The Cordova daily times., 1920-12-29
BY COL. WINFIEDD JONES

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29-(Special Correspondence). This session of congress is faced with the hard task of making both ends of the federal government meet. Expenditures threaten to far exceed revenue, and the government departments seem. to have gone mad with their demands in the annual estimates.
 The estimates for the fiscal year 1922 have fairly awed congress and are enough to stagger the imagina- tion. Counting the deficiency bills which are to be submitted to con gross later and which it is estimated will amount to at least nearly a bill lion dollars, the gigantic sum asked of congress by the government de partments will run near the five bil- lion mark.
 Congressional leaders already at work on the estimates believe that with the utmost use of the pruning knife it will be impossible to Top off of the estimates more than s750,0O0, ,000. A tremendouse effort will be made by the handlers of the scalpels to make ! the reduction a round billion dollars
 One instance of the extravagant estimates and the bad management of the federal government is seen in | IL, ,J ready has a huge deficit, and there may not be enough money in the war department account to pay the offic- CTS and men of the regular army af- ter next February. The war depart ment has exceeded the enlistments in the regular army authrized by 45,000 men. and the department will prob ably be the first to rush to congress i with great deficiency bill.
 | From the size of the fourteen ap p-opriation bills and the reductions that are necessary in nearly every estimate, wherever possible, it is now more than ever certain that this ses- sion can do little legislative business except to consider the appropriation measures.
 Retrenchment and economy are UT gently needed. Leaders of both parties in congress recognize the fact. They are concerned with the constantly in creasing cost of the federal govern ment.
 It will cost the federal government, ill round numbers, this fiscal year, the great sum of $27000 100000 to operate This fiscal year ends next June 30. Yet the estimates submit ted for the next fiscal year which are already in the hands of congress, are nearly two billions more, not count ing the deficiency bills that are yet to come.
 Congressmen are asking themselves and each other when the orgy of ex- travagance in managing the Washing ton government will end. They are determined to cut all expenses to the bone before house or senate agrees to 9 single item. The fact is, congressman declare, the expenses of the federal government have got to the point where they are out of all proportion to the actual necessities of carrying on the central government, and out of all proportion to the popu- lation, wealth, and resources of the United States.
 The method of making up govern ment estimates is the principal cause why they are SO large. Every little bureau chief believes he Is the sun around which the federal government revolves. He thinks that his bureau is the most important cog in the whole huge government machine. Consequently he always tries hard to grab all the money possible from con gress to conduct his little corner in the machine Such a thing as econo- my never enters his small head. He asks every cent that he thinks he might get, and not what he actually needs to carry on his bureau eff ciently and economically. The sec retaries of the various departments naturally cannot know the details of every bureau under their control and jurisdiction. Consequently the padded estimates are usually approved by the