The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-10-14

almost numberless. The result has
been, is, and will continue to be the
creation of a lot of debt that will
hang over us all for years to come.
The federal government itself has
taken the lead in getting into debt.
The latest Treasury statement shows
that the United States government
owes more than thirty-seven billion
dollars. That amounts to 1921 .63 for
every man, woman and child in the
United States. Compare that with
the national debt as of 1882 when it
stood at SIG, 500, 100000 or debt of
$155.93 for every living person ID
the United States.
do not know when, if ever, this
gigantic national debt will be paid
off. / think prob
ray On ably the American
Sometime people with tradi-
tional tenacity will
stick by the job and get it done some
time, but I must refer to the job as
a very slow process. 1t required
twelve years after the World war
debt reached it's peak of twenty-six
billion to reduce it by ten millions.
That reduction was more rapid than
had ever been known before in any
nation and it was made possible be-
cause of the prosperity which we en-
joyed during those twelve years.
It would seem, therefore, that we
must consider not only a slowing
down of individual debt making, but
a sharp curtailment of national debt
making as well. If we do not, a
yawning cavern of unsounded
depths awaits us.
Some weeks ago Mr.. Roosevelt
sent instructions to the various
agencies of the government to save
ten per cent out of the operations for
the current fiscal year to help in
balancing the budget. There were
no ifs, nor ands, nor butts about
President Roosevelt's instructions.
The spending agencies were told
simply to lay aside that ten per
cent which, in the aggregate, would
amount to around four hundred mill
lion dollars. The President said
during a speech at the great Column
bia river dam the other day that he
hoped to balance the budget in the
next fiscal year. Most other people
hope that the Presidents hope is
realized because Mr.. Roosevelt has
stated several times that the budget
will be balanced "next year" and
some of us are beginning to wonder
whether his budget balancing state
ments are not like the statements
which President Hoover made at
the beginning of the depression.
He said, you will remember, a num-
Der of times that prosperity is
just around the corner" a corner
that still seems to be next year.
But Mr.. Roosevelt must be COM
mended and criticized at the same
time for his budg-
oudget ct balancing ideas.
Balancing Mind you, no criti-
cism can possibly
be attached to the objective-a bal
anced budget. But commentator
must give way to criticism on some
of the things that are happening
under the fiat order for reduction
in spending.
Take this case for example: The
National Park service, like other
agencies, laid away ten per cent Of
it's operations. This impounding of
money happened to coincide with
the greatest flock of visitors ever to
enter the gates of the country's ma.
tional Fairgrounds. 1t costs money
to police and protect the parks !;
it requires funds to provide for the
comfort of the throngs of visitors to
national parks. The result, in the
case of several parks, was that they
were forced to close their gates to
visitors from a week to a month
earlier than they usually do in the
fall. Their money had run out.
Well, say you, what harm does
that do? Simply this: Visitors to
national parks, such as Yellowstone,
for example, pay much more for
entrance fees and the things they
must buy while in the parks than it
costs the government to maintain
the parks. In other words, the ma
tional parks in most cases are a
good investment because they yield
revenue into the national treasury.
But that is the crux in this situa-
ton. The National Park service
does not keep the money that is paid
in by park visitors. Those funds
are turned directly into the treasury
as general revenue. The books of
the National Park service, there
fore, show only outgo and nothing
in the way of income to balance it's
expenditures.
The condition is one, therefore, it
seems to me, that almost warrants
a statement that the policy is "pen-
ny wise and pound foolish"
All of this is by way of illustrating
the need for closer examination of
national expenditures. Would it not
be better, I ask, to do away with
some of the wasteful expenditures
for OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES running
into millions-and permit expendi-
lures where they bring a return.
Likewise, it seems to me that a
real necessity exists for curtailment
of lot of brain trust theories that
were proved futile in the days when
Rome was at its height-because
some of the brain trust theories go
back just that far. Why not elimi-
nate, close the spigot at the treas
ury, on some of the expenditures that
are obviously political sop and
thereby permit expenditures that
will encourage general business to
go forward and provide jobs so that