Evening star., 1932-05-01
ODD|E SEES WASTE
OF MILLIONS IN CUT
Republican Hits "Unthinking,
Unreasoning Hysteria" in
Senate Plan.

of "unthinking, unreasonable hySteria"
that would cost the Government mil |
lions, instead of effecting a saving.
Speaking in the Institute of Public |
Affairs, sponsored by the Columbia |
Broadcasting System, over a Nation |
wide hook-up, Senator Oddie of Nevada |
pointed to the havoc that would be |
worked in the Treasury and postal
services by such procedure and added, |
with regard to the Interior bill, that |
applying this slash to the appropria-
ton for Boulder Dam would, in the
end, prove to be an ineXcusable waste
of Government money" He proposes
to seek revocation of the order.
On the same radio program, Repre-
sentative Treadway, Republican, of
Massachusetts, took the Democratic
leadership in the House to task for
running a tax bill" and "emasculation
of the so-called economy bill," and
forecast the discharge of thousands of
Federal employees and disruption of
postal and other services under the ma
Jority party'S wage program.
Explaining that appropriation bills
were reaching the Senate after the
most careful consideration all along the
| line in the interest of economy, Senator
Oddie explained that the Senate at the !
instance of Senator McKellar Demo- |
| NAoe, VA puI III lIle III per
| cent cut order when the Interior De- |
partment bill reached there from the |
House. The measure carrying funds for |
| state, Justice, Commerce and Labor met |
the same fate, he continued, and then |
came the TreaSury-Post Office bill |
largest of the supply measures carrying |
S1,100,000,0 900, and also ordered cut, |
despite a fight.
| Cabinet Members Views
| Explaining then that the .subcom- |
mittee which he headed called before it |
! Secretary of the Treasury Mills and |
Postmaster General Brown to get their |
views as to how the cut might be ap- |
| piled with least harm, he added that |
their testimony convinced him that "it |
cannot be done unless vital activities of |
the Government, such as the mail serv-
| ice, collection Of customs and income |
| taxes, ETC., are to be crippled or entirely |
paralyzed.
1T is my conclusion" the Western
| Senator said, that this method of man
aging our country's finances is not such
! as the people of this country expect /
/ us to use, and have determined to ask
the Senate to reconsider its order. l |
believe our responsibilities as legislators
are too great to permit this appropri-
alton bill committed to our care to be
torn down by unthinking, unreasonable
| hysteria"
With regard to the Treasury Post
Oftlce appropriation, Senator Oddie de-
tailed the evils the cut would work, as
have been outlined in a series of
| articles now being carried in The Star. J
Because protests came from back
| home" at any cut at the expense of the
building program-a Treasury item
| the Senate, the speaker said, put the
| slash, amounting to more than $4,000
OOO, on the bureaus, including the Bu-
reau Of Internal Revenue, the tax
gathering agency. Secretary Mills, he
amplif1ed, said this would cut the per-
sonnel, and that as a result the Gov
ernment would lose not less than $95,-I
OO0,Oo0 in income taxes, because of in
| adequate checking of returns. Snug
Cling also would increase Oddie said.
Our committee cannot see the
economy Of saving $14,000000 If such
saving means the ultimate loss of
Ss5,OO0,ooO," he emphasized.
Curtailing Is Explained.
Senator Oddie then explained how
the postal service would be curtailed
by slicing 10 per cent, or $4,000, 600
from its appropriation, and bringing it
to the point of decentralization, as
Postmaster General Brown told the
Senate Appropriations Committee
AS for the Interior bill, Senator
Oddie said
No arbitrary cut made by the Sen
ate since 1t went on its economy spree,
more clearly demonstrates the unwis-
dom of percentage slashes than the
cut in the appropriation for Boulder
Dam. This great work, to cost upwards
of Sl65,000,000, is being built under
contract; although work has been in
progress less than two years. the con-
tractor assured of ample funds, is near
ly year ahead of schedule and each
year saved is S5,0o0.00O in interest
charges saved to the Government
Looking forward, the Interior De-
partment, in preparing its estimates
asked for $12,000,000 to carry on work
on this great dam The Budget, look
ing for opportunities to save, reduced |
this figure to $4,000 000 and when |
the bill was presented to the Senate
it carried an appropriation of $8,000,- |
900, the figure the House approved.
When the Senate ordered 10 per cent
slash in the Interior Department bill,
Boulder Dam took a 20 per cent cut, and
as the bill went to the President it
! carried S6000000 just half the amount
held necessary by the department to
continue work at the pace set by the
|
the saving Of upward of $100000 900 if
it could be maintained to the end The
cut in this appropriation, if allowed to
stand, necessarily will slow down prog
reSS on the work It will mean dis
missal Of half the 1000 men now en-
ployed there, 40 per cent of whom
are ex-service men from every State
In the Union and, like every other
arbitrary economy forced by the SEN
IN will odd 70 fha # |
employed. Not only that failure to
provide funds as needed, by slowing
down the work, will pile up the in
terest charges, and an apparent saving,
in the end, will prove to be an mex
cusable waste of Government money"
Destructive Pessimism.
There is much destructive pessi-
mism in the air" Senator Oddie con-
cluded. Our people have been af-
fected by it almost to the point OF
hysteria This period Of depression will
end We should enact constructive
! legislation that will encourage our peo-
| pie, relieve this period of distress in
| sofar as possible, and expedite the re-
turn to normal prosperity"
Representative Treadway, whose
speech was a general criticism OF the
| opposition party, explained what is
| entailed in balancing the budget, and
! bespoke the need for governmental re-
| organization, emphasizing that Presi-
dent Hoover had been urging this re-
| form since the Harding administration /
| when he was Secretary of Commerce.
Now. the Democratic majority in the |
| House. he said, has been endeavoring |
to take from the President the credit |
| which rightfully belongs to him being |
! the pioneer in this effort.
! The omnibus economy bill he de- !
scribed rs full of glaring errors and !
| inconsistencies" The defeat of the /
Presidents furlough proposal Tread !
way characterized as distinct blow |
| to Government employees throughout |
| the country" Visioning it as bringing |