Evening star., 1932-04-21
Chaotic Economy.

The conferences between the Presi-
dent or his representatives and the
House Economy Committee promised
for a time to bring some semblance OF
order out of chaotic attempts to bal
ance the Federal budget by drastic and
ill-considered slashes in pay and gov
ernmental functions.
There is danger now that these con-
ferences will come to nothing. There
is a 0eplorab!e lack of that careful
coordination between legislative and
administrative branches of the Gov
ernment that must exist if grave in
justices to Federal workers and seri-
Gus and harmful curtailment of gov
ernmental functions are 30 be pre-
vented.
The administrative branch of the
Government fears, and rightly so, that
the policy of reducing departmental
appropriations by fat ten per cent
cut will create havoc in the depart
ments, resulting in the outright dis
charge of thousands of faithful and
efficient public servants upon whom the
Government depends for the daily
transaction of necessary business and
will serve to cripple the Federal ma
chinery. These fears are voiced in the
letter sent by Secretary of the Treasury
Mills-who is probably more directly
concerned with wise budget balancing
than any single officer of the Govern
ment-to Senator Oddie. They are
presented by Secretary of the Interior
Wilbur and by Postmaster General
Brown. Such fears cannot be pro-
nounced groundless by partisan critics,
Of responsibility.
But one has only to realize that this
ten per cent cut plan has been adopted
by the Senate without any considera-
tion either of the economy plans recon-
mended by the President or under con-
sideration by the House Economy Com
mittee to understand the utter lack of
considerate planning it represents.
1t is to be borne in mind that both
the Budget Bureau and the depart
ment heads cut the estimates to the
bone before sending them to the House
A superficial study of the difference
between the estimates and the appro-
priations voted by the House Is enough
to convince any one that the House
did not permit the expenditure of a
single penny that could be saved. But,
on reaching the Senate, the bills have
been cut another ten per cent-the
cuts being made to achieve an arbi-
trarily set reduction. And on Monday,
by a process that eliminated dissent
and precluded any consideration, the
House machine approved the Senate
cut and shot the Interior Department
bill to the White House.
That is only part of the picture
Without any consideration of the steps
being taken by the Senate, the House
Economy Com mittee is hard at work
on other drastic measures. With the
Senate agreeing to arbitrary Slashes
that will mean, unless modified, the
outright dismissal of thousands of Fed
eral employees not only in Washington
but throughout the country, the House
Economy Committee is still weighing
the relative merits of enforced fur
loughs and straight salary cuts. And
while the Speaker of the House deplores
the lack of Intelligent aid" from the
administration, which has gone to the
extent of writing an economy bill down
TO the last details, and criticizes Secre-
tary Wilbur for doing nothing in the
name of economy-"hocus pocus or
otherwise" House Economy Com
mittee proceeds to eliminate two ad-
mtnistration proposals that would save
about s28,OO0oOO in aid to veterans,
question whether to give the President
the authority he has asked to effect
reorganization economies, when no one
else has been willing to effect them.
Secretary Mills, Postmaster General
Brown and Secretary Wilbur have
pointed out the actual results of apply
ing the Senate's ten per cent cut plan
In one case Mr.. Mills shows that the
Federal Government would throw some
thirteen hundred deputy collectors OF
internal revenue out of work in order to
save their salaries, but through such ac-
ton would fail to collect an estimated
S50,000,O0O in taxes. In order to save
$3,7l6 in annual salary of revenue
agent, the Government would sacrifice
q possible $105, 900 in collections. The
same principle of false economy under
the ten per cent cut holds true in other
departments. The ten per cent fiat re-
duction in departmental appropriations
is not economy-it is utter waste. The
failure to coordinate the forces work
ing for Government economy threatens
to degenerate into pitiable spectacle Of
leaderlesS Government.
Both Mr.. Smith and Mr. Roosevelt