The Pensacola Journal

DEFICIT FOR 1923 INCREASED
While republicans are claiming that the administration is making savings, Secretary of the Treasury Mellon in an official statement shows that the estimates of deficits are steadily increasing. One of the wildest statements concerning republican economy was recently published in the press and attributed to Senator Lodge, leader of the republican party in the senate.
Senator Pat Harrison, (Dem., Miss.) called the attention of the senate to this error published all over the country and also exposed the false claims of the junior senator from Ohio, (Mr. Willis.) in a recent New York speech.
"In the course of his (Senator Lodge's) speech." said Senator Harrison, "which carried in all the press of the country. he made the statement that appropriations of $337,000,000 asked by the departments have been cut to $1,428,000,000. Whether he made that statement or not. I do not know. Of course, he was speaking as a candidate and laboring under the enthusiasm of speaking to his constituents and it was but natural that he should get his figures a little confused. And whether he made the statement or not the papers carried it that way."
Senator Lodge' said there was an error of one word in the statement which he corrected on the floor and in the permanent record, but admitted that the papers carried his statement wrong.
Senator Harrison said many grossly exaggerated claims have been made. He called attention to the speech of Senator Willis of Ohio. making claim to big changes and big cuts and then referred to the letter from Secretary of the Treasury Mellon to Senator McCumber, saying that the estimates of $167,000,000 deficit for 1923 have increased "under the alleged splendid management of the new administration" to $484,000,000, which the senator thought might be more when the true facts are known.
Saying that Secretary Mellon attributed the increased deficit to the falling off of the income tax, Senator Harrison added:
"I think that is true. There is depression everywhere. Nobody is making any money scarcely under the promised prosperity under this administration. So it is perfectly natural that incomes should be greatly diminished. You, who have been laying and may in the future lay large claims of savings, should study the deficits and remember this report of the Secretary of the Treasury.'"