The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1876-08-31


portions Of these bills. / award hiT
full credit for his successful leader
ship, and trust in the future when h
seeks higher bonors from his party b
: may be better rewarded than in tn
past.
l But, Mr.. Speaker, how were tn
! bills made up and why the untirin
i industry OF the chairman ?
Before the committee had fairly
looked inside the Book of Estimate
IL was announced to the country b,
the chairman of the Committee Ol
Appropriation that reductions would
bs made TO the tune OF $40, 00O, ,00O
How did he know these reduction
could be made ? He did not know
then and he does not know it now
The energies OF the gentleman wer
exerted in making good his announce
ment that the reductions would reach
$40, 900, 900, and to this end his labor
were directed. To make his wore
good he worked early and laie. H
was ever unmindful Of what servic,
was to be the sufferer, nor did h'
seem ever to care whether it was thu
soldier on land, the sailor st sea, oI
the skilled and unskilled mechanic,
and labOrers who were to suffer.
DEPRESSION OF BUSINESS.
Times are hard, but / sometime:
think much Is added to the general
feeling OF depression in the country
10y the continual crOakings which
many of us are too apt to make. II
is said that no one act OF ours during
the rebellion gave more hope to Our
/ friends at home aud abroad and one
that caused more CONSERVATION to OuT
| enemies than the completion OF the
Dome on our beautiful Capitol build
| ing. So now, a little more courage OF
this sort would encourage people to
throw off the lethargy of the times
and to go forward with their aecus-
toned energy and enterprise. In
times like these, when q whole people
are suffering and depressed, a great
/ government like ours should be as
liberal IN continuing necessary ap-
propristiOns as the condition of the
Treasury will permit.
ESTIMATES.
We have heard great deal, Mr..
Speaker, of the extraYagance of this
Administration in the matter of the
estimates. Much ill.advised talk on
this subject has been INDUCED in.
This matter of estimates is greatly
misunderstood. Gentlemen have
stated that the estimates are the sums
asked for by an extravagant admis-
tration for the working of the Gov
ernmeht machinery. The fact Is,
these estimates are made In Obedi-
ence to and in conformity with law.
Let me illustrate this matter. The
estimates for the maintenance of the
Navy are made by men belonging to
no party. They are officers of the
Navy. The Secretary came before
the committee and said. "Gentle-
men, this IS your Navy, not mine."
il will take about twenty,Qne millions
to properly care foTyour Navy. IT,
estimate IL made for the legal pay Of
the legal nUmUeT Of officers and men,
the maintenance of all the navy
yards OF the country, to complete as
far as we can In Que year the IRON
clads and other vessels of war author
lied by Congress, and certain repairs
of ships, together with the necessary
incidental and contingent expenses
thereof. "NOw," he says, ''do what
you please. will do the best l can
with the money you give me-"
$50 too, with the Secretary of War
in making estimates for the support
Of the Army. These estimates are all
made by Army officers all the Gov
eminent buildings under control OF
the War Department, together with
all the river and har0Or improve
- Ill I'll for fka
support of the Army, are estimated
for on the basis of existing law. They
estimate that the river and haroor
improvements will cost fourteen and a
half millions, and this, too, In ooedl-
ence to the mandates of law. They
do not ask Congress to expenG q dol
lar, but their duty has been perform
ed when they tell US the cost. Ex-
anime the river and harbor bill passed
this session by this House and you
will find the engineer force OF the
War Department Is directed to make
SURVEYS of rivers aud harbors and
canals and to make estimates of the
cost thereof, the cost of which 1 will
venture to say will amount to more
than so, 900, 900, and the most of it !
might add is for the South. VIII
gentlemen claim next session when
the estimates for these works are be-
fore US that the War Department Is
extrsvagant because they have SIM
ply performed their duty as expressly
required by this Congress
Take up the estimates for public
buildings. Is the Treasury Depart
meut extravagant when they send us
estimates of the cost OF the buildings
that Congress has ordered to be built?
Is the same Department eXtravagant
when they estimate what it will cost
to build lighthouses in aid OF COM
merce as required by Congress &?
have named subjects enough for
the purpose OF showing that our
Democratic friends are greatly in
error when they charge extrayaganee
upon the Departments o. the Govern
ment in making up these estimates.
/ The fact is, once for all, they simply
obey the laws which they are sworn
to execute when they give Us in the
detailed form of estimates the cost OF
administering the Government for
another year. l will not conceal the
fact that small portion Of these esti-
mates are matters of discretion, but L
have yet to find any item of dIscre-
tionary expenditure upon which any
serious charge of extravagsnce has
been msde or can be made.
Ouf friends on the other side in
duIge in peneralities and with q great
flourish of trumpets claim that the
proposed appropriations are largely
/ below the estimates. Is there any
thing startling or new in that l
venture to say that never in the his
tory OF the Government has Con-
gress appropriated the full sum
estimated for. Since my service
here I have never known an In
stance where the appropriations were
not largely below the estimates.
The fact is the estimates are valua'
BILE as forming bssis OF action by
! Congress. Knowing what the full
cost Is, Congress can then Intelligent
lIy exercise its discretion as to how
much of the cost may be postponed
This is the light In which intelligent
| men view this subject of estimates
| REDUCTIONS. -Jlf
! Gentlemen on the other side hsV'
had much to say of the reduction
proposed by the House appropriation
bills. They claim to have made re
ductious Of S64, 100000 from the esti
mates, and from the appropriations o
last wear OF SIS, 200, GOO. Now q yer,
lsrge proportion Of these sums are no
reductions at all, but are simply post
ponements OF expenditures that mus
be made hereafter. In an analysis o
these bills shall give the amount o
actual reductions and the amour
: postponed, so that it can be seen ex
: actly how much credit is due the &C
ton of this House on the score of re
0 ductIon and how much for postpone
y ment
= DEMOCRATIC FIGURES.
Y The table OF the gentleman from
: Illinois [ Mr.. Springerl shows the re
. duction OF the appropriation bills
o passed by the House over those OF la
: wear to be SS9, ,lT5, 900 (but correctl
footed should be S3S, ,63l ,5I1) and %
% reduction on the estimates for tn
t year at SG4, ,362, 900, which when Co
e rectly footed is $64, ,61S, ,T27. 80. L u
= this table because it is generally q
n cepted by the democratic party.
laha11 1hnuy he -aInokfnna on