Evening star., 1937-12-23

nent to the Treasury.
Much of the spending that goes into
present-day Federal budgets includes
loans that are repaid, but the practice
of making direct subsidies to the
States really started with road build
ing and now has been applied to almost
every other form of public improve
mentS.
Must Build Public Sentiment.
The letter to MIR Cartwright means,
too, that the President realizes he Is
up against the most difficult kind of
problem-budget cutting where politics
is involved The President has to
build a public sentiment behind his
appeal or the spenderS will get the
better of him. The acceptance of the
challenge proclaimed by Congressman
who have been opposed to any cut in
road-building appropriations is in
effect warning to other spending
groups in Congress that Mr.. Roosevelt
Is in earnest and that by cutting a
budget he means really cutting it.
The news of the Presidents atti-
tude will be widely received as a sign
of the change in administration policy
so ably outlined by Secretary Morgen-
thau OF the Treasury Department in
his speech last month before the
Academy of Political Science in New
York. At the time business men
wondered If Mr. Roosevelt was going
to stand by his Secretary of the Treas
ury or whether the latter was making
an utterance merely in his own behalf
Today the business world knows that
the President has taken off his coat,
rolled up his sleeves and begun to
tackle the most vicious problem of
modern eovernment-cutting the polit-
ical pap out of Government expendi-
ture.
Roosevelt Knows Problems.
Few men can grapple with this sort
of thing AS Mr.. Roosevelt, because he
knows from experience just what are
the difficulties of a member of Con-
gress being pressed by his constitu- |
ents for more Government money. |
Senators and Representa- tives are not |
often able to withstand the pressure.
and yet some of them being men of |
strong character, prefer to take their
stand and run the risk of persuading
their constituents, other than the
groups affected, that they have done
the right thing. Perhaps the most |
courageous statement along this line
has come from Senator Josiah w. Bal
ley Of North Carolina, Democrat, who
said recently in public statement
sent to the editors of his own State:
Friends are wiring me to resist the
Presidents demand for cutting down
the annual expenditure of funds for
public roads to the sum of 0,000. 900.
I realize that the expenditure of enor-
nous sums for roads is popular, but
I also know that in North Carolina
We have largely built our road system
and I believe the State is competent
to take care of its highways.
Happy to Share Criticism.
eve should be glad that we have
had the aid that we have had and I
do not think we should complain when
it Is proposed only that the appro-
priation be reduced to normal. If the
President is to undergo criticism in his
effort to reduce the public expenditure
at any point whatsoever, I shall be
happy to share the criticism with
him. = .
One cannot ask for reduction Of
the public expenditure and the bal
ancine Of the budget and then refuse
to sustain the first move the President
makes in that direction. A beginning
must be made at some point. and one
cannot afford to resist it, even If he
would have chosen some other ap-
proach."
There are other men like Senator
Bailey in Congress who will face criti-
cisn at home for voting for economy.
but who will rely on the common sense
of all their constituents rather than
special groups to see that American
economic recovery depends on a pull
ing together instead Of apart. 1t may
take some time for the effect of MIR.
Roosevelts appeal to sink in, but he
has made an unansWerable argument |
in his letter to Representative Cart
wright, namely, that if the spending
keeps up there will in few years be
no solvent Government
(Copyripht