Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1865-04-06
FACTS 80 PROB
LENS OF TIE FUTURE.
Extracts from 81 speech orII0n. y,
n. Cox, Delivered March y, 'G5.

war. But | prefer to append it TO my re-
marks. Whereas before the war we scarce
ly expended more than SO, 0O0, 700 year,
now during the five sessions of the last two
Congresses, there has been an average APP
preparation of at least $500, 900, 900 per ses-
sion. The statement which hold in my
hand SHOWS that during the first and extra
sessions of the Thirty Seventh Congress
there came appropriation billsfrom the Com
mittee of Ways and Means amounting to
$226, 69l ,451 90. / say nothing now of the
loan and other fiscal bills cminating from
that committee. During the second session
of that Congress bills were reported to tho
amount of $3.50, ,020, 9S7 IA and during the
last session of that Congress S072, ,S27 800 80.
During the first session of the Thirty Eighth
Congress appropriation bills were reported
amounting to $1SS, l24 ,021 "a, and during
the present session l suppose it would be a
fair estimate to take the appropriations of
the last session of the Thirty Seventh Con-
gress, say 5000, 100000!
These are appropriation bills alone. They
are stupendous, and but poorly symbolic the
immense labors which the internal revenue,
tariff, and loan bills imposed on the COM
mittee. Neither do they represent the actual
appropriations for the House has frequent-
ly increased these bills enormously. The
aggregate of these appropriation bills reaches
the astounding amount of So, T7O, ,6T3, 296 81,
or nearly four thousand million dollarsl-
For the army alone the appropriation bills
during the past five sessions are over three
thousand milonsl And this business Of
appropriations is perhaps not one half of the
labor of the committee. There are various
and important matters upon which they act,
but upon which they never report. Their
duties comprehend all the varied interests
of the United States; every element and
branch of industry and every dollar or dime
ofvaluc. They are connected with taxation,
,ariffs, banking, loan bills, and ramify to
every fiber of the body polite. All the
springs of wealth and labor are more or less
influenced by the action of this committee.
Their responsibility is immense, and their
control almost imperial over the necessities,
comforts, homes, hopes, and destinies of the
people. All the values ofthe United States,
which in the census of 1860 (page l94)
amount to nearly seventeen thousand mil
lion dollars, or, to be exact, S16, l59, ,6l6 O6S,
are affected by the action Of that committee,
even before their action is approved by the
House. Those values fuctuate whenever
the head of the Ways and Means rises in
his place and proposes a measure. The
price of every article we use trembles when
he proposes the gold bill, or loan bill or
any bill to tax directly or indirectly, In ten
years these values increased at the rate of
more than one hundred and twenty-six per
cent, adding in one decade 1925, ,4Sl oil
to our real and personal property. Since
this war began these values have been drawn
upon to give credit and cash to the Govern
ment, and so drawn upon that one half of
the increase and one fourth of all of these
values are already practically under mort
gage. Can one committee properly pass up
on the immense interests thus bound up,
and reaching down to other generations =
Not only every rood Of land has now to sus-
tain its living occupant, but it has to sustain
soldiers in the field, and sailors on the sea,
who are not producing, but destroying,
what is wrought from the soil. Nay, more
it has to pay its tribute to the creditor OF the
nation, not only in the present. but to in
heritor of our national bonds The laborer
who works now his ten hours per diem must
work four hours more for the creditor of the
nation. Thus is our nation being overbur-
dencd by the legislation Of to-day burdened
for the present and for the future. Is it
not best to give every facility for the crys-
tallization of the wisest financial policy p
And does not this measure assume greater
importance because of its tar-reaching et-
fects upon our finances and our future p
Without discussing the wisdom of out pres
ent system Of finance is it not important, in
! this day when these debts arc growing, to
: have the system as nearly safe and just as
possible? Have we not already, like other
; nations, instead of providing for tho
interest of these great debts? What fol-
: lows? That money borrowed, being obtained
without sweat or sacrifice, is spent lightly,
without economy or care. Dr. Arnold well
says, that "a revenue raised at the expense
! Of prosperity is sure to be squandered waste-
h fully Waste begets want and the sums
raised by loans will commonly be large. =
y If that be true, is it not a cogent reason for
/ the separation of the old committee which
Z borrows from the committee which pays
p One will be veto on the other; and some
i thing Of economy may be gained, and some-
= thing of extravaganza restrained.
Mr. Speaker, do not propose to discuss
c this change of our rules in its details. But
: is there not necessity for some change P
s Is it not wise to divide such labors as have
l. been described? Who wishes to overwork
any set of gentlemen in this or any future
Congress? There are gentlemen who will
be in the next Congress when this change
shall take effect, who will be glad to share
S with the old committee the solution of these
5 financial problems. The problems are soon
}. to agitate the country above all other Ques-
/ tions Peace and war depend upon them.
Is They rise higher than peace or war; They
rise higher than the freedom and slavery OF
the blacks. Perpetual and enormous debt
is slavery for body and mind. Hence the
interests connected with these economical
questions are of all questions those most
g. momcntous for the future. Parties, states
!. manship, union, stability, all depend upor
II the manner in which these questions are
dealt with. Shall the tariff be one Of bount,
le or of revenue only? Shall a Chinese policy
Y ward off all foreign interchange from oul
n shores? Or shall protection, so long aban
G. doned by the scientific and practical men O
= our generation, be again introduced into ou
O. economy? Shall taxes be levied equally OF
e. the rich and poor? Shall the funded beb
~ of this nation be paid to the few in gold b.
IN the sweat of the many? Shall labor be he'll
is in thra and branded as the .serf of capital
rs Shall one interest or section be pampered a
x the expense and poverty of another? Shal
CT we forever bury and keep buried the sym
metric system of gold and silver currency
hg as the standard of the Constitution and 9
ne nature, under the lush growth of greenback
y! and paper promises When this war sha