The Washington times., 1923-10-30

Financial Expert So Adds, in
Telling How System Safe
guards Taxpayers.
BY B. C. FORBES.
Noted Financial Expert.

@sA0hJ JOaAo 0SO 4 ASC0 W ~
tend meetings of the multi-mil-
lionaires of the great gold mines
In the Transvaal- mines which
produce half the total gold which
comes annually from the earth.
It was a common thing for the
mining engineers to bring for
ward beautiful plans for achiev-
ing dazzling development feats.
Often these plans hadn't a single
fault-except that they would
have well nigh ruined the COM
panies, so costly were they. The
mine owners had to apply the
knife severely; their duty waste
bring the proposed expenditures
into feasible magnitude. This
check saved the companies and
yet permitted them to 60 ahead
with all reasonable developments.
Our huge department stores now
adays usually have a merchandise
man." Buyers and heads o. de-
partments often allow themselves
to be carried away by their entliu-
siasm, and become eager to buy
enormous quantities Of certain goods.
Were such enthusiasts allowed a
free hand, they would sometimes
order. for one department and an
other, enough merchandise to ill
the store several times overland
enough to jeopa-dize, If not break,
the credit Of the house. ALI pur-
chases, however, have to be o. KID.
by the merchandise man. He sees
to It that purchases are kept within
bounds, and that the. concerns
finances are not avoidably over
strained.
In every well-managed organiza-
ton of any size there is some
eystem for planning and regulat-
ing expenditures. A budget is care
fully drawn up fer the coming
season or the coming year. The
proposed expenditures are scru-
tlnized and analysed exhaustfyely
by the most responsible execu-
tives. And the budget finally de-
cided upon is closely adhered to.
It is commonly admitted that
the most extravagantly-m managed big
organization in America is the
Federal Government.
Until two years ago not even
the slightest attempt was MADE
TO formulate and adhere to an an
nuai budget.
President Harding and General
-
gress, instituted measures to formu-
late a budget system.
And the results have been Il
valuable. They have meant Til
saving to you and me and other
taxpayers of a vast amount Of
money.
Excellent" you say. "Rotten"'
cry a horde of politicians who
revel in getting their claws into
the old-time pork barrel"
These log-rolling- pin-headed poll
ticians are banding together to
throw the whole budget system on
the scrap heap.
It interferes with their little
game of FLEEING from the public
treasury all sorts of big and little
sums for all sorts of projects
to distribute money among their
favorite constituents.
How do you like the prospect?
Do you want to be subjected to
q few more severe turns of the
taxation screw?
Which do yo- ,.ant to have the
80
Of the hard-earned money you are
compelled to hand over TO the Gov
eminent in the form of heavy
taxes?
Do you want the spending of
your money to be scrutinized and
supervised by the capable, indie
pendent men entrusted with the
drawing up of the budget, men
whose sole aim is to have the
Government of the nation admins
tered capably and efficiently, and
who have no constituents cIamor-
ing for swill from the Treasury
trough?
Or. do you want to give George
and Bill and Fred and other poll
ticians, elected from this. that and
the next community, an absolutely
free hand to show their friends
back home how to take care of
chums who worked for their cleo
ton and friends who voted for
them?
Is the United States Government
to be the only large organization
in the land whose expenditures
heavier than any other organiza-
tion-are to be subjected to no
"A ,.: Aassatszz #a=:::s. E.A.sasai li; &. =,
lIlIz!lllIIIII!!