Evening star., 1924-01-13
BY HERBERT COREY.

Budget making is not a complicated
sees 1t. On the contrary, 1t Is as
simple as an egg. There Is but one
rule to follow:
1T is not enough to know where
the money has gone"
t'We must know where it is going"
Add 10 that Gen. Lords pet phrase
the capillary attraction of eco
| nomy"-which means that economy
| soaks up from the lower levels Of
| the government service until It gets
to the top. and you have the whole
thing. He thinks that this years
| budget Is better than last years
better yet. The government is grad
! ually adopting business methods.
The men and women Of the govern
| ment service are beginning to see
| opportunities to- save money. The
| that illustrates the change.
"An exhorter in n darky camp
meeting" he says, was praying out
! loud:
Lord. give US more power
Another interrupted him;
Brother said he. what you needs
is not more power. but more ideas"
Lord has the ideas. He has always
! had Ideas about saving money. He
| silver dollar looks about the size
Of the sun in the fog. Money was
! not plentiful In Maine when he was
a boy. It was regarded almost rev.
erentially. 1t was never an end
there are mighty few Yankee misers
but 1t was always means. 1t was
| to be spent with circumspe ction. so
, that for each dollar there might be
proper return.
Good at Watch-DoxEinE.
In 1914, when he returned from the
Philippines, where he had been in
charge Of government finance. Con-
gress appropriated 100000 for the
| relief OF fire sufferers at Salem, Mass,
and gave him tho job of Watchdog
sing. Every legitimate need was
met. Each unfortunate was helped.
By and by Salem began to ask:
"Ffow much is left?'
Il won't tell" said Lord.
If Salem had known, the pressure
for more aid would nave been un-
ending. The thought that Il large
part OF that sum might be sent back
bearable. Because Salem was not
tempted by a visible bait Lord was
able to return $152.O00. That never
happened in any other similar case.
so far as the records show. 1t is
sample not only OF his Yankee thrift
but Of his Yankee canniness. He re-
moved a temptation.
The theory of budget making is
easily understood. In the old days
Congress made appropriations upon
the estimates of the various heads of
de partments. Then a sufficient reve-
nue. was levied to pay the bills. The
war so increased the taxes that this
hit-or.niss plan was no longer possi-
BILE. Now the President, with ,the aid
of the governments officers OF
finance. makes an estimate of the
probable government revenues for
the coming year. The department
heads are given a limit within which
they must keep. Then Lord makes
them prove that the expenditures
they ask are justified. Right there
| IS where their shoes pinch. Last
year the President estimated that the
government could safely spend S1.653.-
OF the payment OF principal and In
terest on public debts and similar
non-compressible items.
The departments demanded 81, zoe, 900.
Got Less. But Glad to Get 1t.
When they got through with Lord
they accepted s1.645.0oo, 900. and were
glad to get it. That was $8,000,00o
less than the President had allowed
and $1s.0oo.oo0 less than the depart
ments had asked. Yet the govern
ment service has never been so good.
Next year 1t will be better. The fol-
lowing year it will be better yet, be-