Evening star., 1923-11-26

of claims; s7.oo0.00O on account of
Russian relief, under the act ap-
proved December %, 1921: $4,000. 900
to be paid as the 1928 installment
under the treaty with Colombia, and
n possible s50,00o.o00 on account of
additional compensation to govern
pent employes-a total of SIP, ,0O0.-
600. chiefly for 1923 . The net
reduction below the budget figures
must be still further reduced within
the next two years and must aggre-
gate about S300,000.000 to overcome
the indicated deficit. There is
grave doubt whether the estimates of
receipts which appear in the budget
can be realized. and up to date the
shrinkage has rather more than kept
pace with the shrinkage of expendi-
lures"
1t appears, from the above. that the
secretary's estimate looked for a def
icit of $500. .000. 900 for the fiscal year
1923. which actually gave a surplus
of 1910, 900, 900, in round figures-a
span between prophecy and fact of
S610,0o0,000.
In the report of the budget bureau,
July 1, 1923, 1t appears that in Feb
ruary. 1928, the budget bureau had
predicted a deficit of s1So,0O0.000. yet
when the year ended, June 80, there
was a surplus of exactly s309,657.-
450.30. That latitude of the guess,
after more than half the year had
passed, amounting to nearly half a
billion dollars, proves the range of
forecast. The total expenditures of
the government amount to only seven
times that discrepancy.
X X 4 x
Inextricably involved In the politi-
cal controversy likely to arise in
connection with the proposed tax re-
duction, when 1t reaches Congress, Is
the question of adjusted compensa-
tion to the veterans of the world
war, for the advocates of the one are
fighting the other. Secretary Mellon
in his letter above referred to says.
New or enlarged expenditures
would quickly eat up the margin
for reducing the burden of taxation
and to embark on any soldiers bonus,
such as was considered in the last
Congress, or any other program call
ing for similarly large expenditures.
would make it necessary to drop all
consideration of tax reduction, and
consider, instead, ways and means for
providing additional revenue. A
soldiers bonus would postpone tax
years to come. 1t would mean an
increase rather than a decrease in
taxes. for in the long run it could be
paid only out Of moneys collected
by the government from the people
in the form of taxes"
Secretary Mellon had previously
estimated, In letter to Chairman
Fordney:
"On the most conservative esti-
mates, therefore, the cost of the
soldiers bonus, In the first two years.
would probably be not less than
$3.50. 900. 900"
Commenting on the Treasury's esti-
mates of revenue, deficits and sur
pluses, Mr.. John Thomas Taylor, at
torney for the American Legion,
writes to the ways and means COM
mittee chairman:
According to the figures prepared
by the Treasury Department for the
Senate finance committee, the SOL
diers' measure will cost s242, 100000
for the first three-year period. or
an average slightly more than $50
100000 year. This pro-
posed cut of ss5,ooo,ooO a year for
justed compensation bill. year by
year, although Mr.. Mellon proposes
tax reductions Of s323,000,000 a year,
or four times the sum needed to pay
it."
Referring to the span between the
prophesied deficit of $1S0,000.000 and
the actual surplus OF $4,000, 900,
Mr.. Taylor says:
'FYou may not realize 1t, but the
official records of Congress show that
In the past two years Mr.. Melons
official miscalculations concerning
government finances total a greater
sum than the entire amount the ad-
tusted compensation bill would cost
III paid in a lump sum. The records
of Congress show that these Official
miscalculatlons were made In state
ments opposing the soldiers meas
prs"
turpyrtxAs. fp1s. b. Paul n. Coliiza.,