837.51/647: Telegram
The Representative on Special Mission in Cuba (Crowder) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:45 p.m.]
138. Have given very careful consideration to your 180 November 22nd and think we may accept the assurance that it gives of revision of the budget for the next fiscal year 1922–23 to conform to 3d paragraph of letter of October 16th.
With reference to budget for current fiscal year, the situation is more serious. The President’s statement, in effect that in the eight days following the enactment of the budgetary law he had eliminated $17,000,000 of national expenditures, is misleading. The budgetary bill under which he acted was introduced July 18th, passed the Senate August 3rd and the House August 16th. The conference report on said bill was submitted to the President on September 12th and in exact conformity with his wishes. According to the President’s statements to me, nearly every day since the bill was introduced, and every day since said conference report was made, has been one of diligent study by him of budgetary reductions for the current fiscal year. His work therefore was not crowded into an eight-day period between October 22nd and November 1st, but extended over a period of nearly four months.
As I reported in my telegram of November 16th number 135 Zayas stated that he planned no reduction in the budget for the current fiscal year and the possible reductions in that budget could come only from acts of Congress enacted during the current fiscal year. In other words he proposed to substitute in the constructive financial program outlined in the letter of October 16th possible reductions by the Cuban Congress at a remote future time for positive and immediate reductions by the President under the authority of the recently enacted budget law. The budget which he has promulgated will almost certainly lead to a deficit of 10,000,000 and may possibly result in a deficit of 20,000,000. Such a large deficit can hardly be avoided by any action which may be taken under paragraphs 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th of said letter of October 16th. The President is returning to Habana today. I am endeavoring to make an appointment with him tomorrow. I shall combine both your telegrams78 in a single paraphrase which I shall present to him, emphasizing the procedure outlined in the last paragraph of your said 180 as an indispensable prerequisite to obtaining sanction for the $5,000,000 temporary advance.