Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1865-03-20

/ charge, for the most part, of the tariff bills,
whatever may be said of his economic sys-
TEN, is a statesman whose information is
co-extensiye with all the diversified in
terests of the country. He would perhaps,
in future Congress, take charge of one OF
these new committees. ,i q II
The gentleman from Massachusetts,, Mr..
tHooper,l who has had great familiarity
with the banking interests of his own State,
would perhaps have charge of the commit
tee on Banks and Currency. The distin-
guishcd chairman of tile committee of Ways
and Means Mr.. Stevens] would, doubtless,
have charge of that committee which has
reference to revenue, loans, and legal ten
der. All the members of the committee
here labored diligently. .,ys
A MEMBER. You are emitting the other
members of the Ways and Means.
Mr.. Cox. BY emitting the other menl-
bers of the committee do not mean that
they are notalso entitled to the thanks Of
the House. My courteous colleague in front
of me, Mr.. Pendleton,] so well represent
ing the interests Of the West, in whose
Qneen city he lives; the gentleman from
Missouri, Mr.. Blow, as elegant in manner
as he is eloquent in speech, representing an
other great western city and still further
West the urbane and accomplished MEM
ber from Iowa. Mr.. Kasson. the sterling,
practical statesman of the old school from.
Kentucky, Mr.. Mallory, and the courtly
gentleman Mr. Pruynl who represents the
| Empire State with its immense interests on
land and sea, are all embodied in the dis
tinguished head of the committee, Mr..
Stevens who combines with great decision
of character the abilities of all, without
losing his own conspicuous individuality.
Each member of the Ways and Means
has his specialty-each Olympian; and as
Spenscr describes the gods,
| Each easy to be known by his own vismomie,
But J0ve above them all by his great looks and
And yet, sir, powerful as the committee
is constituted, even their powers of endur-
ance, physical and mental, are not adequate
to the great duty which has been imposed
by the emergencies of this historic time.
IL is an old adage, that ''whoso wanteth rest
VIII also want of might" and even an
Olympian would faint and flag if the bur
den of Atlas is not relieved by the broad
shoulders of Hercules.
might give here a detailed statement of
the amount Of business thrown upon that
committee since the commencement of the
war. But prefer to append it to my re-
marks. Whereas before the war we scarce
ly expended more than $70,000,000 a year,
now, during the five sessions of the last two
preparation of at least SS0000O,0OO per ses-
sion. The statement which | hold in my
hand shows that during the first and extra
sessions of the Thirty Congress
there came appropriation bills from the
committee of Ways and Means amounting
70 S226,G9l, ,457 90. | say nothing now of
the loan and other fiscal bills emanating
from that committee. During the second
session Of that Congress bills were reported
to the amount of $SS3029,9S7 IA; and dur
ing the last session Of that Congress $972,-
S27,S29 90. During the first session of the
Thirty-E Eighth Congress appropriation bills
were reported amounting o$7SS, ,124O2l o.
and during the present session | suppose it
would be a fair estimate to take the appro-
priations of the last session of the Thirty
Seventh Congress, say S9OOO00OOO!
These are appropriation bills alone. They
are stupendous and but poorly symbolic
the immense lobors which the internal rev.
enue, tariff, and loan bills impose on the
committee. Neither do they represent the
actual appropriations; for the House has
frequently increased these bills enormously.
The aggregate of these appropriation bills
reaches the astounding amount of $3,770,-
673,296 81, or nearly four thousand million
dollars! For the Army alone the appropri-
alton bills during the past five sessions are
over three thousand millions! 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 of value. They are
connected with taxation, tariffs, banking,
loan bills, and ramify to every fiber of the
body-politic. All the springs of wealth
and labor are more or less Influenced by the
action of this committee. Their RESPONSE
bility is immense, aud their control almost
imperial over the necessities, comforts,
homes, hopes, and destinies of the people.
All the values of the United States, which
in the census Of 1860 (page 1919 amount to
nearly seventeen thousand million dollars,
or, to be exact, $l6,l59,6lG,06S, are affected
by the action ofthat committee, even before
their action is approved by the House.
Those values 1luctuate whenever the head of
the Ways and Means rises in his place and
proposes ameasure. The price Ofevery ar
ticle we use trembles when he proposes
gold bill, loan bill, or any bill to tax direct
ly or indirectly. In ten years these values
increased at the rate of more than one hun
dred and twenty-siX per cent, adding in
one decade SIS, ,925 4Sl, oil to our real and per-
sonal property. Since this war began these
values have been drawn upon to give credit
and cash to the Government, and so drawn !
upon that one half of the increase and one |
fourth of all ofthese values are alredy prac-
tically under mortgage. Can one commit |
tee properly pass upon the immense inter-
ests thus bound up, and reaching down to |
other generations? Not only every rood of |
land has now to sustain its living occupant,
but it has to sustain soldiers in the field and
sailors onthe 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 i'm the
present, but to the inheritor of our national
bonds. The laborer who works now his ten
hours per diem must work four hours more
for the creditor ofthe nation. Thus is our ma
tion being overburdened by the legislation
of to-day burdened for the present and for
the future. Is itnot best to give every facil-
ity for the .crystalization of the wisest fl
nancial policy? And does not this measure
assume greater Importance because of its
far-reaching effects upon our finances and
our future? Without discussing the wis
dom of our present system of finance, is it
not important, in this day when these debts
are growing, to have the system as nearly
safe and Just as possible? Have we not al
ready, like other nations, instead of pro-
viding for the principal, provided only for
the interest of these great debts? What
follows? That money borrowed, being
obtained without sweat or sacrifice, is spent
lightly, without economy or care, DIR.
Arnold well says, that "a revenue raised at
,he expense of posterity is sure to be
wastpinlIv Wnstp hptrets vrnr,t. |