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PUBLIC EXPENDITURES.

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND THE APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

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When the Republican party took control of the Federal Government in 1861, it found the income and the outgo nearly balancing each other, the latter then amounting to only $60,056,754. As the Hon. James G. Blaine says in his Twenty Years of Congress," "the leaders of the Democratic party had guarded the Treasury with unceasing vigilance against every attempt at extravagance or corruption," and the result of Democratic frugality and honesty was apparent in the annual revenue and expenditures.

From 1861 to date the Republican party has been in control of at least one branch of Congress, and, except for four years, of the Presidency; and during more than one-half of that period, it has controlled both houses of Congress and the executive department of the Government. It has successfully evaded the "unceasing vigilance" of the Democratic party, and a part of the result of this evasion is apparent in the $1,035,686,921.20 appropriated by its last, the 51st, or Billion Dollar, Congress.

But that is not all. The Republican party has, from time to time, enacted laws which have fastened upon the public Treasury the enormous drains which have made it impossible for the Democratic party, when in partial control of the Government, to reduce the outflow to economical proportions; and at every attempt to repeal or modify any one of those laws, the Republican branch of Congress or the Republican President has interposed to prevent relief to the over-taxed people.

Unable to repeal the laws which created abuses in the public expenditures, the Democratic party has been reduced to the necessity of diminishing instead of abolishing those abuses, by lessening the appropriations wherever this could be done without doing violence to the public faith or injuring the public service.

Such savings as it has thus been able to make have been made against the earnest protest of the Republicans in Congress, and generally only after long

struggles between the two Houses, the Democrats nearly always being compelled to yield something of their cause, as in this, the 52d Congress, in order to avoid a prolonged session and an unseemly conflict.

The Democrats got control of the House in the 44th Congress, and appropriated $58,197, 158.93 less than the Republicans appropriated in the 43d Congress. The Republicans controlled the House in the 47th Congress, and appropriated $49,898,264.32 more than the Democrats appropriated in the 46th.

The Republicans were out of power in the House from the 47th to the 51st Congress, in which latter they appropriated $217.723,061.40 more than the Democrats appropriated in the last preceding Congress.

THE RECORD OF THE FIFTY-SECOND CONGRESS.

In considering the appropriations made by the 52d Congress, it should be borne in mind that the savings made were brought about in spite of Republican resistance; that the appropriations were made almost entirely in compliance with laws heretofore enacted by Republican Congresses; that the Billion Dollar Congress, besides being itself extravagant, enacted laws which compel its successors to make unnecessary appropriations, and that the amounts carried by the appropriation bills, as these passed the House in the first instance, were largely increased by the Republican Senate. It will then appear that the “unceasing vigilance" of the Democratic party, though exercised against giant difficulties, has accomplished much by way of guarding the Treasury "against every attempt at extravagance or corruption."

The Billion Dollar Congress enacted laws which made necessary the following appropriations by this Congress :

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Repayments to importers, debentures or drawbacks, customs..

Bounty on sugar...

Snag boats, Ohio river.

Colleges for agricultural and mechanical arts.

World's Fair..

620,500 00

48,000,000 00

25,000 00 9,500,000 00

125,000 00

225,000 00

5,000,000 00

10,000,000 00

Total

25,000 00 833,000 00 3,291,250-00

$79,527,602 62

To those expenditures for which the present Congress has been compelled to appropriate may be added 1,057 new offices with salaries aggregating $1,452,930.82, in addition to some 648 charged above at $695,420; and 1,151 salaries increased at an annual cost of $159,724.82, in addition to the 63 judicial salaries charged above at $88,000, all created and made by the last Congress.

The Republican Senate added to the bills as they passed the House the sum of $32,407,798.23; but the House succeeded in forcing the Senate to consent that this additional amount should be reduced to $13,456,331.33, thus by “unceasing vigilance "saving to the Treasury $18,951,466.90.

In addition to this, over $25,700,000 of the permanent and indefinite appropriations must be charged to the action of the Billion Dollar Congress, inasmuch as these appropriations were necessarily made upon the basis established by the legislation of that Congress.

Remembering these things, look at this table, which shows the estimates of the amounts the Republican Treasury officials said that this Congress ought to appropriate, the amoun s it did appropriate, and the amounts appropriated by the Billion Dollar Congress at its two sessions respectively, etc. :

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Amount of estimated revenues for fiscal year 1893
Amount of estimated postal revenues for fiscal year 1893.
Total estimated revenues for fiscal year 1893.

$375,000,000 00 80,336,350 44

$455,336,350 44

a Includes $889,758.50 for the Weather Bureau, heretofore appropriated for under the War Department in sundry civil act.

b One-half of the amounts for the District of Columbia payable by the United States, except amounts for the water department (estimated for 1893 at $403,939.46), which are payable from the revenues of the water department.

c Includes special appropriations for ratifying agreements, together with $2,991,450 payment of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations of Indians; in all $8,617,740.75.

d This amount includes $1,000,000, appropriated by joint resolution September 29, 1890, for nickel ore or nickel matter for naval purposes.

e Includes all the expenses of the postal service payable from postal revenues and out of the Treasury.

f This amount includes $985,000 estimated expenditures under indefinite appropriations for pay and bounty claims.

g This amount includes $1,362,059.16 actual expenditures under indefinite appropriations for pay and bounty claims,

h No estimate is included in the footings of the "annual estimates for the public service" for rivers and harbors for 1893. The amount that can be profitably expended in that fiscal year, as reported by the Chief of Engineers, is $58,064,950. (Book of Estimates, 1893, pages 202 208.)

i No general river and harbor appropriation act was passed for 1892, but an appropriation of $1.000,000 for the improvement of the Mississippi river was made by joint resolution approved March 3, 1891, and appropriations amounting to $1,951,200 for the improvement of certain harbors and rivers were included in the sundry civil act, making in all for 1892, $2,951,200.

j This amount is approximated and includes $2,653,000 for the World's Columbian Exhibition.

k This amount includes $7,674,232 for pensions for fiscal year 1892.

/ This amount includes $29,335,598.34 for pensions for fiscal year 1891.

m This amount includes $25,321,907.35 for persions for fiscal year 1890.

n This amount includes $15,227,000 for refund of direct taxes in addition to the specific sum of $500,000 appropriated for that object.

o This amount includes $1,000,000 for procuring farm mortgage and other statistics; $1,364,000 for aid to agricultural colleges; $1,200,000 for Rock Creek Park, and $598,085.81 for additional clerical force for Pension and other offices.

p This is the amount originally submitted to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury as estimated to be necessary under permanent specific and indefinite appropriations, except that to the amount thus submitted for 1891, $101,628,453, there is added expenditures under permanent appropriations made subsequent to said estimate as follows: Salaries, diplomatic and consular officers, $27,756.79; redemption national banks notes, $23,553,298.50; expenses Treasury notes. $218,362.60; coinage of silver bullion, $210,893.14; rebate tobacco tax, $770,082.39, and repayment to importers and for debentures and drawbacks. $4,915,235.28; in all $29,695,678.70.

STATUTORY CHECKS ON ECONOMY.

The foregoing table shows that this Congress appropriated $59,812,829.69 less than the Republican Secretary of the Treasury recommended; $13,245,131.52 more than was appropriated at the first session of the 51st Congress; $33,529,291.98 less than was appropriated at the second session of the 51st Congress; and $10,142,080.03 less than the average appropriated at the two sessions of that Congress.

But in comparing the appropriations of the first session of this to those of the first session of the last Congress, $79,527,602.62, the excess due to the action of the Billion Congress, must be deducted from this year's appropriations; and comparing the amounts appropriated by this Congress with those appropriated at the second session of the last, $21,153,618, the amount of this year's River and Harbor bill, must be deducted, for the reason that there was no River and

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