The New York herald., 1922-09-21
Grave Treasury Problems Ahead.

Grave Treasury Problems Ahead.
In his message accompanying his
disapproval of the bonus bill Presi-
dent HARDING gave Congress a strik-
ing summary of the financial prob
lens and difficulties Immediately
ahead of the Government. There is
an impending deficit of $3.50, ZOO, 900.
This means in plain English that the
Treasury will be called upon to meet
in single year $3.50, 900, 900 more of
expenditures than it will have in
come to cover those expenditures.
The deficit next year may be still
worse.
The Budget Bureau and all the
department heads of the Federal Ad-
ministration are leaving no stone un-
turned to get their spendings down
by the most rigid economy that is
feasible in such vast undertakings
as the Government is inescapably
involved in. They are making every
effort to stay well within present ap
preparations, reduced though they
have been, so as to gain extra funds
for the Treasury.
If the spendings should be cut to
approximately three billions of dol
lars a year the Treasury would still
face a gap between income and out
go. But what a difficult task it is
to get the Federal spendings down
to about three billions of dollars
under present circumstances may be
judged by the fact that interest re-
Cuirements alone on the war debt are
in round numbers billion of dollars
a year, while, as President HARDING
showed in his bonus message, more
than half billion of dollars a year
is required to take care of our war
MANNED and sick soldiers.
In these two items alone, direct
result of the war, is an unavoidable
cost of Government bulking full
half of the approximate three billions
Of dollars to which the budget max
ers and other economizers are striv-
ing to cut down the Governments
annual expenditures.
The cost of maintaining the army
and navy is still huge at a total for
the two far beyond half billion OF
dollars; the activities Of the Depart
ments of Agriculture, Commerce and
Justice are enormously expanded and
never of greater Importance to the
country. The Governments shipping
business is losing millions of dollars
month, and in all Federal fields
the Treasury is called upon to meet
vast bills of all sorts and descrip-
tions.
On top OF all this spending, the
greater part of which is a war her
itage. the Government, as President
HARDING also set forth in bis bonus
message. has four billions of debt
coming due within the current fiscal
year and ten billions of debt coming
due within the next six years. There
Is no way to pay off these war loans.
In great part they will have to be re-
funded with new borrowing arrange
ments and with an indefinite pro-
lapgation of heavy taxes for interest
and sinking fund purposes.
This outlook of continued debt and
taxes cannot be good for American
industry and business. cannot be good
for the American public whose cost
of living must be influenced by the
taxes, cannot be good for ANYBODY
whether the soldier seeking bonus
or the taxpayer wondering how II
could be paid.
To have piled vast bonus expendA-
lures on those colossal sums would
have put crushing burden on the
country at a time when what il needs
is a tightening of it's load.
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