The Washington herald., 1921-02-21
Business Men of Country
Censure Congressional
Inactivity.
U. S. CHAMBER HEAD
ISSUES STATEMENT
Immediate Passage of
Bill Sorely Needed, Ma
tiOnal Consensus.
CPubie Ledger servies.)


States. according to the opinion ex-
pressed yesterday by Joseph II.
Defrees, president of the United
States Chamber of Commerce, see
no good reason why Congress has
ignored budget legislation at the
present session. Nor are they in
clined to be complaisant Of the
kind of legislative tactics which
have permitted the budget bill,
passed at the last session and
vetoed by President Wilson be-
cause of a comparatively unimpor-
tant provision: lie unconsidered in
the Senate for nearly three months.
1t Is generally conceded by busi-
ness men and congressional OBJ
servers that the chaotic conditions
now existing in appropriation leg
islation are due in a measure to
the failure to provide a budget
system which would have permitted
the Republicans to make good
their pledge to cut down govern
ment expenditures. As it is appro-
priations for the coming fiscal year
now promise to equal those for the
present fiscal year.
Immediate Passage Needed
TT Is only by immediate passage
of the bill that the country can be
assured Of the benefits Df a budget
system when II is so sorely needed" !"
said Defrees. 1T is demanded by
business as a vital part of plans
for true economy in government ex-
penditures- Evidence of this is the
almost unanimous Endorsement OF a
budget plan by the organization of
the Chamber of Commerce of the
United States in referendum in
1912. -y-......,
According to De Frees, there
are no good reasons for delay at
the present time. On the contrary,
there are very compelling reasons
for immediate action. 1t will be
extremely difficult to bring about
the economy and efficiency demand
ed IL appropriations are to be made
under the present wasteful meth
DDS. The budget bureau which
would be established by the act
would be the Presidents chief
agency in the study of the needs of
government. During the summer of
1921 estimates will have to be pre-
pared of government expenditures
for the fiscal year beginning July
I. 1922. This task Is at the best
dinicult and prolonged. The budget
bureau. IL il is to aid the Presiden;
sfrectively. should be organized at
the very beginning of his admins
tration. II there Is any material
delay. practically one-half of the
term of the administration will have
expired before the budget plan can
get into actual operation.
Postrsnement Dangerous.
ITO postpone action until the next
Congress meets is a dangerous piece
of business. The bill then will have
TO be reintroduced and go through
all the processes of legislation re-
uuired under the rules of the House
and Senate. This in itself will take
time even IL there were no inten-
tional obstruction to the passage
of the bill. There is, however Sc
rious likelihood that IL budget leg
islation Is postponed until the mex.
Congress 1t at once will be entan-
gled with a night on changes in the
rules, and its fate may then becom
extremely problematical. In antici-
patton Of the enactment of the
budget law, the House at the las.
session amended its rules to make
its procedure on appropriations con-
form to the principles of a real
budget system by increasing the
size of the Committee on Appropria-
tions and referring to that commit
tee all appropriation bills. Thess
were previously considered by more
than ten separate committees.
The powers Of the Committee on
Appropriations were greatly en-
HANGED and the prestige and patron
age of several lother committees
considerably lowered. The change
in the rules was a very long step
sional procedure in the handling Of
appropriation measures. 1t has.
however, aroused the animosity of
some members of Congress xho find
they have been shorn of some pre-
negatives and more or less valua.
BILE patronage Many members of
the House would like to see the old
system restored, and there can be
little doubt that IL given an oppor-
tunity there will be plenty of op-
position to the present arrange
ment and no opportunity will be
lost to upset it.
Passage Of the bill will take but
little time and can be accomplished
without seriously obstructing the
passage of appropriation bills. De-
lay Is fraught with possibilities of
serious consequence"