American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-07-06
Mr.. Dawes on Public Expenditures.

Mr.. DAWES, of Massachusetts, made a
speech in the House "A few days before its
adjournment, in which, according to the
Philadelphia Press, he accomplished the
very difficult feat of proving ''by anthem
tic statistics that the actual expenses of
the Government last year, apart from the
items for interest on the debt, pensions,
and other expenditures growing out of
the war, are but six millions more than
the aggregate expenses for 1850 under a
Democratic Administration" In other
words, MIR. Dawes proved that we have a
very economical Government-that it has
been growing more frugal ever since the
Radical party came into possession of it
and that it is a cheaper institution than it
was in the comparatively primitive
days of Buchanan-nay, that it is
actually cheaper than it has been
at any time since 1910. If all this
be true, the complaints of high taxes,
official extravaganza, embellishments. de-
falcations, robberies, corruptions and the
need of civil-service reform that we hear
more about under Grants Administration
than ever before, are all nonsense; even
the severe denunciations which Mr.. Dawes
himself, year ago, hurled at the extrava-
gance of the Administration were unwar-
ranted and baseless. If, indeed, with a
population in 1871 greater by 1000, 900
than that of 1860, the necessary expenses
of the Government are only S6,O00,OO0
greater, as MIR. Dawes pretends to prove,
then we ought to be a happy and content
ed people, and to cease our grumbllngs at
the economical officials who admins: er
our Government for us. Mr.. Dawes fig
ures out the cost of the Government for
1871, excluding interest, pensions and
other items caused by the war, at S61,-
S51, 091, as against S6l ,402 40S in $780,
and on this presentation bases his claim
for Radical frugality.
Now let us see what the real facts are
Mr.. Secretary Boutwell,, who, not know
ing any too much for Secretary of the
Treasury, certainly knows much about
this subject as Mr.. Dawes, in his last re-
port, gives the following statement of
expenditures of the Government for 1871,
excluding interest and PENSIONS:
Civil and miscellaneous purposes $50. 1910
Va E 1888" - ~
-----------..----..--..-. ''i2',"'
s1lo, 436,s1s
This statement does not include S125,-
$40, 56J paid for interest, and 1874. AS, S94
for pensions. The estimates are made in
currency, and ought, therefore, to be re-
duced IL per cent. to bring them down to
agold basis. This would make the expendi-
lures 1923, 5S4, 400, instead of $67, S5l ,091,
as Mr.. Dawes gives them, and show a
per capita expenditure for 1871, of 50. "a
against $1.95 in 1860. OF course Mr..
Dawes has great deal to say about the
additional expenditures 'made necessary
by the war" which closed more than
seven years ago. Whenever a Radical
can find no decent excuse for the faults
of his party, he attributes it to some sort
of necessity growing out of the war.
But there is no war reason why the army,
which cost only SIG, Az, 202 in 1860. should
cost $44, csc, 0S4 in 1871, and why the
navy, which cost only S11 ,514, 649 in 1860,
should cost SIS, 431 OPT in 1871. The
army and navy have no more honest bust
ness to do now than they had in 1860,
and their cost might, with perfect pro-
priety, be reduced to an amount but little
greater than that of 1860. Mr.. Dawes
estimates are worthless; the facts are
against him, and all the computations he
can make will not exculpate his party
from the charge of being the most ex-
travagant and corrupt that ever came
into power in this country.-Mlssouri Re
publican.