Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-09-10
DEMOCRATIC ECONOMY rs. REPUB
LICAN EXTRlVAGANCE

We publish in this mornings issue an in
terview with Representative Blackburn in
reply to the statements of Senator Window
regarding the appropriations of the present
and the last Congresses, as compared with the
appropriations made by the preceding Re-
publican Congresses. The answer is most
thorough and convincing, and ought to be
carefully perused by every elector ard the
facts contained in it fully understood. The
Misrepresentation of Senator Window are
exposed SO completely that there is little left
of fact in his statement.
Asserting that the record of the Demo.
cratic party is one of economy and the
record of the Republican party one of ex-
travagance and corruption, Mr.. Blackburn
declares that economy with the Democratic
party is of no recent origin, and proceeds to
review the actual expenditures from the COM
mencement of our government down to the
last year when the Republican party had
control of both houses of Congress. He
shows that the net ordinary expenses of the
1876, only ten years, showed an excess of
over twenty two millions of dollars over the
period of Democratic rule extending from
1889 down to 1861. This, it must be re-
membered, is exclusive of interest on the
public debt and pensions-the only legiti-
mate increase due to the late war. So that.
in ten years the Republicans spent more by
over twenty-five millions to conduct the
government than the Democrats spent in
seventytwo years. Could any more conclusive
evidence be shown of the economical ten
denotes of the Democratic party and the ex-
travagance and corruption of the Republic
can party?
Mr.. Blackburn further Institutes COM
parison between the expenditures exclusive
of interest on the debt and pensions-for
the ten years of Democratic rule ending
with 1861 and the ten years of Republican
rule ending in 1876 1t shows that there is
balance in favor of Democratic govern
ment amounting to the enormous sum of
1856, 044, 877.35, or an average per annum
of $152,891, 713.78 The cost per capita for
ten years of Republican rule was $39. IS: for
ten years of Democrat rule, $1S.26. For
1876, the last year that the Republicans had
control of both houses of Congress, the ap
preparations amounted to $13,46O,485.67
more than the appropriations for 1871. The
appropriations of the Forty-fourth Congress
Democratic House) were $55,372, ASS. O3 less
than the appropriations made by the pre-
ceding Congress, controlled in both houses
by the Republicans. This great saving was
effected in spite of the opposition of the Re-
publican Senators, and the Republican off
Gals in all departments of the government
Referring to the struggle of the House to
reduce the expenditures for the years 1877.
1878 and 1879, Mr.. Blackburn shows by flo
ures taken from the official records that if
the bills had become laws as they passed the
Hous. there would have been a saving of
$l43, POS, 003.24 under the amounts esti-
mated as necessary by the Republican secre-
taries, but that the Republican Senate added
to these bills the sum of $51, 1S3,O18.5 So
against the protest of the House. After a
desperate struggle the Senate succeeded in
adding to the bills the sum of $26,518,-
593.45.
Mr.. Blackburn, in referring to the de-
ficiency bills, charges the Republican party
with endeavoring to create them, and takes
substantially the ground the GLOBE has
previously presented, and which is reviewed
in another column.
With such an array of incontestible facts
can there be doubt, in the mind of any
honest man, that Mr.. Blackburn's PROPOSE
ton is not correct the record of the
Democratic party is one of economy, and
the record of the Republican party one of
extravaganza and corruption? No amount
of argument could add to the force of the
figures presented. We would simply again
urge every voter to read and examine for
himself. AS to his conclusions there can be
no question.