Evening star., 1933-01-27
Too Late TO Start Now.

Too Late TO Start Now.
It is not political cowardice alone. as
Senator Tydings inferred. that prevents
4 balanced budget. More than courage
b required to keep Government expen-
ditures within Government income. II
political cowardice alone were respon-
sible for the uncertainty now prevailing
over Senate policy On the pending ap-
preparation bills, Senator Tydings'
tongue flashing. administered in the
Senate yesterday, would have been fully
deserved
But political cowardice Is only part
cf the difficulties faced by this short
session Of Congress. 1t Is not certain
that the courage implied In adoption OF
q resolution to keep all appropriations
within curtailed Government income
would not turn out to be imprudent
rashness. Congress cannot within the
space Of little more than . month be
expected to balance the budget by
blindly slashing expenditures on the
running expenses Of the Federal Gov
ernment, with some cuts In the direc-
tion of subsidies and veterans aid, and
expect to do 1t without creating q de-
gree Of Generalization approaching
chaos in the machinery of Government.
Senator Robinson yesterday pointed
out that while he was in full sympathy
with Senator Tydings' efforts, there was
another side Of the picture. That side
Of the picture Is the spectacle OF q
Congress which, With almost two
months Of It's three month session gone,
most of 1t spent In sudden and futile
spurts in all directions. followed by
periods Of disgraceful inaction, starts
to hack appropriation bills arbitrarily
to bring the expenditures down to the
receding level of national income, with
the result that the attendant confusion
will be 80 great that the appropriation
bills themselves will probably be lost In
the dust, with the prospect that few, II
any, of them will emerge before March 4.
OF course, Senator Tydings is alb
solutely correct in pointing out again
that Government costs have got to be
cut, some of them pretty ruthlessly, and
that In the end it Is as demorali1ng
for . Government to spend more than
It receives as for an individual to do the
same thing. But less than month
ago House leaders formally abandoned
efforts to balance the budget at this
short session Of Congress. The horror"
Of q sales tax was too much for them
and there were other complications.
Where on earth Is the logic of deci-
don by one branch of Congress at this
late date to take up budget balancing
when everybody knows that budget bal
ancing under the circumstances, II at
tempted according to the Tydings plan,
Is impossible? As Senator Robinson
pointed out, This budget
business is not as simple as some have
stated. 1t is extremely difficult at this
time, when prices are falling and in
comes are diminishing. = We talk q
great deal about economy here and
about balancing the budget. But we
have done little toward that end. When
the time comes to make reductions we
break up into factions, with the result
that little or nothing is done" And
with the record Of this short session Of
Congress IN mind, everybody knows
what the possibilities are for any real
constructive budget balancing In the
short time that remains.
The country would receive more real
inspiration and confidence if the Senate
got down to earth and transacted the
necessary and highly important bust
ness Of approving the appropriation bills
before March 4. leaving questions OF
major governmental fiscal policy, relief
etc, until the swearing in of the new
Congress with a workable majority
Nothing constructive can be done now
BY whiting away on the relatively
small expenditure that represents nor
NAL maintenance of governmental func-
tions. The Democratic program for
economy and reconstruction cannot be
put into effect until after March 1
To attempt a hah-hearted application
Of some Of its features now would be
useless and furnish further dishearten-
ing evidence Of the confused bewilder-
ment of Congress