The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-12-22
TELLS COMMITTEE
JONES BILL KILLS
BUDGET PROVISION
w. #. ABBOTT Urges House
To Amend 1t in Order
To Remove Doubts.

ThAsJones bill. abolishing a fixed
prVportion of expenditures between
the Federal government and the
unfavorahle comment of officials
con nected with the new Federal
budget system. who insist that GER
tain sections OF the measure pre-
cludeilh budget bureau from exer-
cising the right to revise District
estimates.
Abbott Urges Changes.
Chairman Madden. of the Appro-
priations Committee Of the House.
was the first to call the attention
OF Chairman Focht of the House
District Committee. to this feature
of the bill. and Tuesday Chairman
Focht received the following letter
from w. F. Abbott. who has since
resigned as Assistant Director OF
the Budget:
With reference to the so-called
JonesHbiff relating to the fiscal sys-
tenn Of the District OF COfumnIa.
which passed the Senate. 1 desire to
call your attention TO the follow
Ing amendment, which was adopted
on the floor of the Senate:
Sec. 4. The. appropriation Of an
amount equal to the uneXpended or
unappropriated surplusses Of the
District of Columbia shown by the
reports of the Commissioners to
have been heretofore accumulated
and deposited in the Treasury of the
United States. in addition to the es-
Inmates submitted for the next fiscal
year. is hereby authorized: and
hereafter there shall be no limit
upon the amount Of the estimates
10 be submitted to Congress to meet
the annual needs Of the DISTRICT,
any law to the contrary notwith-
standing
Annuls Budget Act
The last clause of this amend
ment Is intended to abrogate the
statutory provision restricting the
district estimates to an amount not
greater than twice the estimated
District revenues and its possible
relation TO the operation OF the bud
get and accounting act was doubt
less entirely overlooked. 1t was
adopted without discussion. In es-
= feet. however. it annuls insofar as
they relate to the District of CO.
lumbia those provisions Of the bud
the President and the Bureau Of the
Budget the authority to revise the
estimates for all departments and
establishments.
The municipal government of
the District of Columbia Is espe-
cially included in the definition OF
the terms departments and estab-
fshments' in Section of the Budget
act
Not Before Holiday.
In order to remove any doubt
as to the effect of this amendment,
and 10 insure that the District .sti-
mates shall be submitted to the
Bureau of the Budget and to the
President in the usual manner 1t is
suggested that the following pro-
viso be Incorporated in the amend
ment: Provided. however. that this
provision shall not be construed To
repeal or limit any portion Of the
budget and accounting act"
Chairman FOcht said yesterday
that 1t was unlikely the District OF
Columbia would consider the Jones
bill until after the holidays
Harding and Attorney General
Dsusherty over the question. 1t 4.
lscertsined that their thought en-
braces the following probabl.
eOurse Of action:
Freedom from prison for those
prisoners serving terms for strict.
" political offenses. such as alleged
verbal and written attacks upor
The war. The leading character IN
this class, Of course, is Eugene V
bebs.
2-knnouncement Of policy as re.
rards those so-called l. W. W
prisoners, convicted OF sabotage
either attempted or effected.
a-Efforts to effectively dispos,
81 over 1900 cases in the courts Of
This country. in which men were in.
slcted for violations Of the how're
peRled espionage law and for Other
Wartime offenses. so that gull
may not go unpublished
Some Pardons Friday.
II was stated at the White House
Yesterday that there would be an.
houncsment OF some psrdons next
Friday. President Harding held q
sls-hour discussion with Attorney
General Daugherty Monday NIGH
Tor the most part in regard to the
General policy to be adopted. First
h was agreed that the cases of po-
fticsl prisoners, which constitute
pnly about IS per cent OF the 1871
bases now before the President
should be disposed of as a class
Distinct and separate from sabotage
Eases, classified as Il. W. w
sasss"
In the political cases Debs stand.