The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1921-01-01
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WASHINGTON LETTER.
BY SMELL SMITH.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

Wasnlngtop.lD ID. c. Representative
Frank w. Mondell, majority leader of
the House, has sounded the death
knell Of high government expenditures
He has announced In the House that
he and the Republican party are in
favor Of tax reductions, but that these
must be preceded by further cutting
down Of expenditures.
Our people," he says, have borne
with extraordinary patience and pat
riotism tax burden which has paid a
much larger proportion of our war
costs out Of current revenues than has
been paid by any other people en-
gagged in the world war. While the
war lasted, and during the succeeding
period in which we were meeting our
war obligations, there was compare
lively little criticism or complaint Of
even the most burdensome, inequit-
able and hampering of war taxes. But
with the passage Of two full years
since, the signing of the armistice the
demand for relief from the federal
taxes which vexfi annoy and inequit-
ably burden the individual and which
seriously interfere with the normal
flow Of business and the development
of industry, has become. we'll nigh uni
versal. There Is no appeal before Con-
gress more general and more impera-
tive than this.
mo considerable or satisfactory re-
lief from tax burdens can be afforded
however, until we shall have laid the
foundations of such relief by a very
considerable reduction in government
expenditures. Fortunately the Repub-
lican Congress has In the last eigh-
teen months made real and substan-
tial progress in this direction. The
total net ordinary expenditures of the
government decreased from 1854
100000 in the lscal year ending June
80, 1919, to $6,4O3, 10000 in the fiscal
year ending June 80, 1920.
"This Congress in its first session
reduced the appropriations carried by
the eight regular supply bills for the
fiscal year endinf June 80, 1920, which
had failed of passage in the former
Congress, in the sum of approximately
$94O, 100000 below what those bills
carried when last considered by the
former Congress, and 6S5,OOOOOO
less than the administration estimates
for the same services. This enormous
reduction in appropriations below the
estimates of the departments and the
sums carried by the appropriation
bills as they failed in the Sixty-fifth
Congress had the effect of transform
ing an anticipated deficit into sur
plus of 1921 100000 of ordinaly re-
ceipts over ordinary net disburse-
ments for the year ending June 80
last.
an the second session Of this Con-
gress the total Of appropriations car
ried by the regular supply bills was
$1,474 ,OOO, OOO1 pelow the administra-
ton. estimates, and this stupendous
sayfn gbids fair to accomAlish even
more satisfactory results in Govern
ment finances for the current fiscal
year. =,
1.-THE Secretary of the Treasury esti'
mates our total receipts 70 rthe pres
ent fiscal year at $5,799,75S,S75 and
our expenditures at $4,S51, 29S,9Sl, an
excess of receipts over expenditures
of $948,459,444 This sum would DC
available for reduction of our total In
debtedness. :,
"The situation thus presented would
under the circumstances be very sat
isfactory one were we assured OF
progressive reduction of federal ex'
penditures such as we have been able
to accomplish in the last eighteen
months. Unfortunately, however, the
estimates presented to us by the ex'
ecutive departments, through the Sec
rotary of the Treasury, not only de
not propose or contemplate a further
reduction in government expenditures
but an increase of over a billion dol
lars. The total Of the regular estl
mates for the thirteen appropriation
bills are $1,09S,535, So5 in excess OF thu
current appropriations for the SAINT
services. I leave 1t to others to prop
erly characterize these estimates: M!