Evening star., 1932-04-08
BUDGET REDUCTIONS OPPOSED
BY MEMBERS OF CABINET
Point Out Methods of EHecting Economies
in Protest Against Flat 10
Per Cent Cut.

Opposition to budget cuts was ex-
pressed by cabinet officers in letters OF
protest against the fat 10 per cent re-
duction ordered by the Senate, but each
pointed out how economies could be
effected. AL said their budgets al
ready had been cut by the President or
the House.
The letters, each addressed to Senator
Jones, chairman of the Appropriations
Committee, were placed in the Con-
gressional Record by Senator Harrison
to substantiate his charge that the
Presidents official family had resisted
departmental economies.
Attorney General Mitchell said there
are three ways to cut his budget 10
per cent: Reducing salaries 10 per cent,
cutting personnel or decreasing the
amount available for the support and
maintenance of prisoners. He declared
salary reduction would not be fair
and strongly opposed q cut in prison
allowance, although he expressed the
opinion that prisoners would not starve
if the quantity and quality of their food
were lowered.
Reasons Pointed Out.
"In my opinion" Mr.. Mitchell said
'the result will be that If the appropria-
ton for this department is to be re-
duced as requested, there must be
something in the nature of a mora
torium in law enforcement.
The entire burden of investigating
and prosecuting violations of the sta
tutes CROWN out of the eighteenth
amendment to the Constitution Is on
this department. The volume of cases
presented by these two agencies large
ly determines the amount of work to
be done by the United States marshals
and the district attorneys. The activ-
ity Of these latter Offices, in turn, very
substantially affects the volume of busi-
ness in the courts. The number and
Importance Of the matters presented
for judicial action determine the cost
OF administering the courts, including
fees of jurors and witnesses, clerical
service, etc. The functioning of these
enforcing agencies and the result of
prosecutions in the courts determine the
number Of Federal prisoners which must
be cared for in the various Federal
prisons and other institutions through
out the country
IF the so-called police activities of
the department are more active, there
Is more business and, consequently,
more expense in the several successive
divisions Of the law-enforcing agencies
mentioned. If, on the other hand, the
police activities are less, there is a
correspondingly smaller volume Of busi-
ness and these other divisions can be
operated at less expense.
Methods Cited.
at is logical. therefore, to assert that
one way in which the department may
reduce expenses in part at least, to the
ooint indicated as desired by the Senate,
Is to curtail the activities of these two
important bureaus. The only way in
which this curtailment can be accom-
plished is to reduce the personnel in
these two bureaus, which reduction in
turn will result in proportionate re-
duction in the personnel Of the offices
Of the district attorneys, marshals, court
attaches, prison administration, and at
the seat of government. In my opinion,
the result will be that If the appropria-
ton for this department Is to be re-
duced as requested. there must be some
thing in the nature of moratorium in
law enforcement. ~
AT the present time, for example.
there are LOIS cases in the Bureau of
Investigation unassigned for investiga-
ton because of insufficient personnel.
The amount appropriated for this
bureau in H r. 9349 is so much less
than the amount available for the cur
rent fiscal year that on July it will
be necessary to separate 49 agents from
the service This reduction will diminish
the man power of the bureau close to
the point where the public interest may
be prejudiced. I need not comment as
to the inadvisability of further cut
in this direction.
Shuns Responsibility.
GAS Attorney General, it is my duty
to enforce all Federal laws to the fullest
extent possible consistent with the
facilities provided by Congress, and I
cannot take the responsibility of ad-
vising Congress that there should be
any diminution in the existing efforts
of the department to see to it that those
who violate the Federal statutes are
dealt with according to law"
In protest, Secretary Of Commerce
Lamont declared: Il see no economy
in discharging at this time hundreds
Of efficient and experienced employees
and destroying organizations of the
bureaus of this department and. at the
same time, appropriating hundreds OF