﻿WHO 
  WILL 
  PKOMOTE 
  SCIENCE? 
  

  

  By 
  C. 
  G. 
  Abbot. 
  

  

  President 
  Harding, 
  in 
  transmitting 
  the 
  annual 
  Federal 
  budget 
  to 
  

   Congress, 
  on 
  December 
  4, 
  1922, 
  proposed 
  a 
  budget 
  of 
  approximately 
  

   three 
  billion 
  dollars 
  for 
  the 
  fiscal 
  year 
  ending 
  June 
  30, 
  1924. 
  Of 
  this 
  

   sum, 
  he 
  pointed 
  out 
  that 
  two-thirds 
  were 
  necessary 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  

   practically 
  fixed 
  charges, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  public 
  debt, 
  national 
  defense, 
  

   pensions, 
  World 
  War 
  allowances, 
  Federal 
  aid, 
  and 
  there 
  was 
  left 
  

   about 
  one 
  billion 
  dollars 
  in 
  charges 
  subject 
  to 
  administrative 
  control. 
  

   Analyzing 
  these 
  latter 
  charges, 
  he 
  at 
  length 
  came 
  to 
  the 
  item 
  

   $10,619,456 
  for 
  science 
  and 
  research 
  and 
  a 
  little 
  after 
  took 
  up 
  the 
  

   question 
  of 
  further 
  cuts 
  in 
  Government 
  appropriations, 
  saying: 
  

  

  Can 
  there 
  be 
  a 
  reasonable 
  expectation 
  for 
  further 
  considerable 
  reduction 
  in 
  

   governmental 
  expenditures 
  in 
  the 
  near 
  future? 
  This 
  question 
  is 
  no 
  doubt 
  upon 
  

   the 
  lips 
  of 
  many. 
  The 
  burden 
  of 
  taxation 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  World 
  War 
  has 
  borne 
  

   heavily 
  upon 
  us 
  all, 
  and 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  earnest 
  desire 
  of 
  the 
  Government 
  to 
  

   reduce 
  this 
  burden 
  to 
  the 
  minimum 
  consistent 
  with 
  a 
  proper 
  functioning 
  of 
  the 
  

   Federal 
  services. 
  We 
  have 
  seen, 
  however, 
  that 
  approximately 
  two-thirds 
  of 
  

   the 
  taxes 
  collected 
  go 
  to 
  pay 
  certain 
  fixed 
  charges, 
  over 
  the 
  expenditure 
  of 
  

   which 
  there 
  can 
  be 
  exercised 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  administrative 
  control 
  * 
  * 
  *. 
  

  

  After 
  deducting 
  these 
  items 
  there 
  is 
  left, 
  as 
  has 
  been 
  shown, 
  approximately 
  

   only 
  one 
  billion 
  dollars, 
  out 
  of 
  which 
  these 
  normal 
  operating 
  expenses 
  of 
  the 
  

   Government 
  must 
  be 
  paid. 
  It 
  is 
  against 
  this 
  group 
  of 
  expenditures 
  that 
  the 
  

   retrenchment 
  policy 
  of 
  the 
  Government 
  has 
  been 
  directed. 
  

  

  After 
  discussing 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  items 
  included 
  in 
  this 
  category, 
  he 
  

  

  continues 
  : 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  a 
  rapidly 
  broadening 
  field 
  of 
  Government 
  expenditure 
  

   which 
  may 
  be 
  discussed 
  with 
  profit 
  to 
  us 
  all. 
  I 
  refer 
  to 
  expenditures 
  which 
  

   are 
  being 
  made 
  from 
  appropriations 
  for 
  Federal 
  aid 
  in 
  lines 
  of 
  research, 
  im- 
  

   provement, 
  and 
  development, 
  which, 
  while 
  having 
  no 
  direct 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  

   operations 
  of 
  the 
  business 
  of 
  Government, 
  have 
  grown 
  to 
  become 
  a 
  recognized 
  

   part 
  of 
  its 
  activities 
  * 
  * 
  *. 
  There 
  is 
  question 
  as 
  to 
  how 
  far 
  the 
  Govern- 
  

   ment 
  should 
  participate 
  in 
  these 
  extraneous 
  activities, 
  and 
  I 
  am 
  frank 
  to 
  say 
  

   that 
  an 
  answer 
  to 
  the 
  question 
  as 
  to 
  whether 
  we 
  can 
  look 
  forward 
  to 
  any 
  fur- 
  

   ther 
  material 
  reduction 
  in 
  the 
  expenditures 
  of 
  the 
  Government 
  in 
  future 
  years 
  

   depends 
  largely 
  upon 
  whether 
  or 
  not 
  there 
  will 
  be 
  a 
  curtailment 
  or 
  expansion 
  

   of 
  these 
  activities, 
  which 
  have 
  already 
  added 
  greatly 
  to 
  the 
  annual 
  drafts 
  

   upon 
  the 
  Treasury 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  

  

  137 
  

  

  