UNITED STATES BUDGET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19504, 7 December 1926, Page 11

UNITED STATES BUDGET.

THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH. OVER £800,000,000 SOUGHT. LESS DEFENCE EXPENDITURE. LARGE COST OF PROHIBITIONBy Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. (Received 5.5 p.m.) A. and N.Z. WASHINGTON. Dec. 6 ■ In the course of his budget speech the President, Mr. Calvin Coolidge, asked Congress for more than £800,000,000 for the fiscal year 1927-28. He said he wanted expenditure on preparedness forwar kept down in peace time s.ncl announced that ha would refrain from asking for appropriations for the three cruisers authorised for construction before August 1. * He also sought only part of tho money which had been authorised for starting the Government's five years aviation construction programme. Taxation questions occupied most of tho speech. The President said it was estimated that this year's surplus would be £76,615,819 and the 1928 surplus £40,140,772, but he claimed that tho latter sum would not be too large an operating margin. I National Defence Votes. Mr. Coolidge recommended Congress to reduce the taxes for the first six months of 1927. He urged that the amount of relief should depend upon the surplus it was desired to divert from debt reduction to tax reduction. In asking for an appropriation of £136,107,528 for national defeD.ce tho President said: " This country is now engaged in negotiations for broadening the existing treaties with the Great Powers which deal with the elimination of competition in naval armaments. He asked for £73,344,428 for the War Department, which is an increase of £2,400,000, and for £62,763,100 for the Navy, which is a decrease of nearly £2,400,000, and for £16,500,000 for the promotion of aviation for national defence and commerce. Aviation and Barracks. Of the latter sum £14,695,476 would be allotted to the Army and Navy aviation and would include £4,120,000 for new aeroplanes and £480,000 for the construc--1 tion of aviation barracks. The President recommended that the construction of the 6,000,000 cubic feet | airship included in the programme, which had been approved by Congress, should ! be delayed until tests have been made , of a £600,000 all-metal airship, which was authorised later. Sums ranging from £IO,OOO to £500,000 , were asked for the postal air mail service, tiie operations of tho coast-guard sea--1 plane fleet, forestry patrol, aeroplanes. and weather observation aeroplanes, i Mr. Coolidge also requested Congress to vote £6,000,000 for prohibition cnforcement. ; STRENGTH OF ARMY. ; FAR BELOW REQUIREMENTS. ' DESCRIBED AS APPALLING. !a. and, N.Z. WASHINGTON. Dec. 5. The United States Secretary of. War, ' Mr. Dwight F. Davis, and tho Chief of ; Staff, Major-General John Hinesi, in their annual reports, each lay stress on the appalling condition of the Army. 1 They declare that the terms of the [ National Defence Act, which provides for ; the maintenance of an army of 280,000 ! men, have not been fulfilled. They allege 1 that the Army now has only 40' pel" cent, of the strength contemplated by the Act.