Evening star., 1933-02-03
More Blind Economy"

More Blind Economy"
The annual appropriation for veter-
ans administration, totaling $685.
838.634-an increase of $4,000, 900
over the current Appropriateness
approved by the House yesterday with
virtually no debate and escaped the
economy barrage that has shattered SO
many other smaller and less important
items Of Government expenditure.
The Senate, meanwhile, occupied It.
self chiefly with discussion of two
amendments to the Treasury-Post
ONCE bill, both Of which it approved.
One Of these authorizes heads of de-
partments to save five per cent of the
total appropriations. while the other
amendment provides that In making
the savings mo wage cuts or furloughs
other than those heretofore in effect or
by this act provided shall be ordered"
If five per cent were cut from the
Post Office appropriation, the net saw
ing would be $35 ,851, ,666 in a bill which
totals about $717.033,37s.
For several reasons the five per cent
cut plan promises to create confusion
worse confounded in the Government
establishment. In the Post Office De-
partment appropriation. for instance
fixed charges from which no deduc-
tons can be made-as these charges
represent contract obligations and
others fixed by law-amount to s233.-
$4,000. That leaves $4S3, ,690,378 to
which the five per cent cut may be
applied. and Of this amount. $435,872,-
9Sl is necessary for salaries. The actual
amount, after deducting fixed charges
and salaries, on which the five per cent
cut may be made is $47817,397, while
five per cent Of the total appropriation
is $35, ,851 ,6S6.
The five per cent cut on the appro-
priation bill means, therefore, that an
unestimated number of employees must
be arbitrarily discharged without re-
gard to civil service status, which they
lose. As the figures quoted above show
the whole amount spent by the Post
Office outside of salaries and non-re-
ducible fixed charges, barely exceeds
five per cent of the total appropria-
ton. And when five per cent OF the
total appropriation is sought from
items other than fixed charges. more
than seven per cent must be cut from
these other items.
Yet it is to be remembered that the
mended by the Budget Bureau repre-
sented minimum of need; that it was
still further examined by the House
and by the Senate Committee. What
the Senate is actually doing is to order
five per cent cut from an irreducible
minimum, and, unable to show where
it can be cut, ordering the department
head to do the ugly job. Senator
Costigan's amendment, which stipulates
that salaries cannot be reduced or
furloughs ordered, while proposed as a
safeguard to employees, has an ironical
ring to it. The pay Of workers cannot
be cut, but the employees can and must
be discharged.
What Is true of the Post Office De-
partment Is true of other departments.
For the Department of Labor, for
instance, there is proposed to be ap-
propriated s734,865. OF this amount
$3.50, ,225 goes for salaries.
There is the additional uncertainty
now as to whether Senator Bratton's
five per cent cut amendment will ap-
ply equally to all departments, or,
as in the case Of the McKellar
ten per cent cut last year, it will ap-
ply only to some of them. If it applies
to some of them, there Is added to
other inequities the obvious evils Of
unjust discrimination. The applica-
ton of the five per cent cut in general
! will be decided when the Senate acts
on the so-called economy sections of
the Treasury-Post Office bill, contain
ing the administrative furlough and the
eight and two thirds salary cut, plus
the proposed additional salary cut Of
one and two-thirds per cent. If this
section is re-enacted, as proposed, the
Costigan amendment, providing that
mo wage cuts or furloughs other than
those heretofore in effect or by this
act provided shall be ordered" will
deny to employees even the small ben
eft Of being placed on indefinite leave
of absence. The employe. instead, will
be dismissed outright.
Congress is again showing its ina
bility to cut anything but the jobs and
the salaries of its own employees, al
ready reduced. The chief evil Of the
Bratton amendment is that it will
force department heads to make re-
auctions which Congress has, in effect
found it either impossible or mad
visable to make. The Senate is order
ing q five per cent cut in q total before
even deciding what that total will be.
Hitler on the Job.
Chancellor Hitler is no Stacker. H.
has been on the job only four days. but