The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1876-08-19
REFORM.

When the Democratic leaders adopted
the word "Reform," as string wherewith
to fly their party kite, they were not to be
charged with having taken the word in its
entirety, but only so much of it as best
serves their ends. That it is cloak, no
man with open eyes can fail to see. That
they cry "reform in the same spirit that
the fleeing criminal cries "stop thief" is
just as apparent. Their game, which is to
cover up the hideousness of their party
record under this sham cry, we believe is
well understood by large majority of the
voters of the land. Webster defines " Re-
form" as meaning "to change from worse
to better" Now strike out the last four
words of the sentence, and we have exactly
what the virtuous Democracy mean by
" Reform" 1. e. "to change" (cash from
the peoples pockets to their OWN.
One of their little games was I'M
kindly rebuked by President Grant, this
week. In a spirit of selfsacrificing econ
omy, the House of Representatives had
stripped the River and Harbor Appropria-
ton Bill of many items which would be of
public benefit and in their stead substituted,
in the words of the Presidents message,
"works of purely private or local inter-
est" One of those items was for the i'm
provement of St. Anthony's Falls, so that
the supply of water to a wealthy mill owner
would be greater and he would be enabled
to increase his works and run them night
and day. We don't know that they pro-
posed to build mill dams for each individual
member, but this we do know, that the
same members of the House who have been
making party capital by reductions that
will seriously impair the efficiency of every
department of the Government, have loaded
down the River and Harbor Bill with ap-
preparations for works of local character,
each of them consenting to "steals" of
the rest, in order to secure the spending of
the Nations money in his own " deestrick,"
and that the aggregate amount of the
appropriation was but slightly lessened,
in consequence of innumerable grants for
clearing out mud banks and sand bars
in interior creeks and mill ponds in the
West and South, where the white sail of
commerce or the whistle of the steamer
was never even dreamed of. The President
administered fitting rebuke in his message
upon the subject. He said:
Gift was obligatory upon the Executive to
expend all money appropriated by Congress
l should return the river and harbor bill with
my objections, notwithstanding the great
Inconvenience to the public interests re-
sulting therefrom, and loss Of expenditures
from previous Congresses upon incomplete
works. Without enumerating, many ap-
preparations are made for work of purely a
private or local interest, in no sense ma
tlonal l cannot give my sanction to these,
and will take care that during my term
of office no public money shall be expended
upon them. There is very great necessity
for economy of expenditures at this time,
growing out of loss of revenue likely to
arise from deficiency of appropriations to
insure through collection of the same.
The reduction of revenue districts, dim
mutton of special agents and total abolition
of supervisors may result in great falling
off of revenues 1t may be question to
consider whether any expenditure can we'll
appropriation further than to protect work
already done and paid for. Under no cir,
cumstances will allow expenditure upon
works not clearly national"
The Presidents terse statement of it is
better than an hours speech. 1t discloses
the insincerity of Democratic Performers"
1t takes from Mr.. Randall's elaborate de-
Tense of his slashing reductions whatever
force it might have had. If his speech is
to be circulated as campaign document,
it will be well to get an antidote by pub
fishing Senator Bayard's indignant criti-
cism of the Randall type of ECONOMY"
and the Presidents message, together with
Randall's admission that the President is
right in refusing to prosecute these private
jobs.