Evening star., 1948-04-24
Desperate Bottle Woged
On Government Finances
Bureaucrats Seeking to Have Senate
Restore Budset Cuts Made in House
The Political Mill
Rr EouI1 T;ncoIn

Dv oOHtU LtUC0sB
The Republican House-with Chairman John
Taber of the Appropriations Committee TAX
ing the lead-has knocked nearly half billion
dollars of the combined total budget estimates
of six appropriation bills. These bills repre-
sent less than thirty per cent OF the Presidents
budget for the next fiscal year.
The fight now shifts, SO far as these bills are
concerned to the Senate. Department and
agency heads and bureaucrats, all are seeking
to have that body restore all the money which
the House has so far saved the American tax
payers. It Is the most desperate battle yet
waged over Government finances-and padded
Government pay rolls and wasteful methods
and administration. If the Senate relents and
relaxes, much that has so far been accom-
plished toward reducing Federal expenditures
will have been lost.
One of the toughest assignments the Repub-
lican Congress received in the elections If 1886
was to cut expenditures and save money. Econ
omy was a big issue In that campaign 1t stiu
is. The voters of the country before they stem
up to the polls next November will want an
accounting.
Facts, Figures Dug Out.
The House voted early this year to reduce
Government expenditures $4,000, 600 900 below
the budget estimates submitted by President
Truman. Chairman Taber, his committee and
the House membership itself have worked hard
to prune away the excess and reduce the budget
to essentials, without destroying service to the
people and the Government itself.
The House Appropriations Committee has
had new help-a group of investigators of its
own. These investigators have gone into the
departments and agencies and dug out facts
and figures from official files Too often they
,;a
They have been able to provide the House COM
mittee and the House itself with information
which makes juggling of figures. covering up
maladministraton and the confusion of facts
surrounding appropriations difficult.
Here Is the record of House action on appro-
priations up to April 16, showing the Presidents
budget figures, the amounts approved by the
House, and the reductions thereby. First the
Independent Offices Bill, budget 81 ,048 106 ,664;
appropriation 1891 ,826351; reduction $56280,-
313. Second, the Civil Functions (of the De-
fense Department. Bill. budget $734,33 300:
appropriation $6O6 ,558, ,766; reduction $127,774,-
534. Third, the State, Justice and Commerce
Bill budget $500, ,431; appropriation $685.
057,263; reduction $85, ,549, 1853 Fourth, Labor
and Federal Security Bill, budget $960021, ,752:
appropriation 1929 902 1878; reduction $30,119,379
Fifth, Treasury and Post Office Bill, budget $5,-
1886, ,999 283 appropriation $3.50 ,433; reduce
tion $35903 $50. Sixth, Agriculture Bill, budget
$781 340,807; appropriation $691 860,580; reduc-
tion $Ss,4SO,227 The totals for the six meas
ures; budget $4,000, ,4o8237 appropriation $9,-
575,300766; reduction $425 5,107,471.
Targets of Abuse.
This is the second year the Republican Con-
gress has had to deal with Government ex-
penditures. A year ago, when 1t Topped millions
off the proposed expenditures for the State
Department - particularly the Voice Of
America"-and for the Bureau of Internal
Revenue Congress, Chairman Taber, and the
House Appropriations Committee, were the tar
gets of abuse and ridicule, turned out by Gov
ernment propaganda agencies, and spread
widely by New Deal sympathizers, writing for
all kinds of publications. The same attacks
are again underway.
One of the greatest CANDLES undertaken to-
day with the taxpayers money is still the
Voice of America" as 1t is operated under the
State Department. This year the budget esti-
mate for the whole cultural program of the
Department was $34, $4,000, of which S14,-
900 was for "the Voice." The House has
cut the total estimate to $28000,000. More re-
Gently, the Department has asked $5,125,O00
for the program-$3, ,000000 for "the Voice'-in
a deficiency bill.
The whole thing is gamble because the de-
partment admits it has no definite informa-
ton regarding the number of radio sets in
operation in each country the programs are
beamed, nor regarding the number of listen
ers. Everything is guess. Judging from some
of the scripts which are broadcast, the num-
ber of listeners must be infintesimal. For ex-
ample, one to Russia giving the history of the
Atlantic Monthly and wooden description Of
its contents; another to Spain giving data, in
6 typewriter pages, about Big League base
ball players, and third to Britain on the law
of probabilities versus fortune telling and horse
gambling.
A,,e,.o.e 4o nuee&sone