The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-06
SATURDAY. NOVEMBER 8. 1920.
After the Public Spending Dcbaueh
1t Is Now the Cold, Gray Dawn

is NOW the NUtus UEAy UaWu-
ssssvi When Governor-elect MILLER says
vas. the expenditures Of the State Govern,
"a, ament hav, increased out Of all proper
'sr~s'tion 10. the increase of population In
Anew York he mildly states plain
,s--ss fact which is shriekingly emphasized
.:5se by comparison Of the States finances
.,,. in recent years.
~. < New York State was not niggardly
FL 81 ten years ago when the budget appro-
ttt's .priations for ordinary purposes were
Sycamore than S4O.00o,0o0 and, with State
asi.tadebt service, canal and highways sink
ling fund contributions. &C.. the total
- general fund was on the edge Of $48.-
-ssrslB0O.000. In the uext-five years New
.ser York State was not slow in developing
as sprinting spender when the APP
.srpw preparations for ordinary expenses ran
s.. Ss..,.5lp to more than .$54,OOO.000 and the
total general fund to s64.O00,000.
~ s. But this was only start on the
arEs high speed spending race which was
-, to follow. In 1917 the record showed
49, for ordinary expenditures S66,574O00
~ and total general fund $40 742 900. In
ssrT1s1a1S the figures were $6S, $4,000 and
.Ss1 $4,000. In 1919 they we're $751;
y .a249 900 and sos. $4,000
srT !, Then came this year of 1920. with
nm original financial plan of :. more
.s,a;fhan S126.00O,O00 for ordinary ex-
80 spendtures and more than $4,000, 600
for State debt service, and altogether
-rzrnot far from S142 100000. e'"'
54sss A runup in a decade OF approx
~ ss1nately hundred millions Of dollars
- is not record that can be justified
iss,rwhen the people of New York were
5g.ssGroanins under their municipal, State
- and national tax burdens. II Is not
s~sSgl thing that the voters Of this State
y; a.are going TO stand any more OF. Mr.
,sei MILLER knows they are not going to
- stand it, and he does well to point
,,.1sout within forty eight hours of his
as election that there must be savings
and large savings by the incoming
7.assAdministration and Legislature.
.~S.c But Governor-eleet MILLER is right
when he says there Is much misup.
Understanding about what could be I'm
80 81 ,mediately saved by consolidating over
iAai1apping functions having to do, for
...4.aexample. with the Department Of Pub
s,s tic Works, the Highway Department
70 rand the Engineering Department No
-ss.-Sdoubt million dollars year ought
y easily to be saved by such consollda-
- ton, but anything of the kind re-
~. auires Constitutional amendments.
- More than a single million dollars a
s--.year must be saved, millions must be
~ saved by this State and saved with
out Constitutional amendments, or
,..,a4he administrative and legislative
...........branches of the New York Govern
,.ssa,'ment, elected last Tuesday, will be
- commanded TO walk the plank by the
- New York State voters In 1922, just
-, as much more than, billion dollars
80 n year, billions of dollars, will have
~ 20 be saved by the newly elected Re-
..rspublican National Government, or II
will be dropped overheard four years
from now.
The work of saving by our State
Government cannot walt upon Consti
~ : tutional amendments 1t must be
done as soon as the Republican Gov
:: ernor and the Republican Legislature
ut his back get on their jobs. 1t must
II. be done with an axe which needs nj
,,s- authority to swing save the act OF the
Governor with the cooperation. Of the
s.2sLegislature and various heads of the
= State departments.
Dozens and even scores Of Stats
~...tA.to,e opd h,,raoua FOR nv
.,hmple. simply honeycomb the Govern
sgcanent Of the State of New York. Ever
- when the heads of these commission
do not draw salaries themselves theJ
-s,&pend moneys and spend them In guam
Etities that make q terrific total. 7Thes'
atostiy commissions with all their con
Xlnections can be trimmed right and left
Mwhen they cannot be eliminated en-
0 tlrely they can be starved outialmos
M entirely. ,f: Ia
Administrative expenditures which
have gone up from million and {
third to four md half millions o
dollars can be headed back In the for
mer direction. Reguiative expendi
'..g:tures which have gone up from tive
@and hnlf millions TO nenrly elgh
millions, defensive expenditures which
have gone up from eight hundred ant
%f.forty-three thousand to nearly three
~ millions. curative expenditures which
ttrhave gone up from eight millions e
&gstwenty millions, charitable expendi
ktues which have gone up from tire,
tTs{