Evening star., 1951-09-12
Presidents S Defense
OF Spending Policies
AssaiIed by Critics

President Truman's defense of
Government spending and the
"pack of lies" description he
pinned on a magazine article
charging waste and extravaganza
by the administration, today drew
responsive shafts from economy
minded Senators and House men,
bers.
Senator Ferguson, Republican,
Of Michigan, declared that Mr..
Truman lis using statistics like
a presidential candidate, and I'm
certain he is one"
Senator Byrd, Democrat. of
Virginia, long time critic of New
Deal and Fair Deal spending pol
icieS, said Mr.. Truman used
chameleon figures" to bolster his
claims about the current budget,
and his contention that over the
last five years the Government
had operated at surplus of So
billion.
Deceptive Comparison Charged.
It was his retort to the Presi-
dents declaration at the General
Accounting Office dedication yes
terday that administration foes
were resorting to butterfly statis-
tics" and that the country was
in better financial shape than it
ever as been.
Sena .or Byrd also said Mr.. Tru-
man ''resorted to deceptive COM
parison" on Government costs,
and he added: There probably
could not be more misleading
method of reporting the present
desperate fiscal situation to the
American people"
Representative Martin of Mas
sachuSettS, the House Republican
leader. who heard the Presidents
speech. said Mr.. Truman's dis
couraging attack upon budget
critics" makes it obvious that the
people can expect no help from
the President" in the matter of
saving money.
1T can only come through Con-
gress insisting upon the elimina- |.
ton of waste, extravaganza and
corruption" he said.
Mr.. Truman's criticism of but /
terf1y statistics" was made in an
obvious reference to a piece by
Stanley High in the Readers Di- |
geSt.
Mr.. High told newsmen he based |
all his statements on remarks and
reports of Senators, including
Senators Byrd and Douglas, Dem
ocrat, of Illinois.
IF these are butterfly figures,
as Mr.. Truman says. they are
Democratic butterflies" Mr.. High
added. There is nothing the Re-
publicans can say against the
present administration that isn't
being said better by Democrats"
Senator Taft, Republican. of
Ohio. a possible COP presidential
candidate, told the Senate he
thought President Truman is
talking nonsense if he thinks the
program we shall get into two
years from now can be balanced
by taxes without doing infinite
harm to the United States"
And Senate Republican Leader
Wherry of Nebraska said: The
administration is adopting the pay
as-you-go basis as a slogan for
spend thrifts who have no con-
ception of what a balanced budget
is, or how far they will go in f.
nancing wild schemes both at Il
home and abroad"
I'VE can't have a sound fiscal
policy if we follow the path of
Trumanism, Senator Wherry told
the Senate.
Both Senators Wherry and Taft
said Government spending may
climb above $100 billion a year.
Taft Sees Imitation Threat.
Senator Taft told his colleagues:
I'VE are undertaking a program,
if it is justif1ed-and perhaps it
is justified by the emergency
which will certainly lead newt
ably to imitation. -.
1T may or may not be neces-
sary to spend this money. but we
ought not to spend it without
realizing that if we are going on
in such a scale of expenditure, we
will plunge this country into
econoToic difficulty 4"
Senator Ferguson said the only
reason the President could claim
any surplus was they can't spend
it any faster than they have
been" He added that the RE
publican 80th Congress cut back
on his spending plans, despite
violent protests from the PreSi-
dent"