The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1935-12-05
THE GREAT
GAME OF
POLITICS . .
nv FRANK r KEN
Copyright by the Baltimore Sun and
reprinted in The Republican by
special permission.
Mr.. Farley FIO0red Again
By FRANK r. KENT,
Washington, Nov. 80

Mr.. Farley FlOOred Again
Washington, Nov. 80.
1t is true that Mr.. Farley is not a
person of large Importance, nor do his
views on public questions carry great
weight. 1t seems hardly worth while
getting excited when he makes absurd
and inaccurate statements. For one
thing, he makes too many of them.
However, preposterous as is his pose
as a statesman, he does succeed in i'm
pressing certain credulous people, and
it is somewhat soothing to the sense of
justice when, after one of his more
blatant outbursts, he is effectively
shown up. This happened last year
when he proudly pointed to Surplus"
in his department instead of a deficit,
modestly initiating that this was a
tribute to his own genius and that Mr..
Roosevelt and the country were to be
congratulated upon having such par
agon as Postmaster General.
National interest being conferred up
no more vital things, Mr.. Farley would
have gotten away with this had it not
been for the vigilant correspondent of
the Providence Journal, Mr.. Ashmun
Brown, who, with cold Treasury fig
ures, proceeded to show that this "sur-
plus" was the hollowest sort of fake,
an impudent claim, completely dis
proved by the facts. The result was the
Farley Surplus" became a general
joke. 1t might be thought that one ex-
perience of this sort would have been
enough for Mr.. Farley. Perhaps his
memory is poor. Or maybe he thought
Mr.. Brown no longer on the job. At any
rate, his recent Denver speech con-
tanned these words: while the emer-
gency expenditures are vast, the rou-
tine costs of the Government have been
steadily cut down. By this l mean that
the regular activities of the depart
ments have been diminished by some
thing approaching a billion dollars a
year"
When Mr.. Brown, in his Washington
office, read these words he seized his
typewriter and wrote as follows: "Why
his speech writer should have put such
a bare-faced Misrepresentation
use a gentle word-into Farley's mouth
is something not even to be guessed.
The facts are set forth so plainly in
the daily statements Of the Treasury
that one wonders why anyone should
falsify them in this fashion and expect
to be believed. Truth is, as shown by
the Treasury records, the routine costs
Of the government, as set forth in
what is termed the regular budget as
distinguished from the emergency
budget, show a vast increase since
March, 1888. In the present fiscal
year, for example, from July down to
and including November 81, the regu-
lar budget expenditures have been
$1,672, 762, 1896, as against $780,
SOL ,447.71 in the corresponding period
last year, an increase Of $685., $780,
905.95. Farley's own department has
contributed to that increase. On No
vember 81 the postal deficit was
$25,014,655.08, as compared with a
deficit of $15,o24,176.13 on the cor
responding date last year, an in
crease Of $4,000, 479.95."
During the full 1885 fiscal year end
ed on June 80 last the expenditures of
the regular budget were 1921, 234,
634.76, an increase Of $500, 1920, 100.62
over the total regular budget expendi-
lures for the fiscal year ended June
80, 1884. The claim by Farley of a
decline in routine expenditures by
something approaching billion dol
lars year." is so fantastic, so alb
surd and so false that it is not to be
excused on any ground. Following the
paragraph quoted above, Farley to-
day at Denver said:
81 might mention my own depart
ment, that of the postofice, as an in
dication. We inherited over there an
annual deficit running up to $150,000,-
600 year. Today we are paying our
bills out of our income.
GAS set forth above, the Treasury
Department shows he is doing nothing
of the sort. He has had to call on the
Treasury for more than S25,000,00C
since July l to get enough money to
pay his bills"
This is the second bout between Mr.
Farley and Mr.. Brown over Farley's
mathematics. In both Mr.. Brown has
fairly hoored Mr., Farley. The latter