| Show A government OF ECONOMY 1 I say frankly to you that I 1 will not send to the congress estimates exceeding the probable receipts ot of the government and I 1 must warn you unless you use your pruning knives the executive will be compelled to cut deeply the estimates presented our country is one of the few in the world which whick to IB now paying its way as it goes and I 1 must regard with disfavor any tendency to interfere with this condition or to increase taxes in these words president harding addressing a meeting 0 of all or tun tilt executive officials of the departments and bureaus in warned them that economy must be practiced during the coming fiscal year as strictly as it has been during the last fiscal year the meeting was the third 0 of its kind in the history of the united states the two others were held during the last fiscal year those present embraced the cabinet officers their assistants chief clerks bureau heads beads executives ot of all independent commissions and other administrative officers of the government who have to do in any capacity with the expenditure of public funds and the preparation of estimates of public expenditures the dist two meetings were called at the suggestion of former budget director dawes they were so successful in securing operation cooperation co of the executive officials and resulted in suck such tremendous savings that the diac lice ice will be continued at least during the life time or of republican control of the government president harding took occasion to introduce to the administrative stra tive officials present the new budget director general lord and informed them that general lord would have the same unqualified support of the president that general dawes had president harding recalled that at the first meeting called by general dawes last summer it was predicted the year would close with a deficit of approximately instead it closed with a surplus ot the president attributed this to the hearty and intelligent operation cooperation co of the administrative officials with the budget bureau and lie he upon them the absolute necessity of rigid economy throughout the coming fiscal year ho he said we must here resolve through our efforts that expenses will be kept within incomes there must be the utmost economy there have been established those business principles and procedures which are capable of bringing faither economy during the current year and I 1 look to the governments executives for still closer scrutiny of their activities and attendant expenditures if in bour our jurisdiction you find activities and expenditures that can call be curtailed or eliminated I 1 admonish you to do it it if the laws do not leave it within your power to do this submit it to the president for recommendation of congressional action the business head of the government does not and cannot contemplate or expect that expenditures this year will exceed income every one of you needs to realize that your services belong to the government as a whole and not to a subordinate part of it to which you happen to be attached in a way it may sound prosaic and sometimes a little wearying to be talking about economy but you are engaged in the most important work nork that can be pursued sued for your government no less than a score of citizens of foreign governments have said to me we are watching your work of reducing your expenditures in ili order to apply the system to our country but more important than this is the effect it is having in setting an example to the states and municipalities there is no menace in america equal to the mounting of state county and i municipal expenditures undertaken without sense of financial responsibility this practice leaves us in a state of no one knowing whither we are going in expenditures |
