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Show I USELESS SPENDING Senator Harry F. Byrd, in a recent re-cent press release, said in part: "The United States Civil Service Commission reports as of August 31, 1942, that there were 2,606,300 employees em-ployees ot the United States government govern-ment ... On Armistice Day, .November .No-vember 11, 1918, there was a total of 917,760 civilian federal employees. employ-ees. We have three times that many 1 now. In the last World War we had one civilian employee for every four and one-half members in the armed service. In this war, we have so far one civilian employee to every one and three-fourths members ot the armed forces, the ratio being two and one-half times more per sol-dier, sol-dier, and we are still increasing our civilian personnel at the rate of over 3,000 daily ... On November 11, 1918, there were thirty agencies of the government. Today there are SI distinct agencies, many of these making no direct contribution to the war effort." This remarkable statement should receive the careful consideration of every American citizen. When we consider that, since the release by Senator Byrd, the President has submitted sub-mitted his budget to Congress for the Bscal year, calling for 100 billion dollars for our war effort and nine billion additional for civic expenditures, expendi-tures, we gain some idea of what the conduct of this war is going to mean in the tax burden of the next generation. Curtail Civic Spending No one wants to limit a single activity necessary to win the war, but just ordinary common sense and economy indicate that every unnecessary unnec-essary civic expenditure should' wait until the emergency of war has passed. Right now o ir new Congress is confronted with the problem of preventing pre-venting excessive profits on war contracts. con-tracts. Present law provides for "renegotiation" of their separate contracts by the Army and Navy departments de-partments and tha Maritime commission. com-mission. There are some three million mil-lion of these contracts, but probably not 5 per cent will show excessive profits after taxation. The Internal Revenue department will find every case of excessive profits and, where such profits remain re-main after taxes, can report such cases for "renegotiation." This is practical economy and does the job the most efficient way. Industry and agriculture, both of which teel the pinch of nhortage of manpower, should support Congress in any method it decides upon as practical and economical. Preventing Prevent-ing new additions to the payrolls and cutting out useless civic expenditures and payrollers who have nothing to do that is constructive in the war effort will help solve the manpower problem and ease the burden of taxes. |