Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-12-07

1 uISEiAy OI an immaculate OlSpOSltlOn
on the part OF congress to remedy
/ any injustices or evils that may have
shown themselves in our own nation
al life will afford the most effect
ual offset to the forces o.. chaos and
| tyranny which are playing SO disas-
trolls part in the fortunes of the
free peoples of more than one part
| of The world. The United States Is
of necessity the sample democracy
of the world and the triumph OF
/ democracy depends upon It's success.
Advocates Budget System.
Recovery from the disturbing and
som etimes disastrous effects of the
late war has been exceedingly slow
on the other side of the water and
J, has given promise, venture to say.
| Of early completion only in our own
fortunate country; but even with us
the recovery halts and is imp,ded at
times and there are Immediately SER
viceable acts Of legislation which. it
seems to me. we ought to attempt t..
assist that recovery and prove tue
indcstructible recaperative force of L.
tgreat government OF the speople,, ,,se
demo ocracy can keep house as success
fully and in as businesslike fashion
as any other government. It seems
to ME that the first step toward prov
ing this is to supply ourselves with
la systematic method of handling our
estimates and expenditures and
brir ging them to the point where
they will not be an unnecessary
stra in upon our income or necessitate
unreasonable taxation, in other words.
la workable budget system. and I
respectfully suggest that two ele-
ments are essential to such a system,
nam ely, not only that the proposal
of 'lppropriat tions should be in the
han1s of single. body, such as
SINGLE appropriations committee in
EACH house OF the congress, but also
that this body should be brought into
such cooperation with the depart
ments of the government and with
the treasury of the United States as
would enable It to act upon a COM
plete conspectus of the needs of the
government and the resources from
which itmust oraw it's income"
u reluctantly vetoed the budget
congress because of a constitutional
objection. The house of representa-
tives subsequently modified fhe bill in
order to meet this objection. In the
revised form believe that the bill,
coupled with action already taken
by the congress to revise it's rules and
procedure, furnishes the foundations
Tor an effective national budget sys-
tenn. l earnestly hope, therefore, that
one of the first steps taken by the
present session of congress will be
to pass the budget bill.
State Of Finances.
"The nations finances have shown
marked Improvement during the past
year. The total ordinary receipts OF
S6.694.0 .0O0,0 900 for the fiscal year 1920
exceeded those for 1919 by s1,542,OoO,-
900. while the total net ordinary ex-
perlditures decreased from $1S,514,-
100000 to $6,403, 900 900. The gross
public debt, which reached it's high
est point on Aug. 81, 1919, when it
was $26,596, 100000, had dropped on
Nov. 80. 1920, to S24,175,000,0OO.
There also has been a marked de-
crease in holdings of government war
securities by the banking institutions
of the country as well as in the
amount of bills held by the federal
reserve banks secured by government
war obligations. This fortunate re-
suit has relieved the banks and left
them freer to finance the needs of
agriculture, industry and commerce
1t has been due in large part to the
reduction of the public debt, es-
pe'cially of the floating debt, but moro
particularly to the improved distribu-
tion of government securities among
permanent investors. The cessation
Of the governments borrowing except
thru short term certificates of indebt-
edness has been a matter of great
consequence to the people Of the
country at large as we'll as to the
holders OF liberty bonds and victory
ties, and has had an important
bearing on the matter of effective
credit control. This year has been
characterized by the progressive
withdrawal of the treasury from the
domestic credit market and from a
position of dominant influence in
that market. The future course will
| necessarily depend upon the extent
to which economics are practiced and
upon the burdens placed upon the
treasury as well as upon Industrial
development and the maintenance of
tax receipts at a sufficiently high
level
War Debt Natures Soon.
"'rhe fundamental fact which AZ