Evening star., 1923-02-18
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

~ CONOMICAL methods adopted
E by the House appropriations
committee and the House in
dealing with the military ac-
tivities carried in the War Department
appropriation bill. while at the same
time adding to the sums carried for
the non-military activities (the rivers
and harbors appropriations particu-
larly), has given rise to not a little
discussion at the Capitol as to the
advisability of separating these mill
tary and non military appropriations
when 1t comes to legislation in the
next Congress.
The bureau Of the budget submitted
estimates for the fiscal year 1924 for
the military activities amounting to
$3.50. .3s4,200. and for the non-military
activities amounting to $56,3s9.779.2s.
The House appropriations commit
tee always takes the first whack at
all proposed appropriations. When
it considered the War Department
bill this year it cut the amount for
the military activities to s24s.797,051.
In other words 1t Topped off some $12,-
100000. But when 1t came to con-
slider the non military activities. and.
as has been said. particularly the
rivers and harbors item, in which so
many Of the members of the House
and of the Senate are interested, be-
cause the money must be expended
in their districts or states for i'm
provements to those districts and
states what did the committee do?
Money for Rivers and Harbors.
The committee did not cut the ap-
propriations for the rivers and har-
borS-far from it. The committee
added between 100000 and s10.-
100000 to the budget estimate Of
$4,000 for the rivers and harbors.
But don't overlook this fact-the
committee was able to point with
pride to the fact that the total car
ried in the War Department appro-
priation bill-popularly known as the
Army bill-had been cut by about
s5,700000 below the estimates sub
mitted by the budget bureau. The
committees record for economy, ap
parently. was intact.
And how did the committee accom-
plish this? Why, by pairing down the
items proposed for the national de-
fense, in order to offset what in some
quarters have been called the pork
barrel" increases. They cut the items
for the Regular Army in number of
instances below the budget figures.
and they took great slices off the
sums proposed by the budget bureau
for the training of the so-called citi-
Gems army.
For Citizen Soldiery.
The decreases made in the items
for the training Of citizens to bear
arms and command troops were prob
ably far more serious than the cuts
made for the Regular Army. In the
first place. the lesson taught by the
great war has been to the effect
that the United States-or any other
country-if it desires to be in a posi-
tion to defend itself, must train
citizens to fight, must develop as
large number of reserve officers as
possible. So the plan has been to
maintain a small standing army and
TO give as much training as possible
to citizens, without seeking at all
to make a militaristic nation out OF
this country.
Provision was made by law for
the organized reserve and for the
National Guard. There are the re-
serve officers, the r. o. T. C.-the
Reserve Officers Training Corps
made up Of students in schools and
colleges the country over, the citi-
zenS military training camps and.
last but by no means least, the
National Guard. These are organi-
cations where the citizen soldiery
gets its training. But what did the
House committee do to these activ-
fties when it handled the appropria-
ton bill? The House itself, follow
ing the lead of the committee, in
some instances reduced the items
still further.
The House committee reduced the
amount estimated for the pay and
allowances Of the Officers Reserve