Evening star., 1937-05-02
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Member Of the Annotated Press.
Economy Fever.

Every citizen who Is conscious Of the
dangers inherent In continued deficits
and continued borrowing to make them
up will applaud the administration
sudden interest in economy. But are
current economy efforts merely to re-
peat the fruitless panicky running
around in circles that marked the last
great drive for economy in the closing
months Of the Hoover administration and
the early days of the present administra-
ton? Experience should have taught
the futility and the confusion OF arbi-
trary, horizontal cuts. Real economy Is
not practiced that way.
Perhaps the mental jolt to the con-
gressional mind caused by a sudden re-
versal Of policy has produced the present
signs OF hysteria at the Capitol. Rep
resentative Cannon's proposal TO i'm
pound fifteen per cent of all appropria-
tions, such funds to be released only by
the President, sounds more like passing
the economy buck to Chief Executive
who has never stunned additional
powers and responsibilities than it indi-
Gates any permanent retrenchment
policy. Senator Byrnes' alternative of a
fat ten per cent cut in all appropria-
tions harks back to the short-lived
economy days of 1928, resurrecting the
specter of an economy act that created
more inequities than it saved dollars
And confusion is added to the picture
by representations that Mr. Cannon's
plan is favored by the White House,
while Mr.. Byrnes' plan wins the i'm
mediate endorsement of Senate Leader
Robinson
1t is q characteristic of sudden econ
omy waves, however, that the econo-
mixers proceed wildly in all directions
at the same time. That was true in
1892 when no sooner had the appropria-
tons committees applied ten per cent
cut to few bills than the newly created
Economy Committee produced its econ
omy bill and added its provisions, willy
amy, w SuCo dAA CdOS
Including savings in the Department
of Agriculture appropriation bill made
possible by unexpended soil erosion
funds, the House and Senate have
already cut appropriation bills about
sl85 100000 below budget estimates. This
total may later be increased by re-
ductions to be made in the War De-
partment and Interior Department bills
although the House on Friday indicated
that it is not yet ready to 60 as far as
the Senate in sanctioning deep cuts.
A fiat ten per cent cut on top OF
these reductions excluding the fixed
charges OF the Government represented
In interest payments, veterans payments,
salaries and permanent annuals'-is
estimated by Senator Byrnes to make
possible saving" of $350,0O0,O ,OOO But
the cost of such economy in terms Of
arbitrarily estopped projects and func-
tions is yet to be itemized. Certainly
the effects must be studied carefully
before any such cut is applied.
At his press conference outlining the
Government reorganization plan the
President made clear that the only way
to save money In ninety per cent
OF the cases is by doing away with func-
tions. He was represented as saying that
you can't save on the pay of Govern
ment employees. I don't think they are
overpaid, and, in many cases, they are
underpaid." The danger Of applying
horizontal cuts in regular appropriation
bills is that the functions of Govern
ment which suffer are the least colorful
or politically spectacular, though they
may be more important than the pet
schemes which escape the ak.
Real and lasting economy i produced
by directly linking the functions and
projects of Government with their cost
to the taxpayer, and that will not be
done until the tax system is revised
IN a manner that increases the number
of taxpayers and makes them painfully
conscious of the cost of their Govern
ment. And doing that in 1938-an
election year-requires more political
courage than it does to order ten or
fifteen per cent slash in regular appro-
priations, letting the chips fall where
they may.