Evening star., 1933-12-25

Lewis Douglas, Federal budget d.
rector, attracts Nationwide attention
as he urges balancing of the budget.
His program Is considered legitimate,
| though it is assumed that under pres
ent conditions there must be two budg-
cts. One Of those is for the regular
expenditures of the Government, while
the other, it is agreed, must be taken
| care Of by deferred obligations. In
some comments it is pointed out that
| the problem Of the future is to handle
the larger amounts within some natural
| debt limit which has not yet been de-
termined.
While diSagreeing with some of the
conclusions Of Mr. Douglas, the Port
land Oregon Journal pays the tribute
| that the same determination and
| steadfastness Of purpose that won him
a citation from Gen. Pershing in the
Argonne offensive, and the War Cross
from the King Of the Relgians for
| post as director Of the Federal budget"
The journal is convinced that his
service as budget director has resulted
in large savings to the country" but it
feels that he has recommended some
economies that showed lack of un-
! derstanding of his subject and its rami-
1 flcations."
AS compared with the recent average
| (four billion dollars annually" re-
| marks the San Antonio Express, "the
Bureau of the Budget has calculated
the Governments prospective outlay for
the fiscal year 1934-35 at $5,375, 900, ,000
| OF that sum, $2,6oo, 900 900 represents
| normal expenditure; the remaining ST.
| IT'S 900 900 is for the emergency How
| ever. Washington officials expect that
ha nd ri
and some predict that next years total
| budget will exceed six billion dollars.
The present double system of Federal
| budgeting does not alter the fact that
| the money must come from the tax
PAYERS pockets, either in the immedi-
| ate or the more remote future. Pre-
sumably the Government will borrow
! the greater portion of its extraordinary
budget, but with the national debt now
above twenty-one billion dollars, that
process has its limitations: Prooany
| by the public works bill last Spring,
and impose some special tax to amortize
the loans 10 be foated over, say, o jU'
year period. At the same time-in con-
| trast to the implied promises OF tax
| relief contained in the Democratic
platform last year-additiona burdens
appear ineScapable."
Observing that the national debt rs
not much below the wartime peak" ;"
the Chicago Daily News argues: "Of
course. emergency expenditures account
for the reversal Of the policy with re.
gard to the debt Instead OF annual
reductions there have been heavy IN
creases Is recognized, but whether the
new policy should be continued. and
/, whether it would be safe to authorize
large additional expenditures on public
! works and temporary relief jobs, is an
other matter. The question is now un-
der earnest consideration. Apparently
the normal budget, now known as the
Presidents budget, will call for the eX-
penditure of $4,000. .000.0 900. But there
the second, or extraordinary, budget.
The public works fund has been viz.
tually exhausted by the allocations ana
| grants already authorized. President
Roosevelt Is credited with desire TO
| ask for only minimum OF fresh funds
| for civil and public works, reports 1ndt-
eating that the sum Is likely to be ST.
500. 100000. But the liberals afdrm that
at least IS O00, 900, 900 should be appro-
priated for continuance Of the, emergen-
cy construction, relief and loan pro-
gram. and some assert that a $4,000
600. 900 appropriation would not be ex-
cessive or injurious to the credit Of the
Government or the soundness Of the
President Roosevelt" says the Char