The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-31
EnOrmity Of the Public Expenditures =
Wells Report.
From The ". Y. World.

From the N. Y. World.
We have published white washing cam
paign document of the Republicans, intended
to parry the charge of extravagant expendi-
lures. AS nearly as we can learn the origin
and secret history of this white-washing mani
testo it was got up at the instigalion of
Horace Greeley who wrote, some three weeks
ago, to Speaker ColfaX, telling him that un-
less the statements III Governor Seymour's
thon reoent spsach were rshnttRd. they wnnld
do great damage to the Republican party.
Commissioner Wells was thereupou charged
with the task of cooking up an exhibit to ex
plain away the enormity of the Republican
expenditures. We will not, at present, enter
into any detailed criticism of the report,
thinking it more useful to call attention to the
bad state of the case as exhibited in this apo
logetio document What is here confessed
cannot afterwards be denied; and judged by
their own figures, the Republicans deserve to
be stripped of the power they so grossly abuse.
According to Mr.. Wells statements, the
total expenditures for the army and navy
from the close of the war to the Both of June,
1868, were as iollows:-
For the Army ,ll7Oi3
IOI Iue Navy lO5, llU,ZIO
O5C, ,227, ,3l9
This is at the enormous rate of more than
$500 O00, GOO a year in time of peace, while
previous to the war the whole expenses of the
Government were only S70,000000 a year,
army, navy, and everything included. 1t is
no wonder that the Republicans felt that the
salvation of their party is staked on their
ability to explain away these. facts, or to raise
a dust to cover them.
Being compelled to admit the facts, what is
their apology Why, that the scale of expen-
diture was altogether larger during the first
nIne months after the close of the war than it
has been since. Nobody disputes that but
"a ~ Al
dsbanded soldiers, he warily avoids going into
details If he had told the exact amount paid
to disbanded soldiers in each quarter of his
nine months, we should have had the means
of judging OF his apology. We challenge him
to produce such statement. What we want
to know is the number OF soldiers mustered
out during each of these three quarters and
the amount of money paid them on quitting
the service. That a prodigous amount was
spent at that time We grant; but that it all
went into the pockets of disbanded soldiers
we do not believe, and challenge the proof.
Vague generalites about the vast expense of
disbanding the army will not answer; we de-
mand an authentic transcript from the muster
rolls and pay rolls, before We can Judge how
much of this apology is fact, and how much
fiction. Mr.. Wells white-washing campaign
| document slurs over and suppresses the de-
tails, because the details would expose the
| lnsuthciency of this apology.
Without further discussing the expsndi-
lures OF those first nine months until we are
in possession of fuller and more detailed infor-
nation than Mr.. Wells supplies, we call atten-
ton to the enormous taxes which the people
paid III the third year after the close of the
| war, as admitted in his whitewashing report.
| The customs revenue collected in gold,
amounted to $l63, 500, 600. Reducing this to
its value in currency to avoid the confusion of
reckoning in two kinds of money, the revenue
collected in the fiscal year ending the 30th of
| last month was as follows:-
WE, UOO
internal Revenue. l93,OOOO O0J
bllscelaneOus 1I,OJOOOU
IuDllc OOO0O
.S1Il ,IOUUUU
And this enormous revenue was all spent
within the year, except about thirty four
million dollars Deduoting this sum, we have
the following exhibit for the year which closed
with the end OF last month";
OH'APonueu palahce' 347OO, ,OOO
Expenses of the year. r............s .sls7 OOO, 900
We have spent in the third year of peace
more than one-sixth of the amount of our
! gigantic public debt We are willing to 90 TO
ANa