Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1868-07-31
'elieved from further obligation in that di

Adding togetlcr these ordinary expen-
ditures, as have abuvc, the sum total il
found to be one hundred and six million
eight hundred and eighte. n thousand four
hundred and forty dollars. II Con-
yress can be accased Of extravaganza, the
accusation must he made good on these
figures. or else abandoned, for the other
expenditures. as have already repeated,
lac without the pale Of Congressional dis
cretion Or control, A clear estimate
Of the character Of these expenditures
may be gathered by comparing them with
! the 0utlays incurred under the last Demo
cratic administration. For example, in
1888 the same class Of expenses in Bu.
chanans ) administration We're over seventy
million dollars in gold. whereas the one
hundred and six million eigh: hundred and
eighteen thousand four hundred and forty
seven dollars above. named are In paper.
1t must be Obseryrd, moreover, tilst in
1857 SO the population Of this country was
under thirty millions, whereas. to-day it
is well nigh forty nliilions. Adding forty
per cent. preiniitil oli gold, to bring the
expenditures of the two cras to the same
standard, aud we find the. outlays Of Blu
chanan were at tho rate of over ninety
y ght millions IN paper to-day. To this
add one third tor increase Ot population,
and We fud the Buchanan expenditures,
adjusted to the scale Of to day. woulJ
amount to one hundred and thirty million
dollars tor the same items that we are pay
ing less than one hundred and seven md
lions for. And in this calculation have
said nothing about the increased military
and naval force OF the present day. which
adds immensely to the account in favor OF
present economy.
This calculation. stated in these general
terms. is far more striking and suggestive
hen you come to examine details. The
army, for instance, cost during the four
wears OF Bucllanan's administration, by
the official statement of the Treasury Dc
partmeut. which hold in my hand. the
large aggregate of $55;307. .575 SIS, making
AN average of well nigh twenty two mil
lions each year in gold. And ut that time
the army consisted in all Of nineteen rrgi-
mcnts 80 that each regiment cost cOnsid
crably over a million each year in gud.
The army at present contains sixty regi
ments aud yet the whole appropriation
asked for by Gen. Grant amounts to little
more than thrty-threc millions, trihe
more than halfa million per regiment each
year in paper. In other words. the army
under the peace establishment Of Demo.
cratit administration immediately preccd
ing tie war cost per regiment more in goid
than the amy now costs per regiment in
paper under the peace establishment NJ
administered by General Grant. Th,
same sca.c Of expenditure indulge in un.
der the administrator of Buchanan would
make our present army cost over seventy
millions in god or hundred millions il
paper; anG until the latter figure is exceed
cd the Democratic partistns of Buchanan
eau have no ground to charge that army
expenses are extravag,nt. When we look
at the actual amount spent for legitimate
army expenses. We See guvd ground tor
the high compliment bestowed by Presi
dent Johnson when few months since. he
publicly proclaimed Gen. Grants judi
cius c. -onotny is the direct cause OF saving
many millions to the Treasury With
General Grant's clcctio to the Preslden-
cy and the final paciication of the South
ern States, our army will at once he rcduc-
cd aud the expenditures Of the War De
pnrtment will be brought t" point SO in
considerable as no longer to be felt as a
burden tU the tax payer.
The comparison in regard to Naval ex,
pcnditures ut the two periods l have nam
cd, are equally suggestive and striking.
For the four Years of Buchannn,s ad-
minstration the Navy, by official records
cost fifty two million six hundrcd and forty
five thousand nine hundred and ninety eight
dollars and eighty.nine cents-showing an
average of more than thirteen millions per
annuin in gold coin. With a much larger
Navy, and with the disadvantage Of paper
money and high prices, our appropriations
this year are triie under eighteen mill
ions. Taking the difference in the size
of the Navy at the two periods and the dis
party between gold and paper and We
should be authorized, il we followed the
Buchanan standard Of expenditure. in
appropriating well nil gh forty millions fol
the years service. These facts are eer.
tainly suggestive and instructive.
In our Post Office expenditures. as com
ared with those of the Democratic regimes
the lifferenc is. il anything. more striking
than in the relative expenses of the Arm!
and Navy. Besides using mp all the post
al receipts, the Post Office Department fo
athe three last years of Buchanan admin
trstraion made drafts OH the Treasury to
he amount of over five millions n year, II
one year running up to nearly seven mill
ions. During the whole time the Repub
Iicans have been in power. the drafts or
the Treasury for the support OF the post
al service kuve not averaged two million
dollars per anmum, and with this moderate
expenditure, we have been enabled to car
| wv m the ilulueuse mail service in the in
terror Of the continentt and to The shores OF
the Pacific, through all our remote Terri
tories and sparscly peopled sections, ant
have also been able to msintain superl
line OF mail steamers from San Francisco
to Hong kO@g ana from New York tn
Rio Janier0, more of which extraordinary!
enterprises and expenditures We're leviet
ON the Department during Il buchanan's all
ministratiun.
These comparisons might he quite iu
definitely continued, exhibiting in cacl
item the same result, and demonstrating
With mathe matical certainty that when We
take into account tn vast increase OF pap
ula,inn aud the rapid and unprecedented
devrlopement Of our country during the
time the Republican party has been II
power. AMI when we take iuto further ao
count the fIct hat we have brel all TIT
while saljacted ms a Necessity OF the wa'
to the disadvantage of high prices resulting
fron paper money; taking. | say. these
| facts into account. assert and DEFY con
tradiction that large as our expenditures
have necessarily been. they have yet beer
ON scale of economy and fiji .lity quit,
un Known during the last Democratic ad