The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1943-08-12
THE GREAT
GAME OF
POLITICS
By FRANK r. KENT
Copyright by The Baltimore Sun and
reprinted in The Republican by per-
mission.
"UNEXPENDED BALANCES
By FRANK r. KENT
Washington, Aug. +

No friend of the Presidents was
ever more eager to provide every dol
/ lar necessary to achieve an early vic
tory in this war than that consistent
and effective critic of his spending
policies, Senator Harry F. Byrd, of
Virginia Though the leader of the
/ fight against New Deal wastefulness,
from the moment we entered the war,
! Senator Byrd has voted for every APP
preparation the President has asked
voted sometimes against his better
Judgment, but still voted.
All of which gives him the right to
stand up, as he did few weeks ago,
and ask for an accounting. In so do
ing, Senator Byrd has performed a
/ great national service. He has sounded
warning, which, if needed, will
shorten the war, save American lives
and preserve at least a semblance of
| stability in the Federal financial
structure, upon which our whole do
nestle economy depends. For it is
! perfectly clear that if some voice is
not raised in protest or some restrain
ing influence is not eXerted, when the
war is over, so far as the Federal
! Government is concerned, this coun-
! try is going to be so hopelessly bank
rupt that condition will prevail in
which the security of the millions with
savings bank deposits and small in
surance policies will be badly shaken
and only the vastly wealthy be able
to protect themselves.
/ 1t will be an ironical end of an adj
ministration whose avowed Objective
for ten years past, has been to take
away the money from the rich and
give it to the poor. AS has often been
| forecast, the result of this effort will
not be the redistribution of wealth
! but the redistribution of poverty. In
such a leveling process only the we'll
to-do can find means to avoid catas
! trophe Everybody else will be hurt
! Barring a realization of these facts,
now obviously lacking, and stern ac-
! ton to curb reckless spending, that is
exactly where we are headed. Hardly
anyone capable of coherent thought
can doubt that.
There can be expected from this
Administration neither appreciation
| of this situation nor frmness in deal
ing with it. The Administration still
holds that spending produces pros
perity; that no nation need live within
its income and that the size of the
national debt is not important because
eve owe it to ourselves" No more
puerile and absurd ideas have ever
been advanced seriously by men in
authority 1t is not surprising that
those who cherish them feel no neces-
sity to avoid waste or preserve the
fiscal equilibrium. Certainly, no one in
the White House or the Treasury
seems concerned on this score. Yet,
the unnecessary waste of public funds
in this war is almost beyond belief
and there exists among those who are
wasting them no sense of RESPONSE
bility.
Under these conditions, Senator
Byrd rises to point out that on July l
this year there was in the Treasury,
appropriated for war purposes at the
request of the President, more than
$203, 000,00O,000 Of uneXpended bal
ances-money asked for but not spent.
In addition, the war agencies have
authority to make contracts for nearly
! $25, 900 100000 more. Up to July l, we
had spent, for war purposes, a little
more than 100000, 100000 in three
years. Therefore, we have now on
hand in uneXpended balances more
than twice as much as we have dis.
bursed. Now then, Senator Byrd says
we have sufficient uneXpended funds
to spend for war purposes Sl00,0OO,-
600, 900 year for the next two years
without appropriating another nickel.
**%
Yet, the Senator says, already no.
tice has been given Of the Admins
tration's purpose to ask for large adj
dtonal war appropriations during
the coming fiscal year. Very properly,
Mr.. Byrd asks "Why?" Why is it nee
cssary to have unspent balances of
more than $200,000,0000 Why,
with such a vast unspent balance, is
it necessary to ask for further big APP
preparations? These are extremely
pertinent questions and no one in the
Administration has attempted to an
swer. Actually there is no answer.
However, one fact ought to be made
plain-and Senator Byrd makes it
plain. A large part of this $200,000,-
100000 uneXpended balance is not OBJ
igated by contractural commitments,
Virtually all of it is made on lump
sum basis and is subject at the Pres
idents order to transfer from one
purpose to another as he sees fit.
##%
What this means, of course, is that