The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1838-08-08
NEWPORT.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1888.
EXPENSES OF THE GOVERNMENT.

!.
. EXPENSES OF THE MENT
The zeal and persinacity with which the
Federal party has misrepresented the ex'
penses of the Government, render il thC
, imperious duty Of the Republicans TO cor
rect their mistatements, and to give TO the
public the true information which the sub
; ect requires. This is an easy task to those
who have access to documentary evidence
but difficult to those who have NOT. The
document compiled ut the Treasury by Mr.
WOODBURY., and showing the progressive
increase of expenditure from 1923 to 1887,
wah the items o. increase l.: and the state
ment of appropriations, made by the Clerk
Of the House Of Representatives, and pub
Ished in the Globe Of the 2Ist July show-
ing each head Of appropriation, for the
late session of Congress, arc themselves
sufficient to disabuse the public mind, and
to expose the unscrupulous impositions
which have been attempted 10 be practiSed
upon it. We have already made much use
Of the former of these documents, and
shown that the seven or eight millions of
ndennites obtained by General JACKSON
from foreign nations, and deHoered to our
citizens under appropriation laws, aud also
the three or four millions received in trust
for the Chickasaw, and other Indians, and
INFESTED by law for their benefit, were inclu-
ded by these Federal orators in the charge
of " "profigate expenditure, and ,oosteful e1-
rdUdgonce; )" and we will now show, from
the last ofthese documents, another instance
of this wastetuI ertrovagance," hardly in
ferior to the Others in the impudence and
mendacity of its asseveration. In the list
of appropriations of the late session, near
the head of,he fourth column, as printed in
the Globe, stands the following item:
"Eor tie service Of tie General Post
Office for the year 1888, IN conformity to
The act Of July 2, 1886, S4,691,OOO."
Now this item, while adding to the nom
inal amount of expenditures upwards of
four and half millions, does not in reality
add one cent To the expenditures. 1t is
nothing but the Post Office revenue, for
merly administered by the Post office De-
partncnt alone, but, since 1886, admins
tered under the appropriation laws of Con-
gress. This brings it into the appropria-
ton bills, where it never appeared before
1886; consequently, this is ore of those
" proiligate expenditures" which has cen-
trlbed to swell the expenses Of the Govern
ment This is the second year that the
Post Office revenue and expenditure has
been added to the Government expenditure,
and upwards Of nine millions of dollars for
the two years has thus been added to the
general appropriation bill, without adding
one cent TO the general expenditure. The
Federal members of Congress know this
very well; but deception is their object.
and they never tell it. When declaimng
about the rdstcfM Extravaganza" and
the increase of expenditures, they never
mention items, but dwell upon the gross
sum, aud thus deceive their own cons,it-
ucnts, to whom they owe at least true re-
ports of the laws they have passed. When
these gentry are declaiming about the a
mount of the appropriations, lie, any good
citizen stop blm, aud ask for the items of
the increase. The question would gag
him 1t would choke him down. Ii
would strangle him 1t would put an end
to the power of speech. Globe.