The Wilmington morning star., 1947-01-11

~A SSOllOII1y.
lars. oii ooi'
4. International affairs and Fl.
nance will call for 3.5 billion dol.
lars. a sharp reduction from the
% billion dollars required in the
Ilscal year 1947: We still have con.
t%ractual. commitments to m.ke
good in connection with our losn
agreement with the United King.
com are under the Reconstruction
lending program of the SExport-Im.
port bank. We must discharge our
occupation responsibilities in Eu.
rope and the Far East. We must
provide for war damage restora.
ton in the Philippines and for the
relief and resettlenent Of displac-
ed people of Europe. We must con-
tlnue to give relief. to some other
countries which are most urgently
in need.
The work of the United Nations
and the specialized organizations
associated with it is of the highest
Importance: We mustsnotf fail in our
support.
Out International affairs budget
is Important for peace, security.
and our own prosperity. To reduce
1t would delay the restoration of a
peaceful and prosperous world.
5. Veterans services nd hene.
fits will cost more than rs billion.
dollars, This country sha spsovided
generously for the successful return
of veterans to civilian life and for
the, care of the. disabled. Veterans
benefits under present law appear
to be adequate.
These five items-interest, re-
funds, national defense, internation-
al affairs, and veterans-reduire
expenditures, Of 29.2 Billion, dollars,
or almost four-fifths Of the total
budget.
6. Programs for regulation and
Improvement Of the transportation
and. communications systems and
for development Of natural re
sources will amount to 2.6 billion
dollars: The largest single itemyis
443 million dollars for the Atomic
Energy commission. Our. major. eff.
fort now must be to- exploit to the
full the .peacetime uses of this great.
discovery.
About IL billion dollars of the
expenditures on these two pro-
grams is for public works con
struction, and much Of the rest is
for the promotion -of@our. merchant
marine and other aids to trans
portation. x x
7. Our agricultural program will
amount to IA. billion dollars. This
includes the price supports guar
anteed by law, the conservation of
farm land, and our investments in
rural. electrifica alton. In addition,
the Department OF. agriculture will
continue its program to promote
research in. agriculture and better
marketing methods.
This brings the total to 1872 bill
lion dollars.
8. The budget programs for So
cial welfare, health, and security,
and for education and general re-
search. amount to IL billion dollars.
9. The federal housing program
is estimated at $50 million dollars.
The bulk of the housing expendi-
lures is for purchase by the Recon
struction Finance corporation Of
guaranteed. home loans to veterans
and for continued operation of rev
enue : producing war housing in
o~vercrowded communities.
The remainder of the budget to-
tails 81 billion dollars. Nearly me
third is for war liquidation. includ-
ing the overhead cost OF disposing
of surplus property: The rest is
for services to bu-iness and labor
through the commerce department
and labor department, for general
functions of the treasury, the
general accounting office, the leg
islative branch, the judicial branch,
and the executive office Of the
president, and for many other
items.
The budget total of expenditures
thus comes to 37.5 billion dollars.
x X
cannot recommend tax reduc-
ton. x x x at the present time, in
my judgment, high taxes contrib
ute to the welfare and security OF
the country. &c..
/ also recommend that the Con-
gress consider the extent to
which fees should be charged for
services rendered by the federal
government. x x
The public debt reached a peak
last February at 27s billions dol
lars. During the remainder OF the
calendar year, the debt was re-
duced by over 20 billion dollars
and stood near 259 billion dollars
at the end OF December.
The annual interest charge OF
about 5 billion dollars Is less than
8 percentso of our current national In
come. It is well within u capacity
to pay, particularly if we keep up
a high volume of national produc-
ton. -
+ DEFENSE
Expenditures for national de-
tense remain by far the largest
category in the budget. The cost
of maintaining the military, air
and naval forces necessary in the
fiscal wear 1948- will be high.