The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-01-03

billion and the total was $22 bil- lion. The estimates for 1943 go tc $50 billion, for this new budget mes sage may give the first indications of the real size of the Victory Pro- gram - the what-it- takes win theWar in terms of billions of dol lars.
 TIME FOR
 DEBATE
 When congress gets this message the solons will have six months in which to argue about 1t before it is due to go into eeffct. For congress sional action, the budget as whole is divided into II sections covering Departments of Agriculture, Interior and Labor and federal security, War Navy, Treasury and Postoffice De- partments, State, Justice and Con- merce Departments, independent offices, District of Columbia, legisla- tive establishment, and deficiencies. Corresponding sub-committees from the appropriations committees of first the House and then the Senate go to work, hold hearings by the hour and take testimony by the hundreds and thousands of pages. recommendations are finally made -l the form of appropriation bills on which all the congressman get a chance to offer amendments and to vote.
 It is all this deliberative proceed ure which eats up the six months between the time budget message is presented to Congress and the time it is scheduled to go in effect. All these appropriation bills must be passed before midnight of June 30, preceding the beginning of the new fiscal year for the appropriation to be legal. But if in the meantime any department of the government runs short of operating funds. a deficien- cy bill may be presented and sup elementary funds appropriated to keep the outfit going.
 Taking these deficiency bills into consideration, a budget doesn't real- ly mean much. Even if budgeted ex- penditures for operating the gov ernment were estimated at only $25 billion, deficiency appropriations for almost unlimited amounts could be asked for, and in the case of the War and Navy Departments, se- cured. The temper of Congress and the country is to give the services everything they need and almost anything they want.
 FIGHT ON
 NONESSENTIALS
 The only hope of saving any money on this budget is on the non- defense items which, though they total more than $6 billion, are somewhat chickenfeedish when broken down into separate items of a mere $50 million here or there, and compared with the larger war cost totals of say $50 billion a year. There are, nevertheless, few quaint individuals left who think about economy now and then, and they have sharpened their pruning knives to do little whiting on what they consider nonessential non-defense spending.
 National Economy League, a pri- vate organization, has submitted proposals for saving $1,783 million. Brookings Institution nss made a study to show how more than $2 billions could be saved. Below both is the report of the Congressional Joint Committee on Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures, headed by Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, and Representative Ro- bert L. Doughton of North Carolina, which suggests cuts of $1301 million
 Opposition to these cuts or any cuts is certain. Senator Robert M. LaFollette of Wisconsin, filing the minority report to the Byrd-Dough- ton committee findings, declares that to reduce expenditures of eco, IVA, WPA, the stamp plan, the Farm Security Administration and similar activities would simply place a greater burden on the lowest in- come groups who have not beenf1ted from war industry expenditures.
 This is the big pitchers battle which the new Congress lines up for and the economy boys have two strikes on them before they start.