Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-11-08
The Budget.

The Budget.
Park to return to Washington, said he
was going to try to balance the budget.
Millions of those who voted for him, as
well as millions of those who voted
against him in the recent election, will
wish him success in the task. 1t may be
a more difficult task for the very reason
that the administration has been on the
spending side during nearly four years.
Those who have gone to the well of the
Federal Treasury are likely to go there
again.
Conditions in this country, however,
are vastly improved. Business has been
increasing. Industry is thriving. the
building trades are active. Farm prices
are up. Jobs are becoming more and
more plentiful. All these conditions
were contributing factors to the re-
election of the President. They are the
factors which should make it easier to
balance the Federal budget. Revenue
for the Federal Government is growing
because of this increase in business and
increase in incomes. And the increased
activity in industry is making it pos
sible-or should make it possible-to take
hundreds OF thousands or millions OF
workers off relief and work-relief rolls.
A further step should be to take thou
sands of the Government pay rolls Of
the emergency agencies.
1t would be an impossibility either to
balance the budget overnight or to strip
thousands of employees from the Gov
eminent rolls. The President must be
credited, however, with serious desire to
bring the expenditures and the receipts
of the Government into balance. He
takes no pleasure in mounting Gov
eminent debt that must be paid for by
the people, or in huge annual deficits.
His announcement that he is going to
try to balance the budget is indicative
of his feeling in the matter. Even now
the Bureau of the Budget is working
on estimates for the next fiscal year.
Instructions are going to department
heads, and also to heads Of emergency
bupeaus-some Of whom have considered
the supply of money for their uses in
exhaustible-that serious cuts must be
made in their demands.
Too many persons in the executive
departments and too many members OF
Congress have been going on the theory
that their pet projects should be financed
heavily financed. The sum total of
their requirements has been colossal.
The sum total of their demands for
appropriations in the next session of
Congress will continue colossal unless
the President takes firm stand. It Is
more difficult to take away than to give.
The demands that will be made upon
the President will be enormous. How
ever, he is in position, backed by the
people. to enforce his demand for cur
tailment of appropriations.
Governmental economy cannot be had
II new and costly bureaus are to be
added. with new duties to perform. The
demands made upon the President will
not be merely for more appropriations
for public works and for w. P. A. They
are likely to take the form of requests
for additional agencies of Government to
perform new services for the people or
for supervision of the activities of the
people. Every time new bureau is
created. even a so-called temporary
bureau, there Is the chance not only that
1t will become permanent agency of
Government, but that it will grow and
become more costly. The time has more
than arrived when it is necessary for
Uncle Sam to count the cost. no matter
how beneficial the services proposed.
The President sounded q sane and
useful note when he declared so quickly
on the heels Of his reelection that he
intended to try to balance the budget.