, 1859-02-17

]. 8. Pike, one Of the New York Tribune ed
itoriA stat, il corresponding for that psper from
Washington. He argues that there will be no
retrenchment in government expenditures until
au administration is elected on that issue. OF
tho present Copgress and Executive he says:
They do not want to abridge expenditure.
They do not want to cut down appropriations
They do not want to economist They prefer
spending; they prefer liberal, laviah, and even
prodiga coursas- These are easiest and most
agreeable. Everybody curses economical men,
and everybody praises lavish man. The people
are 1t distance and they ara very nebulous
body. Save millions for them, sud who knows
and who applsuds the aet I who fees the richer
for it9 Spend wastefully, unnecessarily, mill
ions Of tho peoples money, and Vi ho knows
that, among tho distant busy muititudes Of that
same nebuIoua mass? But this spending rnAke0
fortunes. and It makes friends, and it creates
combinations, aud combinations create circum-
stances, and circumstances combins to sustain
and advance the forsunes Of spserdshritts.
There il not an atom Of the true spirit OF re-
trenehmsnt or economy in either branch Of
this government today.
TO illustrate the aame thing IN the Executive
branch. will t&ks single transaction in the
Post Otice Department, which will stand for
many of the same sort in that IS we'll II ia the
other departments.
Congress, Ut the last session. struck blow at
ocean steam mail transportation, BY passing q
Law confning the compensation to the receipts
on such lines- DRt smother equally important
branch Of the service il left unrestrained by
law. This Is the California service. Observe
this, and see IN example Of Ez<sxtsps economy
and discretion.
There was, when this administration cane
into power, regular mail line to California, via
Aspiuwall. For this service the enormous aum
Of s<pfa hundred and fifty t1on.asd ds1lars waa
paid annually. Of which not more thsn thifd
seem to be tolerably far allowance, ons Of the
public treasury, TO be paid on any one msl1
route. But tho last Cougress undertook the
extra liberal olics Of sending = saml-Noekly
mail overland to California, At the additional
cost Of siz hundred thousaad dollars per anuunn,
getting almost nothing iu return By way Of
postages In these two lines was over million
and a Aird Of dollsts expended for mail SER
vice to California, and not one dollar in four
ever returned by way Of poatAgea- Things
we're Just thus when Governor Brown Of Ten
nesses, the present Postmaster General, delib-
eratety entered into yet dnother contract to
carry ret third mali 10 Califoraia. He made
freah bargain last year to send q mail from
New Orleans to Acapulco and thence to San
Francisco. via the Tehuantepec route, for
which ho psya tt0o Hundred and f}fy thousaad
dollars per annum, We are paying, theretore,
al this moment, out Of the Treasury. Tor trRrs.
porting The mails to and from 0alifornie direct.
The enormous sun OF one million ,Eos hundred
and eiqh&Y eiqht Mous0nd too Hundred and fftt
do1ars. for which the government receives back
in the way Of postages from quarter to third
Of million doIlAra. Now, eau any government
or any department Of any government 20 on
for any length Of time on 4 scale Of expendi-
ture like th1t running through it, GIRL aud nil
itazy eervicer Yet the Postmaster General de-
uberately added the last quarter Of million
that goes to make up the vast aggregate IN
virtue of his d;serHion as N executive officer.
This msY be taken a. sample Of tho Execu.
Hve antiun nf this government, By which, with
other causes, our national expenditures have
been swollen to over $76. .o00, 600 par aonum.
It is the way in which, 70 great extens, the
expenditures Of the Post Office Department
have aons On til they. s1eeed sss na'lltonx OF
dollars over its revenues.
II ID the Kx<eustse Government, then. repeat,
that must b. reached and corrected, before any
real progrsss can be made in retzenchiug the
enormous expenditures Of the Federal Govern.
nent.
Il Is well enough, perhaps. to drill away On
tho details Of tue Appropriation bill, u the
House Of Representative il now dong, cutting
of shaving here sud q shaving there, il you
please; bnt The who1e thing becomes ludicsons
In Tisx of the fact that this same Honse. BY An
seesion, made hot hasts 70 taks ton millions =
year out Of tbs Treasury, without stopping
hardly 70 offer 4 resson for It
Tbs machinery By which our expenditures
arc to b reduced il hardly Jet conceized-faT
from being conceived, md most certainly not a
wheel of Il in motion. The piddling measures
Of Congress pretending, to look toward this
anything bnt 10 throw dust IN the eyes OF the
p<ppae.