Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1878-08-09

time that it would be necessary to classify and num-
Der them, it was feared there was not enough
letters to indicate them in that way.
Correspondent-Wh was necessary to divide
| the amount into so many bills2
| Senator Windom-Our Democratic friends Of the
House knew that the people would understand these
deficiencies" to be refutaton of their former loud
! pretenses of retrenchment and hence they reluc-
] tanty doled out in detachments such amounts as
they were compelled to appropriate from time to
! time
THE EMPTY BOAST OF DEMOCRATIC ECONOMY.
! Correspondent notice that at a recent banquet
given in New York to Speaker Randall, Hon. A. S.
Hewitt is reported to have said that Mr.. Randall
and his friends in the Forty-fOurth Congress q ac-
com plished a saving in the entire Congress of $54
100000, and that it the fruit of putting in
power who able to do the work set for them to
DO Allowing for all the deficiencies it amounted to
$23 900 clear saving" SC (See New York World
of the Sd instant) Now, Senator, you have been
member of the Appropriation Committee for many
years. What do you say to this boast of Democratic
economy, in comparison with the alleged Republican
extravaganza
Senator Windom-It is my turn to as; you ques-
ton. Don't you think this boast Of having saved
only S23 100000 ain the entire Congress" is great
letting down from the claim made by them in the
Presidential campaign that they had saved SiO,-
100000" at one session. This modest claim now
amounts to only about $11 100000 for that session,
in which they insisted that they had saved 100000
OO0 Bv their otDn confession there 10 hare been
only about % per cent. of truth IN their economical pre-
tensions IN 1876. 1t will be noted also that Mr..
Hewitt admits that it required about S3l 100000 to
make up the deficiencies created by the pretended
retrenchments and reforms of the FOrty-thrd Con-
gress In looking over the tables and statements in
Mr.. Atkins speech, notice that he makes the de-
iciences appropriated since 1876 $50 242 l65 that
he and Mr. Hewitt substantially in accord on that
point If you will permit to turn the tables and
question you for moment should like to ask if
anything could well be more disgraceful in the
leaders of great party than to 90 before the people
with the pretense of having saved over 40000,000,
when, in fact they knew that $30000000 of that
sum would have to be made up by deficiency bills?
Correspondent-Were the S23 OOOO0O which Mr..
Hewitt claims to be clear saving" by the Forty
fourth Congress actual saving, or only post
ponement of appropriations and failure to provide
properly for the public service, &c.P
Senator Windom-Some portion of it was doubt
less Saving" but by far the largest part not
On the 18th of August, 1876 after carefully analy
zing every item on every appropriation bill for that
year, and comparing each one with like items in the
bills for the previous year, stated on the floor of
the Senate that "Of the total pretended
duction of $4O,OOOOOO not $5,OO0OO0 could in any
sense be called saving of money to the Treasury"
and that this sum fell far below the retrenchment
effected by the preceding Republican Congress.
now repeat that statement, and am prepared at any
moment to prove it beyond doubt.
The mere "pOstpOnement of appropriations" for
public buildings which were under way in 1876 as
compared with the preceding year, amounted to
So 2S6 593; the pOstpOnement of surveys of public
lands to $647 300; the failure to appropriate money
to pay judgments of the Court of Claims, &C., to
81 GIL 900. There were numerous other items,
amounting to many millions, of like character,
which were merely postponed" not Saved" They
are not deficiencies" but simply "pOstpOnements'
which will in st some future time to swell the
bills The three items have just named, amount
ing to S. 544 9S3 were only small part of such
tnOstO m
Quoting them from 81, 100000 which is Onehalf of
what Mr. Hewitt claims to be the total savings of
the Forty-fOurth Congress for 1876 and 1877, we
have less than S6000000 the actual saving for
that year. There were many other items of reduc-
ton made in 1876 which in no possible sense
saving to the Treasury but which, if deducted from
the 81, 100000, would wipe out the whole of the
pretended economy of which so much boasting has
been done.
Correspondent-Does the amount of appropriations
always indicate the exact cost Of administering the
Government daring the year for which they are
made?
Senator Windom-It does not. There are always
large unexpended balances from various sources
which come over from one year to another. These
"unexpended balances" after standing two years
subject to use, carried to the surplus fund
which they returned 10 the Treasury IL IS,
therefore, the annual expenditures" rather than
the appropriations" which show what it really
costs to carry on the Government any given year.
The exception to this rule is when deficiencies
year appear less than they really In such case
the expenditures Of the next, succeeding year
will show prOpOrtonate increase. An instance o.
this kind is found in the apparently reduced expend
itures of 1877 which will he fully balanced by the
increase for 1878 and 1879 when all the deficiencies
are charged up.
When the Executive Departments are honest and
faithful, only so much money as Is necessary will be
used and the balance of the appropriations will be
returned to the Treasury. A striking illustration
of this is presented under the last Administration.
From 1869 to 1876 the amounts thus carried to the
surplus fund" as shown by official Treasury
statement were very large, exceeding by many mill
lions per annum the amounts so returned the
Treasury" under late Democratic appropriations.
This proves two things: First that mere comp&ri-
son of appropriations" does not show the relative
cost of administering the Government; and second,
il proves that the hue and cry of corruption and
travagance raised against the last Administration
was without foundation.
You will see at once that their loud boasts of
economical reductions, based upon the comparisons
of mere appropriations" without taking into ac-
count the respectively carried to the surplus
f,,,JU ab- p1utaI nuIas als gha