Evening star., 1932-04-26
BALANCING BUDGET
|By SLASH|NG PERIL
Cut $500, 900, Already,
Congress Members Answer
Business Letter Writers.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Many corporations and business
institutions have asked their stock
holders and members to write to
Congress demanding that the budget
should be blanced entirely by cuts in
expenses and thus avoid any increased
taxes
Members of Congress are busily
engaged in answering such letters and
telling why 1t cannot be done except
by crfppling some of the essential
activities of the Government. The
letter writers are asked specifically to
point out whether they favor weaken
ing the Army and Navy and whether
they want the Government to re-
pudiate it's commitments to war
veterans. Usually the replies avoid a
definite proposal of what specific
economies will be approved.
Circularization Is Begun.
The circularization of stockholders
has begun on large scale by several
of the large corporations. The
argument made Is that the budget of
1927 could now be used and that
the budget for the year ending next
July is more than a billion dollars
higher, and that by going back to 1927
enough money might be saved to
balance the budget without increased
taxes.
The fallacy in the case is, that the
1888 budget now under consideration
reveals a cut of nearly S700 900, 900
from the 1882 figures and yet there is
a prospective deficit of $l,200000, 900
which has to be made up by increased
borrowing Of taxation.
The difficulty about those who are
writing letters to Congress is that they
do not realize what a shrinkage of
income the Federal Government has
suffered due to business conditions
The deficit for the current fiscal year
will run in excess Of two and a half
billions of dollars. This means the
income was something slightly more
than two billions.
The interest on the public debt
costs $640, 900 900 and the Army and
Navy another $3.50, 100000. The ex-
penses of the Veterans Bureau alone
is a billion. Thus these three items
alone total more than $2,290 000, 900
Even II nearly $200.000,000 was cut
out Of the veterans expenses and an
other s100,000,0oO out of the Army
and Navy, the present rate of income
from taxes and other sources would
expenses, Army and Navy and interest
on public debt, to say nothing of the
00,000,000 item on sinking fund or
the s500,000,000 needed to carry on
the civil establishment Of the Govern
ment or the $363, 900 900 for public
works and roads.
Letters Are Welcomed.
Members of Congress say they do
not object to getting letters advocat-
ing economy, and they think it is a
fine thing the citizenship is becoming
aroused, but they feel it is only fair
that those who recommend economy
should not indulge in generalities, but
should specifically say what items
they wish cut out.
Thus If the ARMY and Navy or the
veterans expenses or any particular
departments are to be cut, the people
here would like to know exactly what
services are to be dispensed with. A
private business corporation can termi-
nate commitments and even liquidate
But the Federal Government cannot
do any such thing. 1t has to keep
faith on its contracts and the Congress
men who refuse to keep commitments
they have made, find themselves
Congressman who will
In otter words any drastic revision
of the veterans expenses would cost
many a Congressman his position and
would lead to the election of other
Congressman who would obey the
mandate of the veterans. This is the
plain truth as expressed by many a
legislator.
Even the revision proposed by the
Veterans Bureau itself which would
save $80,000,00 is having hard sled
ding and may not pass in its entirety
The letters directed to Congress II sent
to the groups back home would relieve
the pressure here. Many letters from
business groups are coming in demand
ing increased expenditure as fol
instance for postoffices and rivers and
harbor work The contention is made
that 1t helps unemployment to have
the Federal Government spend money
The Congress would like to cut further
but before this can be done the consent
of the groups back home will have tc
obtained or a public opinion stronger
than the minority groups developed
in the constituencies to support the
Congressman who are willing to WELD
the axe.
PIIcCIANC M c0NcERT