The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-10-25
A Wheeling Reformer up nj Steu'
benyille.

4 wheeling Reformer up nj Steu.
benyille.
We observe that the steubenville
Ga=ss sets much store by speech made
in that city las. week by the Democratic
Prosecuting Attorney Of this county.
The editor publishes several columns of
it-not exactly the speech, ip'issima rerbi',
but, as he says, the substance Of it. As
Punch said, in his laconic criticism OF
the poem called Miles Standish, pub
lished some years ago, "it this
poem is poetry we can reel you
of whole miles Of it," 80, we may say, If
thi. speech Of the Democratic Prosecut-
ing Attorney Of Ohio county is the kind
OF meat, or milk, or milk and water, or
whatever you call it, which the Steuben'
Vile Democratic stomach Graves, we can
send up at least score Of Democratic
orators from here who can furnish the
same sort of linguistic nutrimeut by the
yard. All the young Democratic lawyers
around the Court House in this city have
the same speech by heart.
We observe that the Prosecuting Aitor-
ney undertook TO scare the steubenviI-
lians with an array of figures (taken, per
haps, from Henry G. Davis speech on the
iuances) by which he showed them how
much cheaper the Democracy had always
run the government than had the Repub.
licans. For instance, he told them that in
1855 we paid in this country Federal
per capita tax Of 81 81, and in 1870 tax
Of sli 67, and now over SIT per capita.
We desire to ask Retormer Cracraft if
he knows what were the entire expenses
OF the Government OF the United States
for the fiscal year Of 1875? According
to table in our possession they were
s274, 100000. Ne1twe desire to ask him
il he knows about what was the popula-
ton OF the United States for 1875? As
We figure it, twas not far from 4S, S,0OO, 600.
Now If we divide s274, 100000 by 4S,o0o.-
900, we have asa quotient So 81, or re-
duction, at one jump, Of $40 6S per capita
on Retormer Cracraft's statement. This
will do to begin with. ,
Let US analyrs the expenditures OF this
government little for the year 1875, and
SET how great i. the difference between
good old Democratic times and these
present times. As we have said, the sum
total for 1875 amounted to S274 900 900.
Out OF this we paid slOs, s,oO0, 900 in the
way OF interest on the debt fastened upon
the country by the Democratic rebellion
OF 1861. We next paid in the way Of
sinking fund appropriations s25,ooOpOOoi
next, on account Of pensions, s29, ,oOo, 900;
next, on account OF internal revenue ex.
pepses, s7,000,0Oo; reiunding war taxes,
81 500, 900. war damages, $4,000 0oOi
printing bonds aud notes, and negOtis-
ting change Of loan, 100000; extra
clerk hire caused by the war, $500 900;
interest Oh Pacific Railway bonds,
s., 100000
These expenditures, including the in
,erest on the debt, foot up sl76,oOo,OO0.
II we subtract this amount from the s274,.
100000 Of gross expenditures for 1875
we have SOS, 100000 as the ordinary ex'
penses Of the Government for that year.
In order, however, to reduce this sum as
near TO an equality a. possible with the
good old Democratic times Just preced-
ing the advent Of the Republican party
to power, We must needs turn /! into
gold, which will cost say for 1875, sl2, ,ooo,.
00O,-leaving as the ordinary expenses
Of the government ss6,OOO.OOO. With
this sum we kept up the army, navy, In
dian bureau, and miscellaneous civil
service, such as the pay Of foreign
ministers and cOnsuls, the pay Of Con-
gress and all the employees OF the various
departments OF the government.
Now if we compute our population At
$4,000, 900 for the year rs, and divide
that number into sss,oOO,OOo, we shah
have as the tax laid upon our people fOt
the net ordinary expenses of the govern.
ment about 81 per head. Mr.. Cracraft
says that in 1856, in good old Democratic
times, il was sl.9l. This leaves a mar
gin in favor Of the year 1856 over 1875
Of nine cents per eapita-a margin that
Is more than overcome BY the imitation in
prices, even on a gold basis, in the way Ot
supplies for the army and navy and other
necessary expenditures, saying nothing OI
the increased siIe OF the army and navy
in consequence OF the rebellion.
There we're two or three things that
Mr.. Craeraft, ~ reiOrmsr, should have
told the steubenviIle people, and which
he omitted. He should have told them
something about the beauties OF Demo.
cratic rule IN West Virginia. We do not
observe, however, that he had anything
to say on this point. he, for instance,
never told them how legislative ex.
penses here had been run up from
$4,000 per annum III 1870 under Re.
publican rule) to SlOs, ,oCO ia 1873 under
Democratic rule. Nor did he tell them
anything about the frightful increase in
the debt OF New York city under Demo.