Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1948-11-05
H0 III 1:?
TOUun M1!:
nEpoR7xRA

IN WASHINGTON

ing the bureaucratS, OF a house
cleaning in Washington. At the
Republican national convention
Governor Dewey pledged a
great housekeeping in the fed
eral agencies.
Out in Des Moines on September
20, Governor Dewey said: 81 pledge
to you that on next January 20 there
will begin in Washington the big
gest unraveling, unsnarling, untan-
Cling operation in our nations his
tory"
Senator Alben w. Barley, the
Democratic vice presidential
nominee answered by saying:
"a bureaucrat is a Democrat
who holds some Office that a Re-
publican wants; and the only
sort of housekeeping you will
get in Washington in the event
of a Republican victory in No.
vember will be the changing of
the political complexion of those
who hold the Offices"
This reporter is convinced, after
being here in Washington for sew
eral years that the only method of
curtaiilng federal employment and
expense is to curtail government
services. We have pointed that out
in this column many times. And
yet instead of curtailing services,
congress continues to enlarge upon
present services and actually to add
new ones.
It will be remembered how in
1916 the Republican leadership
pledged to fire a million federal
employees and knock six billion dol
lars off the federal budget. Even
the then national chairman of the
COP, Carroll Reece, said the Re-
publican controlled Both congress
would fire from 100000 to 1000 900
employees.
And yet today, aside from the
armed services, there are from
10000 to 10000 more people on
the federal payroll than in 1916
and the number still climbs.
Democrats, too, have agreed
about the necessity of reducing gov
ornamental expenses. But the fiscal
experts see only one method of re-
ducing employment to any extent if
present services are to be continu-
ued, namely, more efficiency
through better organization of the
governmental set-up.
This now is being studied by
committee headed by former Pres
ident Herbert Hoover and a report
is to be made to the new congress
in January.
The first full postwar year under
a Democratic controlled congress,
the 18th, saw governmental expen-
ditures of 42.5 billion dollars fixed
for fiscal l947.
When the Both congress came
into power, the budget for fiscal
1948 sent to the congress by Presi-
dent Truman called for expendi-
lures of 37.5 billion dollars. Ex-
penditures actually amounted to SO
billion dollars.
The budget for fiscal 1919 as
submitted in January, 1913, by
the President called for expen-
ditures of 1916 billion dollars and
the latest estimate of the budg-
ct bureau is that they will ac-
tually amount to 42.2 billion.
Thus the cost of government is
practically back to the 1947 fig
ure.
Everything Is Growing
The three biggest agencies, the
national defense establishment, the
post office and Veterans administra-
ton, have rs per cent of all the
employees, more than a million and
a half. The national defense estab-
lishment is growing. Post office is
putting on more people and asking
for more money to meet defcien-
cy. The Veterans administration
work will not reach its peak for sew
eral years. Cost of living for gov
eminent has gone up along with
private living costs. Then there are
the items of expense-the four big
gest: foreign aid, defense, veterans
and the national debt These also
account for rs per cent of the total
cost. All the rest of the government
has only Is per cent of the EN-.
ployees and the cost.
Cost of operating the general gov
eminent amounts to about 28 pc,
cent of the total. Social welfare
40 per cent; transportation anc
communication, 3.8 per cent; agri
culture and agricultural resources
81 per cent; housing and com.
munity facilities, O.8 per cent; la
Dor, or per cent; education and
research, or per cent; commerce
and industry. or per cent; tax re
funds, 6.6 per cent.
What do the bureaucrats get? In
August, 1899, the average federal
worker got $2,l4O per year which
if he had family of four, left him
with $2,O65 in net purchase power
after taxes. In October, l947, the
average federal worker got S2,856
| a wear. but with a family of four