New-York tribune., 1876-06-19
TIE APPROPRIATION Ellis.

The Presidents Message to Congress on the
subject of the Appropriation bills Is entireiy
proper and timely We may question the
good taste of the Executive in submitting 10
the Legislature the draft of bill which he
wishes made law, but it was his duty as well
as his right to call attention to the danger
arising from the present deadlock, anu ne
certainly did well to point out way by
which the inconvenience to the public service
could be avoided. If the disagreement be-
tween the two Houses is not adjusted within
n few DAYS, Gen. Grants recommendation Will
have to be followed.
The delay in considering appropriation bills
is always one of the scandals of session. 1t
is the opportunity of jobbers, and the cause OF
large part of our national extravaganza.
This year the Democrats have controlled the
business of the House, and they have no better
record to show on the money bills than
their Republican predecessors whose tardy
action they have 80 sharply criticised.
Their delay is the moie dscredita-
bic because during all these Tonths OF
procrastination they have accomplished hardly
any useful work and done only the most
trivial service either to their party or the
country. They have now at the last moment
begun course of what Mr. Hurbut aptly
calls "extrayagant reductions" and under
taken to force the Senate to agree to parsi-
monious policy which must cripple the public
service during the year that remains of the
present Administration, and is likely to cost
the country dear if it is ever carried into
operation. The cry of economy" will serve
for the campaign, and the character of these
Democratic economies will not be tested until
the election is over
A fair specimen of the kind of reductions con-
templated was given on Saturday in the course
of one of the frequent onslaughts upon our
gallant and half paid.little army. The House
agreed to the proposal of one of tho 'Confed-
"erate brigadicrs" to reduce the Signal Ser
vice Corps, handful Of hardworked and i'll
rewarded men, who are performing every day
q labor of tho highest practical utility, unique
in its nature, universal in its benefits, which
commands the admiration of the whole scien-
tific world. Mr.. Atkins wished TO reduce the
number of enlisted men in the corps from 450
to 500 After some debate the number was
fixed at $50, and Mr.. Randall, in supporting the
reduction, explained that the intention OF the
Committee was to abolish twenty-three of the
existing observing StaUOns, cut uoNH tut
clerical force at headquarters, and break up
the school Of instruction at Fort Whipple. To
appreciate this sort of economy we must
remember that the d" Observers in the Signal
Service Corps are simply enlisted men, with
only the mcaRer pay of their grade, yet they
must be men of much moro than the ordinary
education of the private soldier, and
more than the average soldiers stcadmcSs
Of character. They are required very
often to pass their time in remote and
almost inaccessible spots, on bleak mountain
tops, on lonely and storm-swept ocean
beaches. The establishment at Fort Whipplc,
which it is proposed to break up. is
the school where they are taught their duties.
Does Mr.. Randall imagine that education
comes by nature, or that Gen. Myer can pick
up competent observers on any street corner,
at the wages of an enlisted man
We refer to this scheme for crippling one OF
the most valuable branches of the public SER
vice, because it illustrates the spirit in which
great deal of the Democratic plan of rcduc-
ton has been carried out, and shows how
completely it is opposed to tho interests of the
country. We trust that the Senate will insist
upon rigid scrutiny of tho bills, and let all
such false and mischicyous prctcnses of econ
omy be exposed. The American people are
resolved to stop extravaganza and waste, but
they are quite willing TO pay fair price for
useful service.