The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-09-22

ity for a comprehensive view of all the expenditures, to say nothing of a comprehensive view of expenditures and income together, and all man her of untntended consequences have resulted. Section of the Sundry Civil Appropriation Act of March 4. 1909, making it the duty of the Pres ident to coordinate income and ex- pcndituro, 1od to some concentration of control over estimates of the exc cutive departments m President Tafts administra don, but the reform was not very far-reaching or effec- tive.
 One of the difficulties which has prevented satisfactory budEetary leg islation in the United States has been the fact that so much of our revenues has come from the tariff and from liquors in the past years. The tariff has been laid with an eye to revenue only in part, the greater part of the controversy respecting the tariff hay ing been connected with the ques- ton of protection. The tax on liquors likewise has not been a purely rev enue measure, but has been COmpli- cated with questions of the con trol of consumption of lquors. AL tcrations in the tariff or the inter nal revenue law have come infre- quently, since changes in such laws are disturbing to business, and since they involve a great deal of politi- cal controversy.
 Altered Revenue Conditions.
 The prospective disappearance of revenues from liquor, and the enor- nous growth in income. excess pro- fits and other taxes, change this. The revenue from the tariff in the fiscal year June 1917-1S was relatively tri- fling, under 100000, out of a total exceeding $4"O0, 0,OOO,OOO. The new taxes are primarily taxes for revenue only" and variations in their rates will involve much less of political disturbance than do tariff changes. They are much more elastic taxes than is the tariff, and the amounts to be derived from them can be much more readily adjusted to the amounts that the Government needs than was the case with the in direct taxes on which we chiefly re- lied in the past. This circumstance will make budgctary reform in the United States easier than it would have been in the pre-war days. The fact that the new taxes, bringing the Government into immediate contact
 
 the war had no personal contracts with the Federal Treasury leads to a much greater and more widesprea interest in public economy than was possible then, and increases the de- mand for financial reform.
 At the preset time, our Secretary of the Treasury presents an am Ial report to Congress, giving information as to receipts and expenditures, and making recommendations. which Congress may readily ignore as to revenues for the next year. The var ious other Cabinet members submit to Congress, through the Secretary of the Treasury, reports on their own departments. with estimates of their needs for the next fiscal year. Rec concentrations of the Secretary of the Treasury regarding revenues will go to the House Committee on Ways and Means. Recomm. ndations of the various departments for appropria- tions will go to a number of commit tees in the House of Representatives some to the Committee on Appropri- atiOns some to le Committee on Rivers and Harbors, and so on. There are eight committees of the House, each of which brings in and presents to the IJoues at least one appropri- ation bill involving large amounts, with fourteen bills altogether for tho eight committees. Both the revenue measure presented by the House Committee on Ways and Means and the appropriation bills are subject to amendment on the initiative of any member of the House of Represen- tatives, and may be rad cally changed before they are finally passed.
 Legislation passed by the House of Representatives goes to the Senate. reVenue measures being referred to the Finance Committo- of the Sen ate, and appropriation measures be- ing referred chiefly to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. River and Harbor appropriations are refer red to the Committee on Commerce. They may be radically altered by these Senate committees, and then when presented to the Senate may be further amended in radical ways on the floor of the Senate itself. Diff ferences between the Senate and the House are then smoothed out by con- ference committees of the two legis- lative bodies and the final financial legislation, consisting of a number of unrelated bills, is presented to the President for his approval
 The Ineffective Veto.
 As the President. by lonE-standing practice. rather than by the clear lan- guage of the Constitution, is obliged to sign or veto a bill as a whole, lacking the power which many gov crnors of our States possess to veto particular items, Le has little Oppor- tunity to influence this legislation ex- cept as he may have influenced the original estimates presented by the executive departments, or IS he may have brought influence to bear upon members cf the Senate or House in the coRrss of the legislation. It is hard to see how responsibility could be more widely diffused or how con- fusion could be greater.
 In contrasting our system with the English system, however. it is i'm portant to recognize that the concen- tration of responsibility which the English system permits cannot be hoped for under our system of gov ernment Under the English system all power is concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister, who is responsible only to the House of Commons. The English King has no real power and must appoint as the Prime Minister a man whom the House of Commons will accept. The House of Lords has long been sup posed to be impotent to amend any