Evening star., 1934-12-23
BY ERNEST X. LINDLEY.

While the secrets of the forthcom-
ing budget remain the possession Of
President Roosevelt and not more than
two or three advisers, examination OF
New Deal finances now reveals that
if he wished to do so, the President
could assemble a fund of more than
$5, 900 100000 for public works ex-
penditures next year without permit
ting the national debt to rise beyond
the figures set in his fiscal messages
last Spring.
To accomplish that the President
would have to use the excess unallo-
Gated profits from gold devaluation
and the large balance Of the exchange
stabilization fund that has not been
called into use.
$31,S24, ,000, 900 Maximum Set.
There have been many indications
that the President intends to try to
put to work all the people on the re-
lief rolls who are able to work-or at
least one able-bodied member Of each
family-and that he will ask Congress
to appropriate between $4,000, 900 900
and Sc 600, 900 900 for that purpose.
In his budget message of January
of this year the President estimated
the public debt as of July /, 1885, at
$31 1924, ,0000 900 and proposed to make
that maximum. He estimated deficit
of SH309, 600, 900 for the fiscal year
1894, ended June 80 of this year, and
deficit of 81 1886, 900 900 for the fiscal
year 1885, ending June 80, 1885, or
total deficit for the two years Of
SO ,295 200, 900. He proposed to bal
ance the budget in the year 1896, end
ing June 80, 1886.
All the net budgetary estimates OF
year ago have gone awry. 1t has
been taken for granted for months
that no attempt will be made to bal
ance the budget for the fiscal year
1896, with which the forthcoming
budget message will deal However,
the pace of New Deal expenditures
has Jagged far behind that predicted
by the President in his message of
last January. As q consequence the
administration has reserves on which
it can call for expenditures In the
fiscal year 1896.
Increased by S525, 900, 200.
The maximum debt figure given by
the President last January was in
creased by s525, 100000 last June by
the appropriation for drought relief.
In recommending this appropriation.
the President specifically stated that
it arose from an unforeseen demand
and that 1t was an addition to the
budgetary plan Of January. Thus the
maximum debt figure was raised to
$32, $50 900 900, and the estimated
combined deficit figure for the fiscal
years 1884 and 1885 was increased
to SO, ,S2O, 900 900.
The actual deficit for the fiscal
year 1884 was $3.50 900 900, as
against the estimate of $7,309, ,O00, 900.
The deficit for the year 1888 up to
December 20 was, in round figures,
ST. ,645 900 900. If the present rate Of
expenditures were maintained until
June 80, the deficit for the current
fiscal year would be approximately
So. 500 900, 900 against the estimate Of
50, 900 ,000, 900. The combined deficit
for the two years would be $7,489,-
900. 900, against the estimate of So
820, 100000 The difference, which
would be available for expenditure
in the fiscal year 1896 without in
creasing the NATIONAL debt beyond
s32, $50 900 900, would be $751;
00O, 900.
The next reserve on which the
President can call is the free gold in
the Treasury. On December 20, this
amounted to $3.50, 100000. of which
$807, ,174 900 came from the balance
of the increment resulting from re-
valuation of the dollar, after the
50 900 900 900 stabilization fund had
been set aside. A small free gold item
is customarily carried on the Treasury
books. For the purposes Of this cal
culation it is assumed that only the
profit" from devaluation, amounting
to $807, ,174,000 is used.
$780, ZOO, 900 in Gold Left.
OF the total of $4,000 100000 set
aside for exchange stabilization only
$500, 900 900 has been put to use. The
operations of the exchange stabiliza-
ton fund are carefully shrouded in