The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1922-05-19
WASHINGTON LETTER
BY Wallace Bassford
Special Correspondent.

, special NOlltSp oHueHl.
. Washington. ID. c., MAY 1.-THE
! President who proudly rode into Of
flee in March of last year with seven
millions majority behind him is now
so uneasy as To the result OF the com
! Ing November elections that he and
his Director of the Budget, General
| Dawes. juggle appropriation figures
/ and boldly distort the facts i'll their
/ efforts TO fool the people into again
voting for the party of special privi-
! lege. The Presidents claim to saving
81 600 .000, 900 in the past year was tax
/ en- up in the House the other day by
/ Congressman ByrneS of South Caro-
lima and shot full of holes. Mr.. Byr-
mes said:
| The President announced to the
country that we will this year reduce
our expenditures 81 900, 100000 below
the expenditures for the last fiscal
year. Well, the expenditures for the
last fiscal year which were authorized
by a Republican Congress were
the largest ever authorized in time of
peace in the history of the country. II
now, four years after the war, there
was not tremendous reduction in
tA ptuu!tuI Is lltlt NOulu ne niue
hope for the preservation of the GOV
eminent.
My regret is that the President in
issuing this statement did not call at
tentiOn to the fact that for the year
1916, the last year prior to our enter
ing the war when we We're engaged in
measures Of preparedness, our eXpend-
lures did not amount to more than
$1,115.000.0 700, and that the estimate
he now makes as to expenditures this
year is 1922, 372. 900. or s.. S07. ISL .326
more than was spent under the Demo-
cratic administration for the last fis-
cal year prior to the war.
Il regret that he did not call atten-
ton to the fact that while the Budget
Bureau Claims these bogus savings
of $136,0u0,0 900. the fact is that the
same departments have to date secur-
ed from the Congress deficiencies or
supplemental appropriations amount
ing to 1874 ,691 .040.65.
The Secretary of the Treasury
does not keep up with this political
game. He issued a statement that we
are facing a deficit. and then along
comes General Dawes. who says that
we have saved Il billion and Il half
dollars The President. if he has any
confidence in him at all. ought to
urge the Congress to declare a divi-
dend to the taxpayers OF America. and
We would all be entitled to share. [
favored the Bureau of the Budget.
There was real work for the Director
of the Budget to do. but the Bureau OF
the Budget has never functioned as
Con IN. - .f,
eau submitted estimates for an
amount larger than the appropriate
tiOns for the current year and before
the subcommittee of the Committee
on Appropriations no one appeared to
defend his estimates. The director
commended himself with these baseless
claims of savings. 1t is nothing but
bunk-pOlitical bunk. (Applause)."
Mr.. Byrnes then went on to show
some of the specific instances where
the President and General Dawes had
made claims of saving-claims so
easily disproved that the President
appears in a childlike and ridiculous
attitude before the country. if we as
sumo that he was so easily misled by
Dawes political smOke-Screcn. Mr..
BErneS said in part:
He says that $500 was saved out
of an appropriation for the widow of
Senator Proctor. of Vermont. Away
back in 1905 when Senator Proctor
died this money was appropriated for
his widow. She declined to accept it.
and the good lady has long since gone
to her reward. 1t remained upon the
books 10 her credit but nobody else
could get it, and General Dawes saws
he saved it this year. Who was try
ing to get il? LaughterD.
There is 100000 saved in enlarg-
ing the Capitol Grounds. Do YOU re-
member in the distant past that appro-
priation was made for enlarging the
Capitol Grounds? Ii has been on the
books. and it stays there. Therefore
1t is saved out of the current appro-
priatiOns this year | wish nv friend
from Kentucky, Ben Johnson. were
here. because it would bring back
memories of the past to him The
trouble with this statement is that il
goes throughout the country and some
people are misled by it, They are mis-
led into believing that there is n say
ing of $112,000.000. now increased to
$l35.000.000, when there is not any
saving, and. as matter of fact. il is
only saving on paper. 1t is nothing