Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-06-05
WHAT WE PAY THE PIPER.
Our Government the Nest Costly ON
Earth, in Proportion TO POPuIa'
lion.

Earth, in Proportion 20 POPuIa.
ton.
Cincinnati Commercial
It may startle some readers who be-
lieve that the Government Of the Uni
ted States Is comparatively economical
in its expenditures, to learn that our
general government actually spends
more every current year on its civil
service and administration than any
government in the world, in proportion
to population. For the purposes Of
comparison we viii leave out the items
Of the army, navy, and the public debt
! charges, and viii include only the
amount expended on the civil list and
current administration. The last re-
port of the Secretary Of the Treasury
on the finances shows that the United
States expended during the fiscal year
! 1874, exclusive of the military service,
Of pensions, Of the naval establishment
and Of the public debt, the enormous
amount Of SCI ,834, 055; this with pop
ulation of about forty million souls.
Let us compare this with the expen-
| ditures for the same objects "a. e., ex-
GLIDING the cost of army and navy and
| interest on public debts of the six
leading nations of Europe:
Austria now known as the Austro-
| Hungarian monarchy, with a popula-
| ton Of thirty-six millions, expended in
its last official budget for all purposes
except those above named only $50, 000,-
| coo, or about SIS, 100000 less than the
United States, with nearly the same
| population. Yet Austria is a mon
arohy while we are a republic.
France, with a population of thirty
SIX millions, expended IN 1873, on It's
civil list andadministration eighty nine
millions Of dollars, as against our
ninety-twO millions. But there were
| embraced IN this eighty-nine millions
no less than twenty-five millions for
which the Government Of the United
| States has no analogous expenditure.
| These items, which IN France are a
charge upon the public treasury, were
| for public worship, 100000 public
instruction and science, 100000;
museums and fine arts, 100000; tele.
graphic service, 50, 800, 900. and ptisons,
! $1,000, 900. For none Of these objects,
which belong IN our country to the To-
cal or State governments, does Con-
| gress have to provide. If we deduct
them from the French budget, as we
ought to do to afford fair comparison
with our own, it would leave but sixty
four millions Of annual expenditure IN
France for the same objects which cost
I the taxpayers Of the United States
ninety-twO millions.
The Empire Of Germany has forty
one millions Of people, and an eXpen-
diture on its civil list Of one hundred
and ten millions per annum; but this
embraces the civil government expenses
Of dozen separate governments, IN
Guiding Prussia, Bavaria, SaxOny, Ba-
den, Wirtemberg, etc. The actual ex-
penses of the confederate imperial gov
eminent are but little more than half
Of this, leaving out military and naval
charges and public debt
Great Britain, with a population of
100000 in 1871, expended last year
only S56,u00. 900 on its administration
and civil list. But this included the
enormous proportion of Sd, 100000 for
the administration Of justice, prisons
and police, which IN our country falls
wholly upon the local governments,
except about 100000 for the Courts
Of the United States. Great Britain,
moreover, expended Sl2,O00.00O out If
its S56,0OO,0O for public instruction,
for which our Federal Government has
no corresponding expenditure to show
1t follows that we IN the United States
are maintaining the General Govern
ment at a cost about three times as
great. comparatively, for administra-
tive purposes, as that Of Great Britain,
which is SO often denounced as extrava-
CANT.
The Kingdom Of Italy, with 27.OOO,-
600 inhabitants, spends S39,00O,000 on
administration; but twO.thirds Of this
sum IS expended on such items as
prisons, police, railroads, telegraphs,
roads and canals, agriculture and pub
lie instruction. So that Italy exDends
only about Sl5,00O,00O annually on
administration, against our S92, 900, 900.
Lastly, Russia, with its enormous
population in Europe and Asia Of
eighty-two million souls, expends only
SI3j, 100000 on administration, at
least one-third OF which is for objects
which, in the United States, do not
constitute a charge upon the National
Treasury.
IL the Russian expenditure were on
the same scale as our own taking into
account the difference Of population,
it would rise to one hundred and eighty
four millions as the annual cost of its
civil service, instead Of about one hun
dred millions, as at present. On the
other hand, were the United States to
practice the same economy Of admins
tration as prevails on the average inthe
six foremost Nations IN the world, it
would cut down our civil list from nine
ty-two millions per annum to less than
fifty milIinns