Evening star., 1926-03-28

4 II tr6SSinG the feU6rdl 1I0dSuIS
| i against any possible leak in
the dyke" are receiving very
serious consideration Of Federal Off
| cials and the law-making body of the
| land.
We have the Budget Bureau to fg-
ure on keeping Government expendl-
| lures about evenly balanced with
| Government receipts. We have the
ways and means committee of the
| House to initiate legislation which
! provides for raising funds through
tariff and internal taxation sufficient
! to pay the costs of Government. we
have the appropriations committees
+! of House and Senate, which must
/ reach an identical agreement, ap-
| proved by both branches of Congress,
| before funds are available. We have
| the controller generals Office as an
auditing agency-responSible directly
| anu solely to Congress-to see that
the Federal funds are expended as
Congress intended they should be
| spent.
Committees ReOrganiZed.
With the adoption of the budget
system, the appropriations committee
reorganized departmentally to give
specialized study to the particular
needs of each department, and took
ranking men of both parties from the
! legislative committees for these de-
partments, which had previously con-
Quoted the appropriations hearings,
| and these specialists from the legis-
lative committees have been chair
men of subcommittees on the depart
| mental appropriations bills.
Now, with the experience or hve
years of actual operation, plans are
being worked out for perfecting the
budget system. One of these con-
templates placing the many scattered
disbursing agents now operating as
employees of widely varied agencies of
| the administrative branch of the Gov
ernment into a corps of specially
trained agencies. under the controller
! general, Systematically distributed In
much the same way as the Federal
Reserve districts, and who will be en-
tirely independent of influence or
| coercion from any administrative Off
Ger or executive of any department,
bureau, board or commission. In this
way a short cut would be made to
assuring that the money appropriated
by Congress for specific purposes
would be spent for just those pur-
poses which Congress intended, and
for no other-whereaS now attempts
are frequently made to have such dis
bursting officers approve vouchers for
expenditures which Congress had
positively disapproved.
Would Cut IL Committees.
Leaders of both the Republican ma
jor.ty and the Democratic minority
in the House now are having a sur
pr'isingly prompt meeting of the
minds" on another proposal to but
tress the Treasury. Representative
r. Walton Moore Democrat, of Vir-
ginia has offered a resolution provid-
ing for elimination of IL minor House
committees which now have jurisdic-
ton over the expenditures in the va
rious departments Of Government and
for public buildings, and replacing
them by one large committee, of 81
members, to act for the House on eX-
penditures In the executive depart
ment, Independent offices and estab-
lishments.
This proposal has received the I'M
mediate and hearty support of Chair
man Madden of the powerful COM
mittee on appropriations. Then came
Representative Tom Connally, Demo
crat, of Texas, who picked up re-
mark by Mr.. Madden that these ex-
listing committees as now organized
by men of the same political faith
as the administration, and they do
not want to investigate their own ad-
ministration.' Mr.. Connally promptly
proposed that the contemplated new
committee on expenditures shall be
composed of a ma jority of the minor
ity party" as q greater check and
safeguard to the interests of the tax
payers of the country. To the sur
prise of the House Mr.. Madden eager
ly agreed that this was a valua BILE
suggestion.
Replying to the thought that this
would be carrying into the legisla-
tive machine the same principle that
we have put into the office of the
controller general" Mr.. Madden said:
Yes, the more investigating power
YOU have, the better it would suit me.
because I believe the Government
ought to be kept as clean as the
hounds tooth everywhere and there
| ought not to be any politics in the
finances of the Government under
any circumstances or under any
party" The vigorous applause which
greeted these remarks showed plainly
that the temper of the House, both
Democrats and Republicans; is IA
lvorable to such a reform.
Wide Powers Are Cited.
Mr.. Madden ever since he has been
chairman of the committee on appro-
priations has been urging the need
for completing the circle of defense
of the Treasury of the United States.
He points out that no committee of
the House has such broad jurisdiction
as these IL committees on expendi-
lures now have-the power to send
for persons and papers, documents of
fall kinds from the departments over
which they have jurisdiction, and to
investigate not only the details of
every expenditure, but they have the
power to investigate the legality of
every expenditure. They could. if they
would, supply the House with informa-
ton which would be invaluable, but
Tthey never have except in one or two
rare instances
Mr.. Madden recalled that Senator
Blackburn of Kentucky while in the
House made great national reputa-
tion by his work as chairman of one
of these small committees. He i'm.
peached the Secretary of War for
lrnalfeasance in Office; he showed up
the rottenness of expenditures and
made for himself a name that was
known all over the United States"
said Mr.. Madden.
/ He suggested that the proposed big
committee on expenditures would act
in conjunction with the appropriations
committee and, with the ways and
means committee, and also with the
controller general of the United
| States. This committee, he argued,
| would fill in a missing link, would
have the power. to investigate, to as
| certain the legitimacy of the expendi-
ture, and ascertain whethey the ex-
penditure was being made according
to law, whether they were being made
extravagantly or conservatively
i lao.. iItaxIriSalIr nd fhig