The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-04-05
WILL BE- CHECK
ON EXPENDITURES
FRIENDS OF BUDGET SYSTEM
CONFIDENT OF ITS MEET
ING APPROVAL.
SCHEME NOT WORKED OUT
Idea, to Put 1t Simply, Is to Inject
more Business Into Government
Women's Clubs to Have Headquar-
tiers in Capital.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK

ters IN Capital.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK
Washington.-After waiting for a
year, the senate has finally taken
steps to adjust its legislative functions
to the budget system. 1t has changed
its rules, SO that all appropriation bills
will hereafter be handled by one COM
mittee, the committee on %appropria-
lions.
In the past, seven of the big annual
supply bills have been considered by
other committees. The post office bill
has peer handled by the post office
committee; the army bill, by the mill
tary affairs committee; the navy bill,
by the naval affairs committee; the
agricultural bill, by the committee on
agriculture; the rivers and harbors
bill, by the committee on commerce ;
the diplomatic and consular bill, by
the foreign relations committee, and
the Indian appropriation bill, by the
committee on Indian affairs.
The house, in which the %appropria-
ton bills always originate, was forced
to act earlier than the senate, and
adopted a plan for a single enlarged
appropriations committee. Further,
n plan was worked out under which
the appropriation bills were entirely
r~earranged, with different grouping of
items and different titles.
Idea New In This Country.
The whole question of the budget
system is new yet. The system Is
a tremendous effort to improve the or
ganization of the government and to
group its activities in such a way that
the public at large can see them and
the average citizen may know what
his government is doing with the
money 1t takes from him in taxes.
The President, when he anne into
office, pleaded for more business in
government. The budget system is
one of the means undertaken to bring
this about. In the business world
the president of a corporation and gen.
eral managers are the executives. They
propose lines of policy to the board OF
directors involving various eXpendi-
lures. The board of directors, who
represent the stockholders of the cor
poration, pass upon these proposals
Roughly speaking, the President OF
the United States and his cabinet may
be considered the executives of the
country, the congress may be consid
cred the board of directors and the
npnn1o orc fhn ~fnnkhn1darc Of thn nav
eminent. The executive submits, will
the assistance of his cabinet and the
bureau of the budget, the estimates .o1
what is needed for the government
to the congress or board of directors
who in turn pass upon these matters
for the people or stockholders of the
government. But congress reserves
to itself the right to cut down or ado
to these estimates as 1t deems wise.
The suggestion was made that in
the process of evolution of the budget
system there shall eventually be
formed a joint congressional budget
committee. This joint committees
duties would be to canvass both the
estimates of the revenue for the en-.
suing fiscal year and the estimates
submitted by the executive of eXpendi-
lures for the government, and then
determine what the total amount OF
the expenditures for that year should
be, and allocate a maximum to be eX.
pended by the various branches OF
the government, as, for instance, the
army, the navy, the Department of Ag-
riculture, etc. Then only by a sus-
pension of the rules of the house and
senate would ii be possible to exceed
this amount. Such a plan, they hold.
would still further tend to put more
business in the government"
Women to Have Headquarters.
The expectation of the General
Federation of Women's Clubs to
establish a permanent clubhouse In
Washington Is an evidence Of the
intention of this organization of
100000 women to watch the work of
congress and the national government.
The house of which the general fed
eratiop Is taking possession Is at No.
1874 N street, N. W., Washington, In
the immediate vicinity of the National
Education building. the National Geo
graphic society, and several embassies.
A group of members of the club
who were interested loaned $4,000 for
the first payment on the house, and
the federation is aiming to raise $780,
roo to cover the purchase price of So
900 and a maintenance fund of $4,000.
1t is expected that the biennial con-
vention of the federation at Chautau-
qua, N. Y, from June q to 80, will
give great impetus to the undertaking.
Once Home of General Miles.
The house was built by Gen. Nelson
A. Miles. AT either side of the en-
frances are offices, to which the legis-
lative, research and distribution head-
quarters of the organization, now In
the Maryland building, are to be
moved. Back of the offices are the
kitchens, pantry and headquarters for
the housekeeper. The second floor has
a music room suitable for an audience
of 200 persons. This opens upon a
tiled conservatory which IN turn leads
by steps into a formal garden. There
Is a white pancled dining room, a re-
ception room with a large fireplace, a
library mi 6O-foot lounge. On the
A
GOVERNMENT BY COMMISSION