Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1937-05-06

AuSe Sus Dental action In
Spending the direction Of a
curb on spending.
! have written about this subject
many times and I have no regret
that / have done so, because for a
half dozen years our government
has been spending money too rapid
ly.
The Presidents latest message
reviewing the budget situation in
dicates that the Chief Executive at
last has started his thoughts in the
direction of curtailed spending. In
deed, Mr.. Roosevelt's message to
congress in which he asked for a
billion and a half dollars for re-
lief purposes was characterized by
quite new note Of firmness in his
discussion of the need for cutting
government costs. / think it is fair
to say that in previous messages
the President gave little more than
lip service to the cause of economy
in government. His previous sug-
gestions to congress lacked force.
Not so with the current call for a
reduction in expenses. 1t had the
earmarks of determination it
yet remains to be seen whether he
will insist strongly upon his con-
illusions when the showdown with
congress comes.
The Presidents message was in
teresting in several respects beside
the note of firmness, mentioned
above. He confessed, for example,
that there was no chance for bal
anced budget in the next fiscal year.
There is no chance, he disclosed,
even for achieving the "layman's
balance" That "layman's balance"
ought to be explained for, my under
standing of economics does not con-
template more than one kind of
budget balancing, namely, income
equalling outgo. But Mr.. Roosevelt,
in his campaign last year and in his
message to congress last January,
spoke of ''layman's balance" as
meaning balance of income and
outgo with the exception of expendi-
lures for relief and for retirement
of the public debt. I have heard it
described in many quarters as a
trick balance which I truly believe
it should be called since it is not an
honest balance.
In the January message, Mr..
Roosevelt talked at length about the
necessity for business taking on
workers who were then on relief
rolls. Only in that manner, he en-
! phasized, could there be a reduction
in relief rolls.
In the more recent message, the
President omitted any reference
to the responsibility of industry for
reducing relief rolls by re-employ-
ing workers. That is not strange.
The fact is, according to the gov
ernment's own records, that indus
try is taking on workers at a more
rapid rate than the administration
had expected. But still there is no
hope of balanced budget this year.
So we must look elsewhere to find
the reason. Instead of one, we find
two reasons. The first and most inn
portant of the two is the fact that,
by whatever analysis you make, the
New Deal is guilty of continuing to
waste money by hundreds of mill
lions and it was not until a few
weeks ago that any serious effort
was made to choke off this drain,
assuming the current effort is Sc
| rious.
That statement sounds complicat-
ed and dull. 1t is not either one.
The unvarnished truth is that Sec
rotary Morgenthau and the flock of
experts, trained only in theory, with
whom he has surrounded himself,
were unable to calculate what the
present taxes would produce in rev.
enue. Or, to say the same thing in
few words: Revenue receipts were
far below what the Treasury experts
guessed they would be.
Thus, the picture seems to be
clear. On the one hand, the Presi-
dent heretofore has allowed the al
phabetical agencies to run hither
and yon in their money spending
spree. On the other hand, the lack
of competent financial men in the
Treasury again is glaringly shown.
To get back to the question of
curtailed spending I should like to
call attention to
SOUNDS the Presidents
Strong; but language in his
latest message.
He said that he proposed to use
"every means at my command" to
eliminate the deficit next year. That
statement sounds strong enough.
question, however, that it can be
called a program of retrenchment.
In other words, Mr.. Roosevelt was
content in his message to congress
simply to criticize, if not to de-
nomce, extravagant OUTLAWS insofar
as new commitments are con-
cerned.
During the last few weeks, Mr..
Roosevelt has called upon the vari-
Gus agencies Of the government for
statements of their financial re-
quirements and something of a re-
view of what they have done with
previous funds. Considerable bally-
hoo accompanied announcement Of
this survey of governmental re-