Evening star., 1939-05-08

regularly to ev-
Charles G. Ross. cry voter in the
country-there could be no better
incentive to him to keep an eye on
the expenditures of the Government.
The daily statement is the starkest
of public documents; it merely sets
out from day to day, in rows of
figures, the condition of the Treas
ury-hoW much money is coming in
and how much is going out-and
leaves the reader to draw his own
conclusions.
Figures can be exciting, they can
also be infuriating I think it would
be an exciting and perhaps an in
furlating pastime to the average
taxpayer to get the daily statement
every day and plot from it curve
showing the expenditures of the
Government and another curve
showing the mounting public debt.
Data as of May 4.
The statement for May 4-the lat
est published at this writing-has
just come to hand. Here are a few
of the figures from it's comparative
analysis of receipts and expendi-
lures.
The total receipts of the Govern
ment for the fiscal year 1899, UP TO
May Chat is, for approximate
the first 10 months of the current
fiscal year., were 81, ,781 ,68S.559. For
the corresponding period of the pre-
vious year they were s5,218,257 ,599.
In round figures, receipts fell off
$436, 500 900.
While receipts were declining. ex-
pendltures were sharply going up.
Those classified as general" rose
from s3,793 ,232777 in the first 10
months of the 1888 fiscal year to
s4,342 ,147 507 in the first 10 months
of this year. Here was an increase
of roughly S549 100000.
Recovery and relief expenditures
rose from sl,750 ,340957 to s2,633.-
790,791-an increase of about $685.
100000.
Not to go into further detail, the
deficit which the Government has
run in the first 10 months of this
fiscal year is approximately $780,
100000, as compared with a deficit
in the corresponding period of 1893
amounting to s1,024,000 900.
Gross Debt Up S2,663, 3,790, 900.
Because of this constant piling
up Of deficits. the gross public debt
of the Federal Government has risen
to s40,1345 596,705. This represents
an increase of around s2,663, 100 900
in the last year.
1t is not necessary to put any
verbal embroidery on those figures.
They tell their own story.
| Now for Senator Harrison's speech,
Stressing the need for retrenchment,
he told the chamber some plain
truths. He said that local cham
bers of commerce throughout the
United States have played a greater
part in forcing larger congressional
expenditures than any organization
with which I am familiar"
There isn't said the Senator,
"a project desired at Squedunk or
Yellow Rabbit or Vinegar Bend,
whether it be for a recreational lake,
| playground or sanitary rendezvous.
whether it be for the deepening of
the Oakahay, the regulation of the
TallapooSa or the creation of rural
route No. 18, that your local cham
ber of commerce doesn't resolute
and frighten with the fire of your
influence the Representative or Sen
ator representing that bailiwick to
obtain appropriations for the prof.
ect"
That tells only part of the story,
but it is large part. In this free
spending era every community in
the country has its hand out. Don't
put the whole blame for the failure
of retrenchment efforts on Congress.
Put a lot of it on the groups-even
on the chambers of commemorative
are paying lip-service to economy
but resisting it when it strikes home.
Effects of Pressure.
The news story I have cited tells
what happens when bloc pressure on
behalf of fear-inspiring group gets
in its work. The group in this case
happens to be the farmers. AS
passed by the House, the agricul-
tural appropriation bill carried
1885 100000. To this the Senate
Appropriations Committee has added
1881 100000 for parity payments
and other purposes. Secretary WAL
lace opposed the increases unless
compensating revenue should be
provided, but the Senate committee
overrode him. Farm bloc leaders
are predicting Senate approval this
week of the record-breaking total
of s1,216 100000.
If there is going to be any real
economy, the demand for it has got
to come in great wave from back
home" The national psychology of
lets get ours while the getting is
good" will have to be reversed. The
groups-chamber of commerce and
others-that are preaching economy
and at the same time demanding
special benefits will have to learn
to take their own medicine.
Perhaps it would help If the daily
Treasury statement were made re-
quired reading for every voter.