Detroit evening times., 1943-01-15
Congress Watchdos
To Prevent War Waste

DRESIDENT ROOSEVELT has proposed federal
l appropriations and authorizations totalng one
hundred and billion dollars for the. support OF the
United States government during the fiscal year begin
ning July L, 19iS.
or this vast amount of money, approximately one
hundred billions Will be for the program, and the
remaining nine billions for nonwar purposes
OF course there is such amount OF money avail
able or in existence
Taxes against the people VIII raise only small part
Of 1t.
Loans made by the people to their government vol
untsr1v as IN the case Of war bonds under compuson
as in the case of proposed forced savings" will only
appear 10 raise the rest
THE real weight of such expenditure must rest on our
children and thereafter upon unborn generations.
Excessive national expenditure and debt once
described as a milestone the neck Of posterity.
President Roosevelt recognized and acknowledged
this fact when he said in his budget message:
Taxes probably never will revert to their preWar
level"
Nevertheless. the Congress will and must meet the
Presidents demands in large part
The program cannot be measured by It's cost,
but by its necessities and compulsions
The war must be fought to a successful conclusion,
whatever its in taxes to chdren's chill
dren in debt.
THE time to have considered the cost of when
l adequate and much cheaper preparedness for
would have prevented warnot merely directly involving
u.s. but involving other nations which served as
fostering bed from which the infection ultimately spread
to
Hence, there is no choice but to spend tax,
borrow build and fight and WIN
We cannot expect the war to be fought cheaply in
either wealth or lives
However the war need not be fought improvidenty
with either wealth or lives
IEREIN lies the opportunity and duty of Congress.
If it carefully and conscientiously and competenY
examines every proposed appropriation and is satisfied
to the necessity and wisdom of every proposed expend
ture il will utilize its opportunity and perform its duty
This may not result in any reduction of appropra-
tons and expenditures
1t may. not reduce taxes the necessity for
borrowing.
But it will assure the spending of weath-as we
want the lives of young expended-for the excu
sive purpose of winning the
1t will stop the political waste of money, which
into billions of dollars annually-as the investgative
bodies of Congress have determined and reported.
1t will rid the government pay rolls of millions of
unproductive and unnecessary employees
IT WILL strengthen the people for their great and
unavoidable sacrifices and justify the tax exactons
and other deprivals imposed upon them
It will reflect the capacity of representative govern
men TO function efficiently and it will and deserve
the confidence of the people in government.
The Presidents budget is almost unmeasurably
big.
But the tasks confronting the country because of the
infinitely bigger And the people of the country
and their government must undertake these vital tasks
with courage with faith and with that diver
sions of wealth and energies for politics and for
socalistc and theological postwar planning will be pre-
vented.
The cost of the war cannot be restraint on our
pursuit Of victory But the cost of petty politics is not
part Of the true cost of war and might deny us the
victory.