Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1858-08-25
The Public Rxpsnditurss.


lift b true ~ Edmand Burke said that 9Th
revenue 10 the dovsransns" il 10 surely the dut.
Of the people 10 that the public treasure of tn,
couat<y e not wasted and sqaandered by the pro
Aigass odicials in the pablis service. That such
Is the csss under the present Administration. NJ
one win have the hardihood 10 deny-and it is q
subject which cannot be too frequently or forcibly
urgel upon the popular attention. In this view,
we copy below IN extract from speech lately de-
liverel by Senator Trumbull Of Illinois At Chica-
80. The reckless prodigalty and wanton extrav-
aganee Of the Administration are 40 clearly shown
up in this speech that il is impossible for the
did aaainFAstial reader 70 fail Of being convinced
BY its arguments:
The expsnses Il the government a. you have
probably often heard, have Increased enormously
disposal Of government for this year is more than
ono hundrcl millions OF dollars. This know has
sometimes been disputed; bat have here the Of
fcisl statement made BY the clerk Of the House Of
REPRESENTATIVES, showing that more than eighty
one miliiens were specifically appropriated at tho
last session Of Congress; and there arc indefinite
appropriations to par claims, that amount at the
lowest estimate to,three millions and half, max
ing over eighty-four millions, and there is an
expended balance Of appropriations made last year
amounting to more than sixteen millions. These
altogether make more than hundred mil
lions of dollars at the disposal Of the admnstra
ton, for ths present fiscal year. know it is said
it is unfair 10 charge all this to this year; that
surplus viii remain At the end Of this year to be
carried to the next list; but think it is much
moro likely that the administration will come in
with deficiency bill, and ask for some ten mil
lions more, they did at the last Congress, than
tina. any Surplus will remain The expenses of
the government during the Administration of
General Pierce were s232, s2OG32. This is more
than all the expenses Of the government from 100
when it was organized, for thirty years together,
including the war with Great Britain in lSl2.--
0caeral Pierce expended more money during the
four years Il peace than our government expend-
c for the first thirty years after its organization.
In 1923. the expenditures Of the government for
all purposes, exclusive Of the public debt, were
1854, l5i,j9. In 1857, the expenses Of tho gov
crnment, exclusive Of the public debt, were SG5
o32, 559.16. The rvs rata according to tho popu-
lation in 1923, was "a cents on each individual
The pro rata in 1857 was S2,2s according to pop
ulation. Now, these facts ought TO attract the Mt
tentiou of the country: but perhaps if were to
state in detail soae Of tho wasteuness of the gov
ernment--some Of the means by which these cx-
penses have been increased. il would strike some
minds more forcibly. | will call your attention
to the city of Chicago You have a custom house
located here. In 1852, or for tho fiscal year end
ing in June, 1853 the last year Of Fillmores nd
mnistration, there was collected Mt Chicago y
S0S,SG. Six men wcrc employed to collect it, and
they were paid 81, ss2i2- That was little over
2 per cent. For the year ending June 30, lSjd,
was collected Mt Chicago $l45, 662.4o. Sixteen
men were employed IN its collection, and they
were paid sIl,349.2o. for doing it. Now ask
you, living right here ~ you do, is there any
son for THIS Increased expenditures Can You
tell me any reason why it cost ten per cent the
last fapa IN nj lAcff hA yava
and only little over per cent four years ago.
Is there any reason for it except that the govern
ment vents to shower the money upon tayorites? |
eyes, there is a resson") don't know what it
is. ("The DeMocratic party must be sustained
Laughter and apBBlaasel ! think thu, is
must sustain the ofhccholders But Chica-
go is only q single case l have tho Off
c,al report here, and will state a few other en-
ses to show yeu how the government expends mo-
aey. There are some ether points where expendi-
lures for collecting tho revenue are much worse
than at this point At Wilmington, Della, there
was collected in 1857, $2,OO4.95. How many men
do you suppose it touk to collect that amount and
how much do you suppose they got for it. 1t took
eight men. and the expense OF collecting was Sl5
S4s3S! lLaughter.) Gentlemen YOU begin EN-
tirey too soon- These are the better sort of ca
ses. At AnnapoS, in Maryland, there was collec
ted the same year, s374.25 tRenewed laughter
that, h took four, and they were paid for scrv-
ces 1888. At Ocracock in North Carolina.
$a2.55 were collected in 1887. tLaughter.) 1t
tosk seven mea to do it. ll.aughter.) And M
economical government, under Democratic ad-
minstrtion, Priding itself on its economy, paid
seven men to collect ahis $685. thesnm OF S23ol
So (Laus hter.) At Port Oxford. Oregon Terri
torv-now, you would expect something extrava-
giant over there-tbepe was collected $685., and it
took two men to collect it, and they were paid Tor
collecting 80, 703 0S. (Grcat laughter Can any
OF you make the calculation Of the per cenagc
that was raid to collect $5.S5? ! believe it was
about Ave hundred to one. Don't you think the
Government ought to get rich? AT Monterey.
California the amount collected III 1897 was
$45.25. Three men were employed to collect it.
and paid for doing it 81 .050.95. AtBu8alo there
was collected in 1857 $l0,l40.52. There were
ten men employed in its collection. aud they were
paid S16.896.I. willnot weary you by reading
this refert further. 1t Is the official report from
the Secretary of the Treasury in answer to rcqui
sition Of the Senate calling upon him to know how
many employees I've had At the different Custom
Houses; what be paid them; how much they col
lected, &C., and here 10 the official report from
every collection district in the United States. |
haze singled outa part Of them as examples
l"When can We have the report!"] You can have
this pablished-it isn public document Has
Douglas got it, suppose he has, for he sus-
tains tbs administration ON every point save one
viii DOW give you some account Of the total OK
pense Ut collecting the revenue for several years
past. In 1850, Co4gssss passed Law appropria-
ting 81. 10000 annually to defsay the expenses
OF collecting the revenue east Of the Rocky Noun
tains. During CsylSr's and Fillmores admins
tratiou, the 1Aple revenue east Of the Rocky
Mountains was SOLICITED for abcnt two million
dollars per annum, leaving q surplus of more than
$l.G00 600 at tho end # the &ss years. During
the four years Of tho administration Of Genera