Evening star., 1947-08-11

an analysis and report to the pub
lie as to what the "so-called saw
ings" are as between what Congress
appropriated and what will be spent
in the fiscal year ending next June
30th. If, by chance, the Republicans
can be convicted Of not having saved
as much as they claim, this pre-
sumably will meaH that the Ameri-
can people ought to condemn them
for malfeasance or something.
The Democratic National Com
mittee's spokesmen already are cry
ing out that the Republicans did
not save as much as they promised
as II this is half as pertinent as
the fact that the Democrats for a
long time have not been concerned
with saving at all, but with spending.
Outcry on Social Legislation.
There seems to be disposition
TO grow sarcastic over the savings
made by the Republican Congress.
In the New Deal atmosphere which
has prevailed here for IA years, the
idea seems to be that the peoples
money Is hmitless and that, no mat
ter what the bureaucrats want or
the pressure groups ask for, this
should be handed out.
Then, too there's an outcry be-
cause certain social legislation that
costs money was not acted on by
the last Congress. The Democrats
have been in control of Congress
for IA years and have not passed
the social legislation now being
advocated. Yet the Republicans
seem to have committed something
OF political crime because, in the
seven months that they have been
in power in Congress, they did not
pass all the bills the spenders asked
for.
President Truman himself reflects
this strange spending psychology.
His statement directing the Budget
Bureau to dig up the facts and
put out an analysis indicates that
ne might ike to see some juggling
done with the figures. His state
ment reads as If he has, in effect,
instructed the Budget Bureau to re-
arrange the items so as to wash up
the "so-called savings"
The Budget Bureau was estab-
lished as a nonpolitical agency. II
politics Is to enter into the problem
Of handling the budget figures, the
appropriation committees of both
houses will be very much interested
ct the next session in investigating
just what rressures are brought to
bear to alter the figures.
Predictions Criticized.
"What is most important, how
ever" writes President Truman in
his public statement, "is the fact
that none of the predictions have
seen have properly related congress
sional changes in appropriations to
estimates for 1948 In the last
analysis, the American people are
more interested in how much their
Government will actually spend
during this fiscal year than they
are in shifts and changes in the
appropriation structure"
What Mr.. Truman omitted to note
was that, in the last analysis, the
American people are interested in
whether anybody in the Government
is interested in saving money. Mr..
Truman himself made wrong esti-
mate last January, within just a
few months of the ending of the
fiscal year. His mistake was to the
extent of $1,500,0O0, 900. Not only
were expenses overestimated but re-
ceipts were underestimated.
Mr.. Truman, moreover, is appar-
emily casting doubt on the Judgment
Of Representative Cannon, Demo-
crat, of Missouri, who was chairman
Of the Appropriations Committee
until the present session. Mr.. Can
non conceded recently that the
Republicans had saved about $2,-
POT 100000 at the last session. But
this presumably Is just chicken feed
What, after all, is matter of a
couple billions or so-that's the at
titude which has prevailed here for
nearly IA years. Now President Tru-
man seems to show annoyance Just
because somebody-it happens to be
the Republican majority-actually
did save at least $2,207, 900 900 by
cutting down Mr.. Trumans inflated
budget Of expenses. Something must
be done to refute and demolish the
f1gures-there just simply must not
be any savings!
fReproductioo Ripbts paSaryodN