The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1922-02-23
DOMCS AT WASHINGTON
By Wallace Bassford

Washington, d. c., Feb. 49,
Mr.. Harding seems to feel that it is
politically expedient, if not necessary
to provide bonus for the soldiers. A
week ago he was hdt-foot for it. I'm
med:ately there appeared on the bull
letin boards in the stockholders
rooms in all the cities brief wires
from the Wall Sire ct section telling
how the great money interests were
getting together to prevent it, on the
ground that it would necessitate lay
ing an additional burden of taxation
or the issuing of more bonds. Then
paid advertisements appeared in the
Washington papers arguing against
the bonus proposition. Immediately
, thereafter the President came forth
with statement that he would not
favor either additional taxes or a
bond issue for the purpose, whereup-
on the metropolitan press expressed
, the view that this meant an end to the
bonus, as there was no other way left
to raise the money.
But at this juncture Mr.. Byrnes of
South Carolina comes forward with
a proposition that should appeal to
the President and everyone else. 1t
is simply this: The Republican leaders
figure that it will take $3.50, 0,0O0,0 900
per year to pay the proposed bonus
Chairman Madden of the Appropria-
tions Committee says the Admins
tration, through the new Budget sys-
tenn, has saved 1857 100000 by cut
ting appropriations. If this is true,
the problem is solved and everyone
should be happy. Now it remains to be
seen if the Administration can locate
that 1857 100000 with sufficient def
initeness to lay hold of it and use it
for the bonus. But right there is
where the difficulty will begin. Of
course there are at least one hundred
Republicans who would have thought
of using the money if they really be-
lieved it had been saved but it is like
trying to pay the grocery bill with
money that you four. in a dream.
These great savings are fictitious |;
they result from juggling of figures
and remind one OF the prestidigator
who takes rabbit after rabbit from
| hat which never contained one. The
President makes savings of millions
| upon millions in the columns of the
newspapers which quietly sending up
to- the Appropriations Committee re-
| quests for the passage of more de-
fciency bills for twice as many mil
| lions as those Saved" Another year
of such economy will force a new
bond issue.
Senator Lodge, close friend of the
President, went before the Massachu-
sets Legislature the other night and
made a statement which proves him to
be ignorant of the most important op-
erations of the Government or else
guilty of falsifying the facts. There
is no escape from this. Mr.. Byrnes
of South Carolina in the House show
ed this to be true and no Republican
challenged his statements. Lodge
said: "Since the present Congress has
been in they have reduced the appro-
priations asked for by the Depart
ment from $5,337, 100000 to ST.
100000" Now the average citi-
zen, paying high taxes and thinking
the conditions of the Treasury de-
plorable, would think the millennium
had arrived and that the Republicans
are wizards of finance. That state
ment would be accepted from Lodge
on the ground that he could easily get
the correct information, and that q
| United States Senator could not af-
| ford to falsify the facts. But what
are the facts? Mr.. Byrnes held in his
hard the official estimates Of the Bud
get Bureau totaling $3,801, 900, 900
| and then called attention to the fact
that while only six of the annual ap-
preparation bills had been acted upon
| by the House, those six had already
reached figure of $2,908,000,000.
He showed that last year the Republi-
can congress appropriated $3,771,-
| 9OO,514.01, being about $38,000,00O
| less than was asked for this year, so
that in reality the Administration
was seeking more money to run the
Government instead of less. In the
last year before the war (1916) a
Democratic congress appropriated
81, Ia 100000 to run the Govern
ment. Appropriations for the present