New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-03-28
ECONOMY WITHOUT SACRIFICE.

Much sound philosophy there was IN the OBJ
servation of the late Deacon Terry, who, be-
ing asked where's the best place to
"have boil r. answered promptly, "On an
"other mans nose" The wisdom of this world
has settled it pretty definitely that the best
place to have anything dsagrceable, or TO
start subscription paper, or begin re-
form, or make any sort of sacrifice. l.
mot here, but with some other man." 1t
il SO much easier and more comfortable to be
charitable with other peoples money and
order the economies for other peoples houses.
We have the example of kings for 1t. 1t is
related that Henry H., riding with his chan
cellor, Beckett in the streets of London, upon
one occasion had his sympathies touched by
the spectacle of a beegar shivering with the cold
Calling Becket's attention To the poor fellow, he
asked if it would not be praiseworthy to give
him a coat. Beckett replied that it certainly
would, and added that it was very creditable
10 his Majesty to be thinking of such char
liable actions. WhereupOn the king seized
npon the Chanccllors coat, which was of scar
let lined with ernine, and handed it over to
the beggar, to the lattcr's great establishment
and Becket's greater disgust. Henry was full
Of generous impulses. So was Robin Hood
And so were all the old potentates and
pirates who used 10 be generous and
open-hearted toward one set of men
with the plumber they seized from another
They had a way. too, the gay fellows who
HINGED it away back. of starting measures OF
retrenchment anywhere else than at home ;
Of beginning all the economical practices
which short revenues compelled ut the hearth
of the subject land ending them long before
the door of the palace was reached All the
same, it was economy and retrenchment and
reform and besides being cheap and easy,
was an inspiring spectacle for the rest of the
world to look on.
Nowadays and in republics they do these
things party-wise instead of kng-wise. That
is to say, parties carry out policies of Tetrench-
ment and reform in the same large and grand
way-at the expense of somebody else. Our
Democracy are up to it just at present. AT
time when the Government certainly was adj
ministered upon a scale of undue extravaganza
these people said, "Just turn it over to us,
land we'll show you how to cut down ex-
"penses, save money and exercise economy
Upon this offer they were trusted with one
branch of the legislative department to try
their prentice hand on. That gave them SUI
peryision OF the appropriations and fine OPP
portunity to conduct retrenchment in the cheap
and easy way. They have been at it
retrenching and reforming and enforc-
ing economy - now these three years.
In their first Congress, having first in
trenched themselves by turning out every
Republican they could reach and installing
Democrats in their places they set out OH
course OF retrenchment for their opponents
upon scale so vast and sweeping that they
came near bringing the whole machinery of
Government to a dead stand-still by stopping
the supplies. Seldom has there been SO gal
liant charge against prodigality, wastefuness
and extravaganza; seldom such cutting and
slashing of appropriations such sweeping
economies and radical reforms; and they
did it all with wonderful discrimina-
ton. Setting behind them all the
places Of their own holding, they marched
forward against all the rest with sickle and
scythe and pruning knife, with saw and