Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-02-05
Total for year 1874. ..........s1 a ,92O, 2g7 IS

Total for year lS74...........sIg 800, 2g7 IS
1t will be seen, as you follow the appro-
priationS actually made, and when you
come to look at the bills as footed up by the
cashier and chargedt the people, that there
has been a gradual and steady increase
one hundred and forty-fve millions in 1868;
one hundred and ninety-seven millions in
1874, and an equal number of millions de-
manded for 1915, its grand total being more.
Are we, in view of these facts, on the road
to reduction and economy? The gentle
man from Ohio, chairman of the Commit
tee on Appropriations, for whose intelli-
gence and familiarity with the details of
Government expenditures / have a very
high opinion, promised us from his official
position in 1872 that when the year 1876
came we would reach the level of just ex-
penditures, which he then placed at one
hundred and twenty-five millions yearly ap-
preparations and ninety-fve millions per
manent appropriations. Can he now promise
the country as much?
Mr.. Garfeld-Allow me to correct the
gentleman on one figure. The gentleman
has correctly copied what is printed inthe re-
port made by the Secretary of the Senate
and the Clerk of the House, of new Offices,
and appropriations actually made, and he
makes a total of SI97, 2 ,000 made during
the last session of Congress. | notice
among the items given, by which he az
rives at that figure, for the Postofice De
partment, S32,529,161. Now, il is perfect
" well known that we did not appropriate
any such sum as that out of the Treasury
for the PoStofice Department. We appros
pirate out of the Treasury only the deficit
of revenues below the expenditures, and
for the current year this deficit was about
$6,50O,000. Now, the gentleman has pre-
scented the whole S32,500,O00, which in
ciudeS all the revenues of the Postoffice
Department, as an appropriation made by
Congress. Now, the gentleman, instead of
S2,500,00O, should have charged to Con-
greSs S~6,500,000, the difference being S26,-
100000, which he needs to substract from
pis 1910 o 900 in orderto show the appro-
priations made by Congress atits last ses-
sion.
Mr.. Whitthorne.-For the very reason
that some gentlemen might attempt to mis-
lead the country IN this point, l have in
vited the attention of those who shall do
me the honor to read my remarks to a COM
p~arison between the years 1868 and 1873.
They will find that while in 1868 the ex-
penses of the Government amounted in
round numbers to S145, 10000 and last
year we appropriated S197,0O0,0OO, in 1868
we appropriated 100000 for the Post
office Department, and last year nearly
$33,000,000. l again ask the gentleman,
can he now promise the country as much
as ne did in the speech to which l have re-
ferred?
Mr.. Garield.-After the vote of yester-
day in relation to public buildings and
grounds, l fear not.
Mr.. WhitthorneI repeat that that GEN
tleman, in fixing the appropriations in his
eleven bills, for the year 1873, at S15 I,000,-
0OO, and promising further reduc-
tions, certainly fixed that amount as
the proper level of expenditures in
the then condition of the country,
Congress, in 1867, for the year 1868, as is
seen, fixed S145, 1872, 1897 as the proper
level. Why is it, Mr.. Chairman, that now,
in less than seven years, they have swelled
S50,000,0O0 beyond this amount? Interest
upon your public debt has been decreased.
The amount for pensions has not been in
creased, as will be seen by comparing the
pension appropriations for 1868, which
were S33,2S0,000, and those of 1874, which
were $30,4S0,000. These years have been
years of peace, and, until the panic of last
September, years of commercial and indus
trial prosperity. There has been no legiti-
mate demand, nor is there any legitimate
excuse, for an increase of expenditures.
Let us make another comparison, which
will make evident that this increase of ex-
penditures is not properly chargeable to the
civil war and its consequences. That COM
parison is by excluding the items "war,"
"nayy," pensions" and permanent appro-
priations," and taking only the items 'In-
dians" and miscellaneous" Gas shown by
the report of the Secretary of the Treasury,
made to the present SESSION. for the years
1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872 and 1873: