Still Trying

In a midyear review of the nation's finances, President Truman last week announced an earnest, all out drive to push the year's U.S. budget into the black. Making extraordinary use of his executive powers, he ordered the Secretaries of Army, Navy, Interior and Agriculture and four agency heads to slice at least $2.2 billion from the bankroll already authorized by Congress. Even this was not quite enough. The estimated deficit,* after the cutbacks, would still be $1.9 billion.

Since January's tentative forecast, estimates for both receipts and expenditures had been revised upwards. Government income, spurred by better-than-anticipated earnings, is expected to rise $8.1 billion over the estimate, to $39.6 billion. Expenses, despite pared-down departmental budgets, will probably be up $5.5 billion (to $41.5 billion, a peacetime record). Most of the upswing in Government spending, the President explained, was the result of legislation passed by Congress since the beginning of the year.

To wipe out the last blob of red at least by 1947 President Truman was counting on an unyielding tax rate and a previous blanket message to all Federal agencies and bureaus, urging penny-pinching economy all along the line. Said he: "I shall use all the powers available. . . for reducing expenditures . . . which can be postponed or reduced without serious harm to national security or welfare."

* But the President still expected to cut another $10 billion off the national debt by dipping into the Treasury's cash surplus. Estimated debt total on June 30, 1947: $261 billion.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.