National Republican., 1876-08-15

equally upon the policy of retrenc hment
and can point to hundreds of millions,
saved to the people in reduced taxation
and at the same time to largely reduced
appropriations for carrying on the Govern
ment.
The only hope of the Democrats in this
direction was to overtop Repuollcin
economy. So they put thirty millions in
one scale and in the other common sense
and national honor and the needs of the
public service, and the thirty millions out
weighed all the rest. As the Republicans
in Congress had determined to reduce ex-
penses at their average for several years OF
IS, 900, 600, they simply outbid them by
about S22, 600, OOO.
Senator Window has presented a tabu-
lated statement showing the appropriations
made lest year and those proposed by the
House for the present year. This exhibits
all tie care and eXactness of the balance
sheet Of a commercial house. He shows
very clearly in what manner about eight
million dollars could be saved in reducing
this years appropriations below those of
last year, and he just as clearly shows how
all the rest is a sham and wicked and
stupid fraud upon the public service. He
indicates the point at which retrenchment
ceases to be economy and beyond which it
is parsimonious extravaganza.
His exposure of the refusal of the House
to appropriate the small sum of $4,000 for
the examination of rebel archives is very
striking. This source of information is of
value chiefly from the fact thatit in almost
inrumerable cases, furnishes the only evil
dence extant by which the Government
can defend itself against the myriad of
Southern claims constantly pressing against
it. Fraudulent claims amounting to hun
dreds of thousands of dollars have been de-
feated by the evidence adduced from these
archives, and since the refusal of the House
to allow this small Appropriation q claim
for $50, 0C0 has been defeated by proof
from this source of evidence. Senator
Windom said: "The Southern Claims
Commission, the Court of Claims, the
committee rooms of both Houses of Con
gress and the Treasury Department are
" in state Of chronic siege by an army OF
"claim agents, who only await the removal
" of this barrier to pour IN like flood and
"pillage the Treasury" 1t is believed
that the total amount of these claims does
not much fall short of the amount of our
public debt.
The Senator shows, also, how under the
empty pretense of reform it is proposed to
abandon the means of the preservation and
repair of ships of war, to leave unfinished
forts to be provided for in the future, and
to deny appropriations for the means of
defense, especially for that latest and most
efficient arm of defensive warfare, the tor
pedo. He also shows how the re-
fusal to recruit the army would expose
our frontier settlements to the ravages of
the merciless savages. Abiding to the
suspicion that some other motive than that
of economy has inspired the rigorous econ
omy in this direction, Senator Window
says: "The conduct of the Democratic
blouse in this regard finds its only parallel
''in that of the last Democratic Administra
''tion Of 1SG0;" and he expresses the hope
that 'the parallel does not extend to the
purposes which actuatcd them at that
''tme"
Senator Window denounces in severe
terms the reputation of national obliga-
tons in several particulars. He shows the
lack of good faith in the refusal of the
House to appropriate the proper share of
the expenses of the District of Columbia,
where the Government owns half the prop
erty which enjoys the privileges and pro-
lection of the local government, but is ex-
empt from all taxation, while the District
Commissioners are restrained from raising
money under penalty of heavy fines and Of
Imprisonment. Thus the schools, the sani-
tary department and various essential
sources of necessary expenditure would be
urprovided for.
The refusal of an appropriation of S2,
600, 900 to pay judgments of the Court of
Claims is also denounced as open repudia-
ton, since the Court of Claims was Or
ganized for the express purpose of enabling
citizens to recover such just claims as those
already adjudicated. The refusal or delay
to appropriate simply arose from the fact
that last year the judgments amounted to
$40O, 900, and it was decided to appropriate
nothing this year in order to show a re
duction, and to swell the proposed re-
trenchment. If the $4,000, 900 actually
and legally due had been appropriated this
year the balance would have been on the
wrong side.
1t is impossible to do justice to the analy
sis made by Senator Window in single
article. Hisspeech is storehouse of facts,
which will be drawn upon largely during
the campaign by the press, by public
speakers and by the writers of campaign
documents. 1t is accompanied by very full
tabular statements, showing the proposed
reductions for each specific appropriation,
with notes explanatory thereof TIL ese re-
ductions are so grouped as to show the
amounts postponed for future action OF
Congress; amounts which must under ex-
istpg laws be provided for by deficiency
bill at the next session of Congress; amount
of obligations repudiated; amount of sppro-
prIations for national defense refused;
amounts refused which will tend to cripple
the operations of the several Departments,
&c, &c, while small appropriations are
refused which would prevent severe losses
to the Government and the opening of the
Treasury vaults to the pillage OF unscrupu-
lous prosecutors OF Southern claims. No
one can read this speech without being i'm
pressed by the stunning conviction that
the Democratic House has sold honor for
success.
Their mendacious and fraudulent scheme
has been exposed, and the people will be
able to judge of it as 1t is. The manhood
of the nation is against it; true economy is
against it; the spirit of progress is against
it; public policy is against it; good con-
science is against it, and in November next
it will be seen that the American people
are against it.
REPEAL. REPEAL!n'
Restore the rights and values of the sill