Evening star., 1949-05-08
Senator Byrd's Warning

points, Senator Byrd's address on the
hscal outlook of the Nation should receive
the earnest consideration Of every Ameri-
can intelligent enough to realize that
money does not grow on trees and that
the United States. Unless it checks the
present trend, may yet spend itself into
crisis OF the gravest magnitude.
As Mr.. Byrd sees 1t. the prospect today
is altogether bleak. Right now. he says.
the Federal Government is spending more
than 1t is taking In, with deficit OF $780,
100000 likely TO be reported when fiscal
1949 ends on June 80. As for fiscal 1850
and 1851, assuming no increase In taxes
and no cut in prospective expenditures.
he foresees respective deficits of s. ,400.-
900 and $500, ,00o. 900.
It may be that these figures have been
projected on the basis of faulty or too
gloomy assumptions, but Mr.. Byrd has
made q good case for them in his impress
sive address to the Senate. He has made
a good case, too, for his thesis that the
situation must mean either Of three
things-N new era Of deficit financing.
(2) the imposition of heavy additional
taxes, or 81 joint undertaking by Con-
gress and the Executive Branch to econ
omize on large scale without further
delay.
To Mr.. Byrd, the idea of deficit fnanc-
ing Is unthinkable, because under present
circumstances - with the national debt
totaling a quarter of a trillion dollars
1t would shatter public confidence In Fed
eral securities and wreck the credit of the
United States in such way as to destroy
our system Of government. And he is only
q little less opposed to the Presidents
proposal for tax increase Of 1900 y000, ,O0O
In his judgment, any such additional bur
den, coming at this time, might easily
accelerate a minor business decline into
a major recession"
So how are we to fend of the danger
Of q fiscal crisis? Mr.. Byrd's answer is
unqualified. The way to do it, he says. is
to resort to retrenchment. Thus. he would
save a billion dollars in fiscal 1850 by
eliminating or postponing the nonessential
spending proposals dncluding presumably
projects like the health program) among
the 40 recommended by the President He
would save another billion dormer Presi-
dent Hoover has estimated that 81 ,500,-
600, 900 could be SO saved) through effective
unification Of the armed forces And he
would save two billion more-for q grand
total Of four billion-by shelving certain
public works, increasing administrative
efficiency, cutting down on executive over
head, and removing deadwood from the
Federal payroll.
AfANa nyAf fIxy
be effected by MIR. Byrd without slashing
appropriations for direct defense purposes,
the Marshall Plan. and such other prof.
ects as implementation OF the North At
lantic Treaty. But he is not naive. He
realizes that his proposals will fall fiat
II the American people, Congress and the
President himself do not get behind them
with the realization that unless the Nation
remains solvent, our own constitutional
freedoms will be in peril, and communism
abroad. capitalizing on the wreckage of
our economy, will have green light.
Perhaps Mr.. Byrd's fears are exagger-
ated. Perhaps, also, he is unrealistic In
calling for savings of $4,000, 100000. But
Mr.. Hoover, after his long study of gov
ernmental organization, has called for
economies Of So 1000, 900 900, and the Vir-
ginia Senator's estimate-which takes in
factors in addition to efficient administra-
tion-is only $1,000 100000 more Maybe
that is too much. Conceivably, however,
If the American people, Congress and the
President acted afilrmatively, instead of
inertly, something like 1t could be saved.
Generally speaking fiscal matters add
up to dull reading, but they are nonethe-
less important In the extreme. Mr.. Byrd
has made that much very clear Whatever
the shortcomings Of some of his argu-
ments, his warning Is so fundamentally
sound that 1t should sober all Americans.
For his own part, even though he may
be a voice crying In the wilderness, he has
taken position that commands respect
and attention:
Those who are responsible-wilfully or
otherwise-for our pronigacy must leave
place In their consciences for the con-
sequences Of their deeds.
Il prefer my position In the rear guard
fighting for the kind of freedoms which
are far more dear than dole and regi-
mentation"
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