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

= The following is the substance of interview
between the Washington correspondent of the New
York Times and Senator Window, of Minnesota
chairman of the Senate Committee Appropria-
tions, published in the Times of June s, 1873:
3" Correspondent Have you compared the aggregate
appropriations made by this Congress with those of
blast year and, if so, how do they cOmpare2
Senator windom-Yes, sir; I have carefully ex-
amned all the bills since the adjournment The
total for last year was SAB BY 1882 The total for
this year is $I72 95S94 The increase lis year is
therefore, S2S.752. .265.4S. These aggregates
.: cover all the regular appropriation bills.
"a Corrsspondent-Is this increase ehargeabe to the
extravagance of this Congress2
f., Senator Windom-No; it is mainly chargeable to
the demagoguism of the Forty fourth Congress in
making pretended savings" for political effect
when they were only creating deficiencies"
~ Correspondent-Is it true that reductions in
expenditures were made until after the Democratic
party got control of the House of Representatives?
Senator Windom-By no means. Expenditures
had been on descending scale almost ever since
the war The finance reports show that in 1868
they were S229 915 OSS and that under the adminis
stration of President Grant they were constantly re-
s4duced until for the year ending June 80 1876 they
swere only 1854 s57 sl3 or after making the proper
'1aeductions for that year. for payments made upon
1zEhe Geneva award claims and for the Department
hostages (which latter counted in the nominal ex-
7pendisures but really took money from the
s treasury the expenditures for 1876 were as we
have seen only s156,s1O957. The total reduction
sin expenditures during Grants administration was
htherefore S73IO4131, making an annual average re-
ductiOn of $9I3s,O16. The reductions made by the
Republicans the last year 1s76) were $l471s,991.
8 DEMOCRATIC PROFESSIONS AND. PERFORMANCES
saft lHa RRECoNCILABLE
Correspondent-How do you reconcile these facts
TsWith Democratic professions of economy2
Senator Windom-Excuse me; have never un-
dertaKen the impossible task of reconcling Demo-
cratic performances with Democratic professions,
, and certainly shrink from such effort in this
case / think no one believes that their Wanted
I economy is anything but sham to secure votes 1t
was well understood by everybody who gave atten-
tionto the subject that their JoGsted reductions in 1876
Effected By denying appropriations indispensable to
de public serUes By postpoaing necessary public '0Ors
By rp'dating national obligations by withholding large
for deficiency bills; and when all these and other
desperate expedents were exhausted, the figures
themselves were so manipulated that they lost their
proverbisl truthfulness, and became the most
1acious partisans This sort Of deception could be
iearrle on Tor year or Two with some success but
- it could have but result Already the logic of
events and the imperative necessities of the Govern
Dfnent have exposed the trckery which then de-
7JnOnnoed and, by compelling increase of nearly
S29 100000 have uncoyerned the demagogism of
1876. BY which it sought to carry the Presiden-
s4isI election under pretense Of economy and reform.
:-f CorTospondent-Have you read the speech of Mr.
Atkins chairman Of the Committee Appropria-
tons Of the House OF Representatives, published in
the Record Of June %. in which he endeavors to
show that there has been real increase last
5ryears appropriations and in which he charges the
a. Senate With violent opposition" to the retrench-
'iAInent and economy which the House inaugGrated
"a and if So will you please tell what you think of
ar bn -
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