The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-08-09


cessors, Messrs. Randall and Holman, his committee
had inherited an accumulation of unpaid national
obligations and postponed appropriations" so inn
pertve 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
equal to- If not in excess of those made by the last
Republican Congress. With an actual increase of
SOS, 2265.4S staring him in the face the chairman
of tho House committee still felt it to be his duty
reformer," even under such discouraging circum-
ssances, to prove that after ALL this Congress had
achieved another triumph for retrenchment,"
which said triumph" would have been still grander
If the naughty Senate had not stood in the way.
DEMOCRATIC TRIUMPH OF RETRENcHMENT"
Correspondent-Give me an idea of how these
reformers prove that an actual increase of $685.
752,265.49 is q " triumph for retrenchment"
Senator Windom-lt is the simplest process in the
world-when you understand it. 1t is done by
counting an all the appropriations made by their po
hucal opponent, and by counting out enough of their
own to bring their total below his. BY this SIM
pie rule Mr.. Atkins is able to commend his own
party for economy, and to condemn the last Repub-
llcan Congress for extravaganza.
Correspondent-But how does this rule work when
applied to their own party friends in the Forty
fourth Congress?
Senator Windom-I am glad you have called my
attention to that, for it enables to show you
or two specimen curiosities 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 made in the
appropriations. The heavy reductions which had
already been made by the Republicans rendered it
impossible to accomplish an honest reduction which
would be sufficiently stunning for the party pur-
poses it was designed to They must be made,
howeverat any cost for party emergencies demanded
it. In making these forced and arbitrary reduc-
tions deficiencies" were created amounting to many
millions of dollars. To meet only a portion of
them, the Fortyfth Congress- during its first year,
has been compelled to pass nine deficiency bills, ag
gregatng, stated by Mr.. Atkins, SIS 534 ,67252.
Nearly all of these immense deficiencies " were
rendered necessary by the unwarranted reductions
made under the lead OF Mr.. Randall in 1876, and
there many millions more to hear from before
we get through with those marvellous feats of
omy, performed for POLITICAL purposes. Mr. Randall
and his party took credit for having I" saved " the
entire amount of that reduction, though it well
known by the initiated that from $t5,000,000 to
s20OOO0OO of it were only postponed for deficiency
bills after election. These defciecies down
the present Congress- when they could no longer be
priated Then there was q dilemma. How shall
the account be stated? To what en!ocratic Con-
gress shall these many millions be charged? To
charge them to 1877 1873 would expose the
preenses of those years, and so charge
them to this Congress would never do. So they
were simply counted ont. Mr. Randall and the
party have been credited for the reduction which
created them, and Mr. Atkins declines 30 count
the S15500,000 in his totals. very convenient
way to dispose of many millions. Thus this
huge sum is made the football between these two
and both take credit for saving that
amount to the Treasury. If you will glance over
Mr.. Atkins statement, you will find several other
eats in okkeeping almost equal to this bat they
ire quite excusable in proving the proposition he
had in hand-namely, that actual increase Of
SIS, 7J3.2G5.49 means retrenchasent. Havng
worried the stubborn and honest fgures in vain to
induce them to prove that difficult proposition the
chairman OF the House committee evidently not
gratifed with his success, draws q sigh and con-
cludes: Had there been economic accord between
the two houses-in other words, had the Senate not
added $16000,000 to the appropriation bills, re-
ported 30 The HOuSe-the grand result would have
been still greater triumph for retrenchment.'
1t must be admitted that increase of S29,0CU0O0
is not very brilliant triumph for retrenchment;'7
but notice the peculiar phraseology by which the
failure 10 make it still greater is charged upon the
Senate Had the Senate not added S16,0O0000 to
the appropriation bills reported to the House s
Now, Nr. Atkins own figures show that $1,91f636
Of tho $16000O00 added by the House itself to
the bills reported" by the committee before they
even reached the Senate submit that this is hard
y fair, even in proving that addition of $29oe0-
boo was really reduction.
WHAT THE DEMOCRATS CALL "sENArE ExTEvA-
CANOE"
Correspondent.-What amount was, added by the
Senate to the bills as they passed the House, and
what was the character of the addition
Senator Windom.-The total of such additions is
1892, 412. No part of this amount was extraya-
gance, but the whole was in compliance with some
of the Government which could not be
honoraby 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:
snpdr,, civil hill oos
River ana HarDor Dill $1,000
army yool4
fOStOtlCe Dill SOOOOO
Naval Dill 2UOSi4
fenslOn Dill 3oOOO
Legislative Executive, and Judicial. Oi766
Consular and Diplomatic. $500
TOTAL Az
Glance at the items which make up these several
bills:
Glance at the items which make up these several
additions. First:
The Sundry Girl B-Tota additions 1905 4i2
For pubic buildings .......s..........Sl 6I5,036
Lighthouses, fog-signals, &c 2O6O00