The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-03-02


M rector Harold d.
u.,o,a N 800 Smiths budget
bureau, Presi-
dent Roosevelt's business office, is
included in congress 1912 sppro-
priations 10 date, TO be spent by
our federal agencies for supplies
and services that the country can
perfectly well do without. The
budget bureau adds that II isn't
the non-essentials' total, TO be sure.
The bureaus still going ahead with
its analysis OF congressional appro-
priation figures and expects TO add
greatly TO the trihing 1852 456, 2ss
already listed, but that's all It has
TO report just yet.
1t isn't the plan to have the gov
eminent refrain from spending this
cash at all. The scheme, however,
Is to prevent it from going for non
essentials, turning It into essential
directions instead, meaning war
time essentials almost exclusively.
It's accomplished through the
creation Of reserve fund.
How Reserve Operates
Assume. for example, that the
agriculture department gets q
larger allowance than the budget
bureau thinks II needs; the esti-
mated surplus is allocated to the
reserve fund. Ditto awards to other
departments and agencies. Then,
when some essential situation,
which hasn't been provided for.
presents Itself. the reserve fund IS
tapped to take care OF 1t.
January the fund was around
s4s7 10000 It's bit more than
20 per cent smaller now, due to
essential demands since then.
Far from being adversely criti-
cized for this management, the
executive end Of the government
generally is complimented for be-
ing as thrifty as ii can. There are
congressman, however, who ind
plenty Of fault '<..h their own leg
islative organization for oyer-ap-
propriating non-essenually. With
wartime els absolute necessa ries
costing what they 90 today, they
remark, this is fine time to assign
a single cent to foot non-essential
bin.
Transfer, as far as possible, OF
workers in the governments peace
time to its wartime departments
and bureaus is. Of course, part Of
the program Of concentration upon
the national emergency effort.
The switches are from non-essen-
tial to essential jobs.
But
The currently non-essential set
ups previously were considered as
essential as the dickens. Weren't
they as essential as they were sup
posed 10 be a few years farther
back? Or, were they essential then
but not now?
And, supposing an affirmative
answer to the latter question, won't
they be essential again, when the
war emergency IS past
If they will, will 1t be a simple
stunt TO re-establish them? Their
personnels will be scattered in
every direction. They'll have to be
resorted out and put back into a
multiplicity Of their old outfits. The
civil service commission is trying
10 keep track Of them, but it's a
terrific hodge-podge.
That our wartime system IN
Washington will dislntegrate with
the return Of peace Is no safe bet.
anyway.
They Usually Stick
A government bureau, once
established, is practically eternal.
We have them yet, dating back
70 the last war. The theory was
that they were temporary, but they
are still doing business at their old
stands.
The best gamble is that our new
l---developing aggregation will be
equally permanent. If they prove
TO be So well have 10 start In on
the creation OF an entirely new net
work Of postwar, civilian Offices,
multiplying our capitals official
population by about two. at least
And already it is so thick that i
is having TO move out into the
sticks, or the District Of Columbia
will burst
The fact Is that this isn't an
emergency. It's new era, and it
promises to be something fierce. At
present wars becoming normal, but
I'll wager that the next peace won't
be.