National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-01-07

streets, ut which place - persons hssias bus
ness relations With tho paper WI call. Du
NOTICE viii be given efths removal Of u
= busines Department "a H. neS RHult,cAl
building. -: :, e. = = a,-.G5as,, ,',
80 s.- *, A WORD. TosOoNaREsa
It Is to be hoped that Congress viii q
once set itself at work on the practices
c questions which press upon its attention
The country expects something besides
windy speeches made for "buncombe. !
1t is time that the chosen legislators of TIT
country should show that they have somt
higher and worthier purpose than. 10 OBJ
tain local popularity by attempts to securt
legislation for the exclusive benefit Of theil
own districts, or to, break down their fel
low-members by impugning their motivei
or asssiling their characters. Enviabls
regulations are not procured by enviou,
detraction of other people, sal ..o7arL
There is serious and hard work to b
done, and the Senator or Representative
who shirks now Is neither patriot nor {
good politician. Shall the taxes be in.
creasedf Shall the public debt be in.
creaseds Shall the expenditures Of the
Government be cut down. These are
= questions which must be answered, and
some one of them must be answered affirm
ativeiy. Let no man who expects to sat
isfy the country as legislator or states
man think he can ignore the condition OF
alfiirs and avoid the consideration Of
these questions. It may be very well to
spend the hours in the introduction of bills
which. by reference to Q committee, are
properly doomed to q grave from which
there il no resurrection, when the condi-
ton Of the country Is such that the let-alone
policy is the best; but now the people e1-
pect earnest honest intelligent efforts at .
solution of practical questions which are
vital We know that the revenues Of the
Government in the six months just ended
are thirty millions Less than for the CORE
spending period Of 1872. We know that
the expenses of the Government to
pay the appropriations made by Congress
are insuficicntly provided for by the laws
now in force We sec our public debt in
creasing day by day. and ws see mmy of
our people congratulating themselves at
every fresh million Of crisp legal-tender
notes which arc forced out of the Govern
ment stock of '1ampblack and rags, ap-
parently in blissfih ignorance that this Is .
forced loan, that pay day is coming by-and-
by. and that taxes must ~ surely be in
creased to pay the debt as that the sun win
rise and set. go D..
We have made our boasts that we were
the only nation which systematically re.
duoed its public debt The Republican Ad.
ministration has been Landed to theskies for
this phenomenon in national finance
phenomenon which may well be classed as
unique. Yet some of the orators who
on the stump had little else with which TO
tickle the ears Of their hearers than this
pleasing exhibit of the national solvency,
are earnest now in schemes not only to de.
plete the Treasury of its reserve" of
"greenbacks, but to create a new stock of
this irredeemable paper. We were about to
write "paper money" but the term is alb
surd. As well might one say I" brass gold
- "papcr money" Money is money, and
no paper is money, whatever promises 1t
may hold out to deliver money.
What sort of picture shall VIC present
to our political opponents in 1875 if we in /
crease the debt in time Of profound peacef
1t may be said that the reduction Of the |
revenues is a thing which could not have
been foreseen by Congress when they re-
duced the taxes a year or two since. Per-
hsps that is true, and perhaps it Is not. It
Is now evident that blunder was made,
and the only manly and straightforward
way is to restore taxes enough to meet the |
deficit which may be confidently expected |
Congress made the blunder. 1t was not the |
Executive Department Of the Government
that abolished the tax on tea and coffee,
q tax the removal of which has mot reduced
the price Of those articles in any appreciable
degree. The Executive Department exc
cutes the laws of Congress. 1t is not re-
responsible either for deficient revenues or
excessive appropriations. and it is not very
creditablc to Congress that they passed q
resolution requesting the Estimates" to be
reduced before they considered this ques-
ton of deficiency In the revenues. The
'book of estimates" Is made up by the
heads of Departments from the best data
obtainable, and expresses simply the
opinion held by those officers as to the
amount of money nsesssary 70 carry
out sristing laos. Only o small part of
the contents of the ''book Of estimates"
can be excepted from this remark. Let
Congress, then, 60 to work and say what
shsll be done, where expenditures shall
cease, where they shall be reduced. and
how the money shall be raised to meet
those which are provided for BY law.
There will be no difficulty in getting execu
tive officers to carry out the will Of Con-
grssa. But above all things viii II be I'M
wise for Congress to let this subject drift
until large deficiency stares us In the ace
and forces q resort to taxation to meet It.
Better decide now either on the policy of |
retrenchment or on the policy Of taxation.
We trust that Congress win in no event en-
terrain the policy Of borrowing. 80 a
Taxes can be 20 increased - not mate
eially to Cypress the people, and the odium |
of such increase viii disappear in year or
two il we have full treasury. Borrowing
money now viii leave all It's worst effects
To plague us in 1876. ~ : -. . $50 2
THE VIRGINIA CONGERYAUHEG
The message sent by Governor Kemper
to the Legislature ofVirgfnis On the 1T in
liant has Attracted no little Attention from
politicians of different belief Il Il mainly
remarkable because Il asserts an intention
on the part Of the writer to break loose
from Ill party ties and virtasiiy 70 fepa-
diate all afaliation with The Denuency. h
3 further remarkable becsuse the 0ovsznor
ofers an Alliance q - administsation With
Chat Of President Gant m immediatst
result from is publication has been the IN
nf,gfrafion of what our Consefvafive fk3anda