The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-09-08


Kent who (nO matter whether one agrees
or disagrees with his eonclusions) usually
mas the facts and figures to back up MS
statements:
cat the beginning of the last session OF con-
gress Mr.. Roosevelt made particularly optimistic
statement, a specially strong declaration Tor econ
omy The time had come, he said, Tor retrehch-
ment. In the current fiscal year. ne said, we wouiu
achieve an approximate balance of the budget and
in the next fiscal year-the one we now are m
we would achieve an actual balance. Business all
over the country responded hopefully to this presi
Dental note and even more so to the stirring state
ment of Mr.. Mariner Eccles, head of the Federal
Reserve Board, and one of the earliest advocates
of the spending policy Mr. EccleS insisted that
now it had become vital to balance the budget and
that continued borrowings were dangerous
This is what the critics of the Roosevelt policy
had been saying for three years, but when Mr.
Roosevelt himself and his chief financial adviser
said IT, the significance very great. 1t seemed
that at last halt to be called on the wild
pouring out of government money, that the ad-
ministration was "a set" for a genuine effort to
recover control of its finances and restore national
soyency. Such at any rate, was its avOwed pur-
pose. But did it do anything to promote that pur-
pose except talk? Did it take step in that diree-
ton? Did it attempt ~ curtal in any direction?
The answer is NO.
ION the contrary, the two concrete propositions
which would have saved an immense amount OF
money and actually balanced the budget had they
gone through-were both opposed by Mr.. RooSe-
welt, beaten on the floor of the senate by admin
Stration leaders under orders from the White
House. That is matter of record One proposal
was to reduce the relief appropriation asked by
Mr. Hopkins from billion and half to billion
dollars for the year. The other to take flat
ten per cent out of all appropriations for all de-
partments. Congress was willing and anxious to
do both these things.
But the president would not let it. Pressure
from the mayors lobby was too great on one hand
and pressure from the departments too great on
the other. Both proposals were killed and with
them went all hope of an approximate balance this
year, next year, or the year after that. In the
seven months that have interviewed since his last
economy declaration the number of civilian en-
ployes on the federal payroll has been increased
from s3l, 900 to $4,000 and there will be fur
ther increase by the end of this month. In the
same seven months the national debt has increased
from around $35, 900 100000 to $37, 000, 900 900,
the peak for all time-ten billion greater than at
the time of the armiStice and sixteen billion more
than when Mr.. Roosevelt became president"
The foregoing is interesting as a few
paragraphs of the record of the national
administration on ECONOMY. A more &C
curate word, of course, to describe admin
istration action, would be SPENDING. In
considering the record the country is in
evitably driven to the conclusion that
economy talk, whether coming from the
President or from other administration
sources, has been just so much blah-blah.
Time and again the President has prom
ised the introduction of an economy pro-
gram, and just as often he has almost i'm
mediately started a, movement to increase
spendings. The feeble mutterings and at
tempts by members of the congress to fool
the public in this particular have fallen
flat. Few congressman and senators pos
sess the moral courage necessary to induce
them to vote against an appropriation in
which any considerable number of their
constituents are directly, or even indirect
ly, interested.
The truth is that it is q waste of time
by the people of this country when they
stop to give any thought to the economy
promises of the national administration
An economy program will be introduced
in the national government when deci.
sive majority of the men who now control
the government have been relegated to
private life. That is the thing for conserv
alive voters to place first in their thinking
and in voting in all future elections. 4