Evening star., 1941-09-01
ByrdUrges
Non-Defense
Economies
Declares Two Billions
Gould Be SIoshed
From Spending
BY the Associated Press.

! pS tHt hSoOlldttu TItoS'
Declaring that "the buck has been
passed around and around" on the
question of cutting non-defense eX-
penditures, Senator Byrd, Democrat,
Of Virginia expressed the belief today
that such spending could be reduced
by $2,O0O0OO.O00
In approving the record $3,672,-
100000 revenue bill, the Senate
Finance Committee last week &C
cepted Senator Byrd's amendment
setting up a special 14-man COM
mittee to study methods of curtail-
ing non-essential outlayS The group
would include the Secretary of the
Treasury, the budget director and a
dozen members of the Senate and
House Taxing Committees.
1T is possible and probable" Sena-
tor Byrd said in an interview today,
that our defense effort and aid to
other democracieS, even without in
volvement in the war, may reach
the colossal sum of 100000, 100000.
Pyramiding Costs.
ITO me it is little short of out
rageous that there has been no real
effort to reduce the non-defense and
non-essential items in the Federal
budget. We are spending for nom
defense, peace-time purposes, in
cluding the ordinary cost of the
Army and Navy, S8,000,000,000 per
year This is two and one-half times
as much as the total cost of govern
ment in 1929. Upon this $4,000, ,000,-
900 we are pyramiding the terrific
cost of defense.
The President has said that these
costs should be cut, but the budgets
submitted to Congress do not show
any cut. The Secretary of the
Treasury has said these items should
be cut. The buck has been passed
around and around. Neither the
executive nor the legislative branch
has taken the initiative"
Senator Byrd said the purpose of
his amendment creating the l4-man
investigating group was TO reduce
non-defense spending, to stop the
buck passing and place the respon-
sibility equally on both executive
and legislative) branches represent
ed by Joint committee. '''
Would Reduce Taxes.
"In my judgment we can reduce
non-defense spending by 81 1000 000,-
900 and to this extent avoid increas-
ing the public debt or imposing any
further increase in taxes upon the
already overburdened taxpayer"
Meanwhile. legislative craftsmen
worked through the Labor Day hol-
iday to put finishing touches on the
tax measure. The Finance Commit
tee arranged to give the bill final
going-over tomorrow and it will be
taken up in the Senate Wednesday.
Although the tax measure headed
the pending legislative calendar, the
holiday saw discussion of the pro-
posed administration bill for price
control legislation.
Praises Price Bill.
Miss Harriet Elliott. associate ad-
ministrator of the Office of Price
Administration, said that the price
bill, now being considered by House
committee. represented the best
plan offered to date to protect us
from initiation. and the dire conse-
quences of imitation"
There was a hint, however. that
the bill might be due for a trouble
some road. Chairman Smith of the
Senate Agriculture Committee said
that when any price-fiXing measure
came before the Senate. he would
seek to amend it to provide for the
freezing of all Government held
stocks of wheat and cotton.
Senator Smith was patiently dis
pleased at President Roosevelt's re-
cent veto of legislation which would
have frozen the wheat and cotton
stocks, held as collateral for Gov
ernment loans to farmers in recent
years. I'VE have lost one round"
said Senator Smith, referring to the
veto, but the battle is not over