Evening star., 1920-06-13
VETO FAILS TO KILL
u. S. BUDGET SCHEME
Change In Committee Organization Which
Has Been Made by Congress Creates
System Sought by Measure.

that the republican chairman and the
ranking democrat on each of the COM
mittees shorn of appropriating au.
thority should fill out the new COM
mittee.
There is another suggestion for an
entirely new deal. and to pick the
most efficient men in. each body for
this committee and to get rid of any
dead wood now while the members are
willing to make self sacrifice. The
finest possible disposition has been
shown. The twenty-one members on
each of seven committees to be shorn
of authority total of 147 person.
ally interested-who could have de-
feated the proposed change of rules.
| made no attempt to do So Similarly,
the present members of the appropri-
ations committee have voluntarily Of
fered to retire If the committee on
committees in reorganizing the new
session feels that better men can be
found for the new committee of thir-
ty-five.
Old COmmittees' Duties.
ssO Will lHe lIcOHlIHS OIL the new
| session all OF the estimates Will he
sent to this enlarged committee and
the seven other committees that have
been reporting supply bills will de-
vote themselves strictly to legisla-
tive recomme endations for the War,
Navy, Agricultural departments, etc.
This will be another distinct ad-
60
tion and appropriations have been
| recommended by these committees in
such a tangled skein of legislation
that it was impossible for any mem
Der to straighten it out. This was
particularly true with respect to the
Army. Navy and agriculture. Under
! the new scheme these committees will
| work much the same way as the COM
| mittee on public buildings and
grounds. which brings in a bill recon-
mending all sorts of public buildings,
| but these authorizations have to be
passed upon by the appropriations
committee before a single dollar be-
| comes available.
Thus a business Office plan will be
put into effect rather than the family
plan of many fingers dipping into the
| same purse. There will be one COM
mittee authorized to sign the checks
rather than having check book
passed around for seven or eight COM
mittees to draw checks.
| The reform in the rules of both
houses of Congress is reactionary
rather than revolutionary, for it goes
back to the old course of procedure.
Uncle Joe" Cannon, one of the lead
ers in drafting the budget plan, who
| has been a member of the appropria-
tons committee for nearly forty-five
years. served when the appropriations
committee held all the appropriating
power.
Change Made in 1855.
1t was in 1855 that the change was
made distributing the appropriation
bills to half a dozen committees. That
change, Uncle Joe" picturesquely
points out. was never in the nature
of a reform. but rather of revenge, not
| much disguised at the time. The pur-
pose was to cripple the power of Sam
uel ]. Randall, then chairman of the
appropriations committee. because he
led more than a score of democrats in
voting with the republicans and thus
! defeating the celebrated Morrison
| horizontal tariff reduction bill.
After his long experience-ten years
as chairman of the appropriations
committee-Mr. Cannon says: That
was the beginning of executive inter-
/ ference in legislation which has led
to executive dominance in legislation
for appropriations to meet the de-
| mands of the spenders rather than the
demands of the taxpayers. 1t was po-
litical revenge, not well considered
political reform. and it has led to ex-
travagance in the appropriation Of
the peoples money"