Presidential Papers, Doc#396 To Joseph Morrell Dodge, 25 August 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
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Doc #397

Document #396; August 25, 1953
To Joseph Morrell Dodge
Series: EM, AWF, Administration Series
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIV - The Presidency: The Middle Way
Part II: Settling into "the long pull"; May 1953 to August 1953
Chapter 5: "So much to do in the world"

 

Dear Joe: Thank you very much for your letter and for the information it provided me.1 The more I study governmental finances, the more I am convinced that it is absolutely hopeless to make accurate predictions as to the future state of the Treasury. Since last winter, you, George,2 and I--with a group of loyal and dedicated assistants--have been trying to dig out and analyze facts. We have had much difficulty finding out what has happened in the past, what is happening to us today, and when we try to find out what will almost certainly happen to us tomorrow and the next day, we really have gotten into big trouble.

Nevertheless, I realize that it is only through the making of estimates that we can present intelligent programs to the Congress. We have to do the best we can. But I sometimes wonder whether in the foreword of all such documents, we should not bluntly state that all predictions assume certain conditions which can change rapidly.3

I am looking forward, of course, to the report.4 My only worry is that you are not really getting the vacation that you should have. I have at least been able to have my afternoons to myself; your recent letter to me and the one to Tom give me the uneasy feeling that you may be working all the time.5 This I deplore--even though I must admit that, except for you and your devoted work, I haven't the slightest idea what I should do at this moment.

If you feel that the personal appreciation of all your associates is any suitable reward for the enormous amount of work you do, then you should feel pretty good about it all. You are not only "our boy"--we are proud to advertise it.

Please remember me kindly to Mrs. Dodge.6 With warm personal regard to yourself, As ever

1 In a six-page, handwritten message, Budget Director Dodge had reported on the status of the midyear budget review, which would be released at month's end (Aug. 24, 1953, WHCF/OF 107-B). Dodge said that he had added "several new elements" to his report, including summary tables on budget totals and data; a resume of new obligational authority; a comparative analysis of the controllability of government expenditures; and a comparison of estimated expenditures with actual expenditure for fiscal 1953.

Dodge also noted a $3 billion difference between his figure for new obligational authority and the one that had been disclosed following final action of the Congress. The principal difference, he wrote, lay in the $2.4 billion increase in reappropriated balances. "By this device," he said, "the Congress can reduce new appropriations but give more funds. It makes the cut look greater! Not so much new money but add some old money."

2 Treasury Secretary George M. Humphrey would release the report at a news conference in Washington, D.C., on August 27 (see New York Times, Aug. 28, 30, 1953).

3 Dodge predicted that if certain conditions were met, "there could be a cash balance or even a cash surplus for the year." "This," he pointed out, "is quite a change from an original $6.6 billion estimate of cash deficit for 1954 and an actual deficit of $5.3 billion in 1953."

4 Dodge promised to send a prerelease copy of the report "air mail special--as soon as practicable." A copy of the report is in Cabinet meeting minutes, August 27, 1953, AWF/Cabinet.

5 In an August 17 letter to Presidential Appointments Secretary Thomas E. Stephens, Dodge had described his heavy schedule (WHCF/OF 107-B).

6 Mrs. Dodge, the former Julia Jane Jeffers.

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Joseph Morrell Dodge, 25 August 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 396. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/396.cfm

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