Evening star., 1932-01-25
No New Apnrppriatlons.

Speaker C "ner has called upon the
Democratic cha.rmen of the standing
committees of tie House and their
committees to keep down goyernm-ntal
expenditures this year by the practical
means OF not proposing legislation for
additional appropriations, The Speaker
Is much to be commended. Literally
hundreds OF bills have been introduced
in House and Senate already authoriz-
ing new projects Of one kind or an
other, calling fog the expenditure of
billions Of dollars. With a Treasury
6eficit staring the country in the face
and increased taxes about to be levied,
economy is the essence Of common
sense.
Economy has to begin in the Con-
gress. If legislation authorizing new
governmental expenditures is put
through that body and is finally en-
acted into law, either with or without
the approval of the President OF the
United States, the expenditures follow.
Authority of law then exists for these
expenditures and the Budget Bureau is
called upon fer estimates for them.
The present large governmental budget
of expenditures has bsen built up over
a long period of years by the addition
here and there of new appropriations
for new projects. The Federal Gov
ernment has undertaken to perform
functions that shculd be assumed by
the States for the people within those
States But advocates Of various re-
forms have not been content to leave
the matter to the States; they have
insisted that Uncle Sam himself under
taEe them. In so doing they may have
obtained short cut to the end they
sought But at the same time they
have added enormously to the struc-
ture of the Federal Government, CEN
tralized in Washington, and have piled
millions upon millions OF dollars Of
expenditures on the backs Of the tax
payers.
In his letter to the chairmen Of COM
lnittees of the House Speaker Garner
said: 1T is our sincere hope that no
bill authorizing additional appropria-
tons will be reported at this session
unless very compelling and urgent rea-
sons can be shown therefor"
The House Committee on Appropria-
tons already has slashed the budget
estimates submitted to Congress In pre-
pairing the first deficiency bill and the
agricultural appropriation bill, redue-
ing the total for the two measures by
about $4,000, 900. That committee is
prepared to make reductions below the
estimates submitted when they con-
slider other bills. But the Appropria-
tions Committee cannot do it all. There
must be cooperation on the part OF
the legislative committees of the House.
President Hoover has declared again
and again that governmental expendi-
lures must be pared down wherever
ment service and the country itself
With Congress and the Chief Executive
both working toward this end, TIE situ-
alton looks more and more hopeful
Nevertheless, eternal vigilance is the
price Of economy, for great pressure
for additional appropriations for vari-
Gus projects will come from many well
meaning groups of citizens during the
present session Of Congress.
Incidentally attention may well be
called to the fact that far more ef-
fective work for economy may be ac-
complished through the denial of new
appropriations than through reduc-
ton Of pay of the Federal employees
and officials, a reduction which would
be q signal for wage and salary slash
ing in private business and industry
! the country over.