Evening star., 1923-04-08
COUNCIL DEFENDS
BUREAU TAX CHART
Prevention of War 0rganlza-
ton Takes Issue With War
Department.

Defense of the chart recently Issued
by the bureau Of efficiency and at
tackled by the War Department as
misrepresenting the relative amount
Of taxes spent for national defense
and past wars was made in a state
ment made public yesterday by the
National Council for Prevention OF
War. The council criticizes budget
bureau chart, showing a greatly re-
duced expenditure of tax funds for
warfare.
The council points out that there
exists a difference of Bal cents In
the two estimates Of how many cents
out of every dollar paid in taxes In
1924 will go toward national defense
and past warfare costs, the efnclency
bureau placing the amount at S5.s
cents and the budget bureau at 5Z'f
cents.
Cause of Difference.
THE difference between these two
estimates" the council declares, arises
from two facts:
"The bureau of efficiency. following
the Rosa plan of estimating govern
ment expenditures. bases its calcula-
tions upon net expenditures for each
department. The bureau Of the bud
get bases its estimates upon the gross
expenditures, including in it's total
the full estimated cost OF virtually
self-supporting departments. such as
the Post Office and expenses more
than Offset by receipts. such as the
Panama Canal appropriation.
By the use of gross expenditures
the denominator is enlarged by over
1,000.000,000. greatly reducing the
percentage of each item.
Contrary to the charge Of the War
nar ~ hn httr m afJcipncV
chart does not include in its army
expenditures either the river and har-
bors or the Panama Canal items.
The second point of difference be-
tween the two charts concerns the
inclusion of the public debt in war
expenditures The bureau of the
budget chart excludes the public debt
and the interest on It from expendi-
lures for war in spite of the fact that
il consists entirely with the exception
of the Panama Canal bond issue. of
bond issues for the war purposes, and
is doubly inconsistent in this ex-
clusion. since il does include pensions
and retirement pay in its 32.7 per
cent for war expenditures.
"A third government department,
the Treasury Department. has also
recently given out expenditure per
centages based on actual expenditures
for 1922. It's figures give 24k 20 as
the expenditure for the War Depart
ment and the Navy department, tndt
is its figures for national defense ex-
ceed the bureau of efficiency figures
by 4.39o."
Cost of War shown.
Edward Clifford. assistant secre-
tary of the Treasury, in a speech be-
fore the Association of the Customs
Bar in New York city on March "a
stated:
During 1922 the sinking fund and
other public debt retirements charge
able against ordinary receipts took
S423, 900. or about 11To of govern
ment expenditures, the Veterans Bu-
reau 07.000.000. or over 104o, and
pensions 1854. 100000, or 10. Thus
these four items. interest on the pub
lie debt. sinking fund, Veterans Bu-
reau and pensions, which are due en-
tirely to past wars, constituted over
one-half-54.6G to be exact. of the
total expenditures. There will prob
ably be little reduction in these dis
bursements during the next few
years"
The Rosa chart and the present
bureau of efficiency chart show
graphically the cost of war as a
method Of settling international dis
putes. The present chart is issued by
the National Council for Prevention
of War as an argument against war
as an accepted method of settling in
ternational disputes"