Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1922-01-04
BY EDWARD C. LOWRY
Copyright, Western Newspaper Union
MI.
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

MAKE 1OOK NOlCE HEAND
Secretary Mellon of the treasury, in
a letter to Representative Fordney,
chairman of the committee on ways
and means Of the house of representa-
tives, says: Ordinary expenditures
for the first three quarters of the tis-
cal year, 1921, have been So, 7S3,771,-
N674, or at the rate of about S5,OO0,-
100000 for the year. According
to the latest estimates of the spending
departments. ordinary expendi.
lures during the fiscal year, 1929, in
Guiding interest ON the public debt,
will be over $4,000, 100000.
The nation cannot continue to
spend at this shocking rate. AS the
President said in his message, the bur
den is unbearable and there are two
avenues of relief. One is resistance
in appropriation and the other is the
utmost economy in administration.
r. -. Leffingwell, formerly an assis-
tant secretary of the treasury, whom
| have quoted previously in these ar
tiCleS, and who is still deeply and ac-
lively Interested in securing retrench-
ment il national expenditures com
menting on this ntterance of Secretary
Mellon, says: "Why should there be
retrenChment In public expenditure?
Why does the secretary of the treas
ury speak of current and estimated eX-
pendiCures as shocking? What is the
evil tina! we are discussing and what
is It's effect?
Government expenditures must be
met from taxes. To the extent hat
they are met promptly from lH\ .'I.'
from honest taxes directly lad upr1
the incomes of the people, and in pro-
portion to those Incomes eXag9pration
of the evil of government expenditure
is avoided. Government expenditure
takes the money Of all the people for
the supposed benefit of portion of
the people, honestly or dishonesty,
equally or unequally. avOwedly by di,
rect taxation, or SurreptitiouSly by the
indirec. taxation which results from
imitation of currency and credit and
of the public debt,
'pNfihitIll expenditure takes lllB
fruits of the earth and the labor of
the people and diyerts them from the
productive and reproductive enter
priSes of men, from the natural enjoy
mcnt of the men. who by their pru-
dcnce. foresight and effort, created the
wealth and made it available. To the
sometimes benevolent and sometimes
hclligercnt. but almost always econom
lcolly wasteful, purposes of govern
mrnt
"GovernmeJIt exploits all of us for
The benefit. or supposed benefit. of
some If us. Yielding to the vague
aspirations of men for IA better world
or better distribution of the good
things of this earth, government i'm
poses upon all of us ever-increasing
burdens in the effort to benefit vOcif
erouS and organized minOritieS.
Each of the executive departments
is concerned To improve its service
aud Ia discover new and useful fields
of service. The entire organization
of the army. of the navy, of each Of
and agencies of tie government is de-
voted to an important task. Its par
tiruar function seems of vital use
funeSS, even necessity. Experts in
each are alive to its defects and to
The opportunities for usefulness which
have not been awaited Of.
THE secretary, or other head of
the department drawn from private
life, perhaps wholly ignorant at the
outset of the nature and extent of its
problems, promptly becomes the advo-
cate If the policies and demands of
his permanent assistants and bureau
chiefs. If he does not become such
advocate, he may break down the
morale of his organization and possibly
lose the confidence of his personnel
Behind it all is the pressure of or
ganiZed interests in the constituencies
which are the ber aticiarieS of specific
expenditures, operating upon politi-
clans. executive departments, senators
and congressman. The strident voice
of greed is heard in the market place
and in legislative halls; the voice of
the people is barely audible
The fact that each project is con
Sidcred separately, without reference
either in executive departments or
congress. to ways and means of tinanc
ing it, prevents concentration of popu-
lar opinion on the awful total. All
agree that there must be economy. but
as eacn item is presented all seeming
~ agree that that is not the proper
field TO" economy. There must be econ
omy, but there must be merchant
marine. whatever the cost. There must
he economy, but the government must
pay high wages to railroad employees
and furnish transportation ON the rail-
roads at less than cost. There must
he economy, but the World war SOL
dierS must have their bonus. There
must be economy. but Civil war pen
Sions must be increased. There must
he economy, hut we must prepare for
war, regardless OF, expense"
You know this is true. The new
budget law will help very much this
condition. hut unless you are interest.
ed, continuously, actively, openly in.
tprpSteu Nour money will not he 50 we'd