Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-08-15

cessors. Messrs Randall and Holman, his committee
hao inherited an accumulation of unpaid national
obligations, and postponed appropriations" so inn
pcritive in their character that they could longer
be evadcd or delayed. These vast sums thus post
poned and withheld by the Forty fourth Congress
were credited to the Democracy as SO much money
: saved" but the time had come when portion of
them must be provided for, though to meet them
would swell the total appropriations to amount
equal to- if not in of those made by the last
Republican Congress. With an actual increase of
S2S, 1872 265.48 staring him in the face, the chairman
OF the House committee still felt it to be hs d3ty
rafE eee, snsf aSasr Dush iis,oszaaxiRg -irum-
zaas1ai 70 lsvve tAet AMER all, this Congress had
achieved another triumph for retrenchment"
which said triumph" would have been still grander
II the naughty Senate had not stood in the way.
DEMOCRATIC TRIUMPH OF INFRINGEMENT
Correspondent--Give me an idea of how these
"reformers prove that actual increase of $oS-
1872 265.49 is a 4" triumph for retrenchmentn
Senator Wndom-It is the simplest process in the
world-when you understand it. 1t is done by
counting IN all the appropriations made by their po
lItica opponent and BY counting out enough of their
own to bring their total below his. BY this one SIM
pie rule Mr.. Atkins is able to commend his own
party for economy, and to condemn the last Repub-
lican Congress for extravaganza.
Correspondent-But how does this rule work when
applied to their own party friends in the Forty
fourth Congress?
Senator Wndom--I am glad you have called my
attention to that for it enables to show you
or two specimen curosties in Democratic "econo-
my" Perhaps the most striking of these curiosi-
ties is their mode of creating and handling def
ciencies." Under the lead of Mr. Randall in 1876
very large arbitrary reductions were made in the
appropriations. The heavy reductions which had
already been made by the Republicans rendered it
impossible to accomplish honest reduction which
would be sufficiently stunning for the party pur-
poses it was designed to serve. They must be made
however,at any ostfor party emergencies demanded
it. In making these forced and arbitrary reduc-
4
millions of dollars. To meet only portion of
them, the Forty fifth Congress- during its first year.
has been compelled to pass deficiency billsag-
gregating as stated by Mr.. Atkins, $15, 672.52.
Nearly all of these immense deficiencies" were
rendered necessary by the unwarranted reductions
made under the lead of Mr.. Randall in 1876, and
there are many millions more to hear from before
get through with those marvellous feats of econ
omy, performed for political purposes Mr. Randall
and his party took credit for having saved I" the
entire amount of that reduction though it was well
known by the initiated that from SIS 900, 900 to
S20000,O00 of it were only postponed for deficiency
bills after election. These defciecies came down on
the present Congress- when they could no longer be
postponed, and over 600 of them were appro-
priated. Then there was dilemma. How shall
the account be stated? To what Democratic Com
gress shall these many millions be charged2 To
charge them to 1877 1873 would expose the
fraudulent pretenseS OF those years, and to charge
them to this Congress would never do. So they
were simply counted out. Mr.. Randall and the
party have been credited for the reduction which
created them, and Mr.. Atkins declines to count
the S15,500,000 in his totals. A very convenient
way to dispose of many millions. Thus this
huge sum is made the football between these two
economists, and both take credit for saving that
amount to the Treasury. If you win glance over
Mr.. Atkins statement, you will find several other
feats in bookkeeping almost equal to this but they
are quite excusabc in proving the proposition he
had in hand-namey, that an actual increase of
$2S. 7S2. 265.49 retrenchment. Having
worried the stubborn and honest figures in vain to
induce them to prove that difficult proposition the
chairman of the House committee, evidently not
gratifed with his success, draws sigh and con-
cludes: " Had there been economic accord between
tie two houses-n other words, had the Senate not
added $4,000 600 to the appropriation bills,
ported to the H0uSe-the grand result would have
been still greater triumph for retrencl ment.' F."
1t must be admitted that increase of $2S 100000
is not very brilliant triumph for retrenchrnent;'"
but notice the peculiar phraseology by which the
failure to make it still greater is charged upon the
Senate: aHad the Senate not added $16,OOOOOO to
the appropriation bills reported to the House gu
Now, Mr. Atkins own figures show that $1,914636
OF the SAG 100000 were added by the House itself to
the bills as reported" by the committee before they
even reached the Senate. submit that this is hard
ly fair in proving that addition of $29 OO0
600 was really reduction.
WHAT THE DEMOCRATS CALL SENATE ExrRvA-
CANOE"
Correspondent amount was added by the
Senate to the bills they passed the House, and
what was the character of the addition?
Senator Windom.-The total of such additions is
$13,925,442. No part of this amount was extrava-
gance but the Whole in compliance with some
obligations of the Government which could not be
honorably evaded or in the line of economical ex-
penditures.
This will very clearly appear by reference to the
items constituting the additions. The following are
the amounts added by the Senate to the several
bills:
SMdry civil bill $40 305 442
River and Harbor bill. ................... SAT 900
Army bill 90S3l4
Post-Ohce bill $4,000
Naval bill 200S44
Pension bill 5000
Military Academy bill ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. S3446
Legislative, Executive and Judicial. 604766
Consular and Diplomatic. $500
Total. .S13 925 442