UNITED STATES BUDGET.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 8, 7 December 1926, Page 7

UNITED STATES BUDGET.

ESTIMATED SURPLUS. INCREASED APPROPRIATIONS. WASHINGTON, Dec. 6. President Coolidge, in his Budget speech, asked Congress for more than 4,000,000,000 dollars to run the Government for the fiscal year ending 1928. He declared that he wanted the war preparedness expenses kept down in peace time, and announced that he would refrain from asking for appropriations for three cruisers authorised for construction before July 1. He also sought only part of tho money authorised fot starting the Government’s five-year aviation construction programme. Taxation questions occupied most of the speech. The President estimated this year’s surplus at 383,079,095 dollars, and the 1928 surplus at 200,703,863 dollars, but he claimed that the 1928 surplus would not be too large an operating margin. President Coolidge recommended Congress to reduce taxes for the first six months of 1927, and urged that the amount of relief should depend upon the surplus it was desired to divert from debt reduction to tax reduction. He asked for an appropriation of 680,537,642 dollars for national defence, saying that this country was now engaged in negotiations to broaden the existing treaties with the Great Powers which deal with the elimination of competition in naval armaments. Tho President asked for 366,722,142 dollars for the War Department, an increase of 12,000,000 dollars, and 313,815,500 dollars "for the navy, a decrease of nearly 12,000,000 dollars, and 82,500,000 dollars for the promotion of aviation for national defence and commerce. Of the latter sum 73,477,380 dollars are allotted to army and navy aviation, embracing 20,600,000 dollars for new ’planes and 2,400,000 dollars for construction of aviation barracks. The President recommended that the construction of an airship of 6,000,000 cubic feet capacity, included in the programme approved by Congress, be delayed until tests had been made on a 3,000,000 cubic feet all-metal airship authorised.

Other votes asked for ranged from 50,000 to 2,500,Q00 for a postal air mail service, the operation of a coastguard seaplane fleet, forestry patrol ’planes and weather observation ’planes. The President also requested a vote of 30,000,000 dollars for prohibition enforcement.—A. and N.Z. cable.