The McDowell times. [volume] (Keystone, W. Va.) 1904-1941, 1940-08-23
CReicased by Western Newspaper Union
BY G. F.

by u. r.
WASHINGTON. - For the first
time in American history one ses-
sion of congress has authorized fed
eral expenditures in excess Of $20,-
600, 900, 900.
The nation was astonished and in
dignant in 1918 when two sessions Of
congress appropriated 81 900, 900, 900.
1t was our first "billion dollar con-
gress."
In 1894, we had our first 100000
000, 900 session.
3 and August is, 1910, the third
session of the Seventy-sixth congress
authorized spending to the extent Of
$2l .4S9, 678, 600.
How much is $21 ,OOO, 900. 900. 1t
would buy outright the entire rail-
road system of the United States
every mile of track, every bridge,
terminal and yard, every piece Of
rolling stock and locomotive equip
ment, every mile of telephone and
telegraph equipment, plus every sta
ton and siding.
The official reports OF the Inter
state Commerce commission place
the current value Of American rail-
roads at roundly $40, 900, 900, 900. The
nation built up this railroad system
over period of lis years.
1t is difficult for the mind to grasp
such spending. But we may re-
duce the authorizations of the pres
ent session to familiar terms. Let
us assume that the whole amount
authorized since January had been
devoted to building houses at $4,000
each. That would be a substantial
house better than the average
American home today. Federal APP
preparations for these eight months
would build 10000 such houses, or
one for every fourth family in the
United States.
Translated into bushels OF wheat
at current market prices, the ex-
penditures approved for the pro-
gram since January this year tell
more impressive story.
Assuming a farm price of 10 cents
bushel and an average yield of 80
bushels per acre, we arrive at
gross production OF $21 per acre.
This means that it will take bill
lion acres OF wheat to pay for the
federal spending authorized in eight
Notwithstanding the government
took every ounce of the national
farm production.
But, Of course, We could not raise
a billion acres of anything in sin
| gle year. The combined harvested
area OF all American farms and all
crops is only 300, 900, 900 acres. This
means il would take the full crop of
three successive harvests, plus one
third of the fourth harvest, to pay
the federal spending bill as APP
proved in the year 1910 to date.
Stated another way, every Aneri-
can farm would have to produce its
normal crop and turn everything
over to the government for more
than three years TO pay for this first
/ $40, 900, 900, 900 congress
This would mean nothing left on
the farms for feed, seed, or family
food supplies 1t would leave moth
ing for routine operating expenses.
l.
Our federal government is the
fastest growing industry" in the
United States.
Recent official figures show pub
lie employment in 1889 as 1858 per
cent of 1929-despite a small de-
crease in the combined state and
local payrolls over the decade
Only one major sector of Ameri-
can industry employed more per-
sons last year, as compared with
l929-the electric utilities, with en-
ployment at 1924 per cent.
But total factory employment for
1889 was but 80.4 per cent of 1929.
Employment in retail trade was
1873 per cent; and railroad employ
ment, 64.7 per cent
The u S. civil service commits
sion's July report shows few more
than /, 200, 900 civil employees on the
federal payroll-against 564 ,487 on
March 4, 1888.
American industry IN 1899 paid
taxes aggregrating $6ll for every
person on the payroll. This is the ig-
ure reported by the American Fed
GRAFTON of Investors, on the basis of
detailed reports from 1873 leading
corporations