The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1938-03-08
NEWSPAPERS OPINIONS
SENATOR BYRD ON REORGANIZATION

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"As certain as the sun shines, the passage OF the
reorganization bill in its present form VIII hcle"
the expenses of the federal government by nuse
sums-perhaps as much as hundreds OF mlllohS VI
dollars annually. Not single department. bureau
commission, or single federal empoye Is aOo!lSle0
by its terms. Two new permanent departments are
created with high salaried officials; sX new aSSlS
tants to the president authorized and the pres
ident and heads of the bureaus are permitted 10
engage an unlimited number of new employees :
During the acute emergency, federal relief for
distress and aid for recovery were provided, Out
only for the period of emergency. Federal feIlei
was established as temporary function and 1t was
so defined in the name of the statutes The Dill
before the senate creates q new permanent
department of welfare with cabinet member
head with the stipulated function of continuing for
all time to come-good times and bad-the meas
ures adopted in the emergency
"The congress has not yet determined what It's
permanent relief policy is or whether it will have
one Recognition that these are federal functions,
this bill does, will make it more difficult to work
out joint sponsibility-fnancialy and other
wise-with the localities wherein lies the only OPP
portunity to correct abuses which are already rec
ognzed as existing
"a bill creating new departments and new re-
sponsihilities of the federal government comes IN
poor grace before the American people who are to-
day aboring under the most costly federal bu-
reaucracy in history the highest tax bill in history,
twice as great in 1882; the greatest peace time
budget IN history; the greatest national debt IN
history all exclusive of local and state tax bur
dens 1t comes in poor grace at time when the
greatest opportunity in history IS presented for re-
trenchment and economy through reduction in
administrative overhead and waste costs. The bill
with definite possibilities of greatly increased costs
comes the heels of promises of balanced bud
get-yet at time when balanced budget is far
Their away than at any time since the spending orgy
began. 1t comes to freeze the cost Of the
federal government at minimum of eight billion
dollars asyear, compared with three billion in the
most prosperous era of all history of this nation
between 1920 and 1880.
'"The proposal in this bill to make permanent the
emergency costs in my Judgment, blasts the last
hope that the federal government balance its
budget
THE nation is entitled to at least frank and
accurate statement of the financial affairs of this
government. year ago we were told that the
1888 fiscal year would have balanced budget. In
my judgment the actual deficit July l will be
approximately two billions of dollars. Even with
out the present bill, the outlook for 1889 is more
gloomy. That will be the ninth consecutive year
of deficits.
"The Democratic party is under solemn covenant
with the people of America to reduce governmental
extravaganza, largely through the elimination of
waste, extravaganza overlapping activities and du
plicated effort. Our party came into power in 1882
to reduce expenses at least 25 per cent. Yet now,
with the most wastefu and extravagant bu-
reaucracy America has known, told
by the proponents of this legislation that substan
tia economy is not the objective of the bill. ="
Senator Byrd of Virginia, quoted by Greensboro
News.