
 House has voiced his desire for the
 adoption of the bucget method.
 The national chamber, as late as
 May 1, 1919, went on record on this
 subject as follows:
 "A national budget will introduce
 standards of business in correlating income and outgo and afford informa-
 ton as to tke disposition and sources
 of public funds. Expenditures of the
 federal government have reached
 sums beyond all earlier centempla-
 ton. Taxation and borrowing have
 assumed proportions hitherto un-
 known. Through referendum and by vote of delegates in annual meet ing this chamber has repeatedly ad-
 vocated a budget system as a mearss
 of introducing business methods in
 the governments fiscal affairs. We .reaRrm thazs daalaxatianA-