COOLIDGE ECONOMISES

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 137, 7 December 1926, Page 9

COOLIDGE ECONOMISES

REDUCTION IN TAXATION

DEFENCE EXPENDITURE CUT DOWN.

(Unit*! Press Association.— Copyright.) WASHINGTON, 6th December.

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 Ist July; He also sought only part of the money authorised for 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 the country was now engaged in negotiations to broaden the existing treaties with the Great Powers which deal with tho elimination of competition in naval armaments.

MORE MONEY TOR AVIATION,

The President asked for 366,722,142 dollars for the War Department, an inefease of twelve millions, and 313,----815,500 dollars for the Navy, a decrease of nearly twelve millions, 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 for, construction of aviation barracks. The President recommended that the construction of an airship of six million cubic feet capacity, included in the programme approved by Congress, be delayed until tests had been made on a three million dollar, all metal airship, authorised.

Other votes asked for ranged from 50,000 to 2,500,000 dollars 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.