The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1876-08-18
The Democrats Majority in the House Of
Representatives,

The Democrats Majority in the House Of
Representatives,
II Is in the domain of finance that
the Democrats in Congress nav made
the most conspicuous failure. They
came In with hoarse howls about the
enormous burden of taxation which
the people were compelled to bear, and
loud promises that they would supply
the needed relief. What have they
done in that direetiopf Absolaaely
nothing. 1t is true they have attempted,
in a very clumsy way, to reduce
penditures, but the reduction Of APP
preparations furnishes no immediate
relief to the taxpayers The law pro
| vides that all surplus venue shall
go to the reduction of the public debt,
so that no matter how great may be the
reduction of ordinary expenditures, the
taxpayer gets no relief. Democratic
craftsmanship was not equal to the dis
.lcovery Of this very simple fact. The
Democratic leaders in the House have
proceeded for eight months on the abb
surd supposition, that if they could
reduce the aggregate of expenditures,
they could claim to have lightened the
burden Of the taxpayer. But taxes
are not levied in appropriation bills,
and SO long as the tariff and revenue
laws remain unchanged, the poor tax
payer gets no relief. His money goes
to the creation of a surplus to be swal-
lowed up in the public debt.
But let US see what the Democrats in
the House have done with regard to
expenditures. They have slashed away
in a blind and bungling fashion at the
salaries Of some officers, and have
effected a seeming reduction in ex-
penditures-a reduction that is but
seeming. The salaries are for the most
part fixed by law, and the persons who
perform the duties of the several posi-
tions are entitled to the lawful com
pe~nsation. II Congress fails to appro-
pirate the amount necessary to pay
them, they have a valid claim upon the
government for the deficiency, and
sooner or later Congress will allow 1t.
The Democrats have reduced the pay
ments, but the liabilities of the govern,
ment are just what the law makes them
and the pretended reductions are but
payments deferred to another session
So far as this session of Congress ha!
failed to meet the requirements Of Law
in appropriations, deficiency bills vii
have to be passed by the next. Tn
United States cannot afford to cheat it
employees out of their lawful due, AMI
certainly will not.
The sum Of all this big talk about re
trenchment amounts to this: that Con
gress, under Democratic lead, has faile,
to appropriate the full amount lawful
due The reductions outside of thes
deferred payments are very small. TIL
appropriations for rivers and harbors
where the constituents Of members al
directly interested, are actually il
creased.
0ae tlAo AZ A0S kh0 WQAot VI 4tsH Ill
Democratic House actually passed tina
big swindling scheme-the bounty bill
lobbied through:inthe interest of bount,
brokers. If the Republican Senate hat
permitted this huge job to become
law a hundred million dollars woult
have been taken out of the treasury
or FIVE times the sham retrenchment.
Again, the Democratic majority il
the House refused to consider the fund
ing bill passed by the Senate, by which
a saving Of ten millions a year coult
have been made in interest money.
This is the showing made by the lead
ers of the party that asks to be rein.
stated in power,-the party whose rep,
resentatives in Congress spent a mos
valuable portion of the last session il
wrangling over the question whethe
, this pledge of faith to begin resumption
> in 1879 should be repudiated, and VIII
succeeded in repeating that clause O.
the V Of adjournment, going back t.
their constituents branded as repudia
tors Of the plighted faith Of the nation
These men have now returned t
! their homes to canvass for their re
election to an Office which they hav
done their utmost to disgrace. Wi
the American people sustain these un
scrupulous, political demagogues
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