Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-05-09
ATTACK BUDGET
Continued from Page ons)

Continued from Page ons)
president had had opportunity to ex-
anime "the itemized statement OF al
legged savings constituting the total
Of s1s6,ooo.oOO he would discover that
it is pure bunk"
Defend, 1g the report. Representa-
tive ,deil. Wyoming, the Republi.
can leader. asserted thai Mr.. Byrnes.
Tennessee was "ouibbling" as to de-
tails Of savings effected. and that
some of the economies had resulted
quite as much from the vigilance OF
Congress az from the activities Of the
budget bu- director"
Chairman Madden Of the appropria-
lions committee said somebody had
raised the question Of veracity" and
that while Mr.. Byrns had mentioned
deficiency estimates for this yer OF
s447, 100000, it was fact that only
S12.O00,000 of this total could be at
tributed to the Harding administra-
toi, the balance being hangover.
Such a multitude of figures were
hurled at members H. few seemed
able to grasp therr off hand. Mr..
Byrnes enlivened the proceedings.
however, by informing the house that
Director Dawes had claimed a saving
or $4,000 on ''the sal: ries of con-
gressmen"- then asked IL they
could say where.
Here's an Illustration OF what
General Dawes saved the taxpayers"
the South Carolinl member shouted.
He claims saving OF $500. author
iZed to be paid the widow Of Sena-
tor Proctor. who lied in 1908. Mrs.
Proctor declined to accept it, She died
some years ago. There is no one TO
whom it could be paid-and yet he
saved it,"
In the same fashion. Mr. Byrncs
continued, Director Dawes claimed TO
have saved $4,000 "in building a can
al from the Atlantic TO the Pacific.
and 100000 authorized some years
ago and which cannot now he used.
Tor charging the capitol grounds.
Characterizing alleged savings as
budget bunk" Mr.. Byrnes said IL
was fegrettable that the President
should be misled by claims OF saw
ings of the paper variety and that IL
he believes the budget bureau "be
should, in justice to the taXpavers.
urge congress to declare dividend"
a casual analysis shows that the
claim made by the director OF the
bureau of the budget, acting for the
president of savings made by the adj
ministration in expenditures for the
ordinary routine of the government
and the figures submitted by him in
| support thereof are plainly decep-
i've, said Mr.. Byrnes (Tcnnesseel.
In January the President an
nounced to the country that through
economies effected by theadministra-
ton there had been n saving for the
| first six months of the fiscal year Of
Sl36,OO0,000. His statement was
| couched in the most general and am
| biguous terms and wholly failed TO
| show just where these alleged saw
irgs had been made.
by resolution introduced on Feb
ruary he was requested to give con-
| gress the details OF these savings.
After a delay of three months. the
| director of the budget Confcsscs that
/ the sum named represents reductions
! son of which are real savings. and
| some of them cannot be considered as
savings He says that part OF the
reductions are simply postponed OK
penditures,' whatever he may mean
by this juggling of words. he plainly
admits the charge that the original
statement of the President was not
based on facts"
THE report shows" Mr.. Byrns add
ed, that the President has increased
the expenditures of his own office
over what they were in 1921. 1t has
been said that figures will not lie but
everyone knows that they may be
| juggled with an even n casual exam
ination of the immense array OF fig
ures submitted by the very large ac-
counting force of the bureau Of the
budget and which IL took three
months to compile showed that the
figures have been manipulated in an
effort to mislead the public into the
belief thai some economy has been
| effected by the administration"