The Portland daily press., 1878-08-09
items of the Senate additions are as fol

You will observe that these additions are ex-
clusively for works of an important national
character. The small creeks and trout streams
in the bill which could be best improved" by
matchmaking were all carefully taken care of
the House.
., The Arnng RM The entire addition of $685.
814, made by the Senate to sfre army Dill was
rendered necessary in restoring our little army
to its present numbers from the reduced and
mutilated condition in which 1t passed the
House.
The Mary BM.-The small sum added by the
Senate to the navy bill was mainly for spay of
the navy" for equipment of vessels" and
for,repairs of hospitals.
The Pension Bill The Senate added $35, 900
to pay examiners 80 for each examination, in
stead of 81, as provided by the House. The
Senate thought that when the Government was
to be made liable to pay pensions for life by the
report of these examiners, that So was not too
much to pay for faithful and intelligent service.
The Military academy BM.-The Senate
ing hospital building" procuring supply of
pure water" and "and completing the system
of sewerage" 1t was shown that these things
are much needed as sanitary measures and for
the protection Of public property in o~se oI nfe.
two vears without a roof II windows, with the
winds and storms be-.tlng upon it, and serving,
in its unfipishe. condition, as . standing adver-
t;sament r. the bankruptcy of the Government
or IT, incompetency of Congress.
The Consular and Diplomatic Bal.-The Sen
ate added $83,7O0, mainly in restoring the sala-
ries of our foreign representatives to what they
received last year. The compensation now paid
them is disgracefully small. The Senate
thought it ought not to be reduced.
NEEDLESS MANGLING OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE.
The Legislative, E1ecutioe and Judicial Bill
The House had regarded the clerical forces of
the departments in order to reduce their mea-
gre salaries, which were fixed twenty-five years
ago; iG had abolished two Auditors' offices,
which were esta blished in 1917 when the en-
tire money transactions of the Government
were not one-sixth as much as are now those of
one of the offices proposed to be abolished; it
had cut down the pay OF the laborers and
watchmen, who can now barely exist on their
pinched compensation, and in various other
ways it had mangled the public service and
impaired its efficiency. In order to cure this
mischief and to provide sundry sums impera-
lively necessary in various branches of the ser
vice the Senate added $604,77
The Post Office Bill To the Post Office bill
the Senate added $8560O0. This bill, as passed
year 1879. The bill for 1878, with all the def
ciencies that have been added by this Congress,
appropriated $35. 5Si 143. 1t therefore appears
that the bill, as it passed the Senate, including
the additions, was still $1,587,7 less than
both houses have agreed was necessary for
1878. TheHouse, however. insisted upon a re-
duction in conference; aud as the bill finally
became law it is $e,117,770 less than was ap-
propriated for 1873. There is, therefore,
manifest deficiency created for that amount,
which will have to be supplied next session.
The Senate can hardly be charged with extrav-
agance for wanting to reduce that forthcoming
deficiency as much as possible believe we
have now glanced at all the items constitut-
ing the additions made by the Senate, and
think you must agree with me that having a
due regard to the public service rather than q
care merely to reduce the aggregate of appro-
priations, the House should have incorporated
thov in fhn lie hafNr L.
Senate.
CorresL ondent-How many deficiency bills
did you say had been passed by this Congress?
Senator Windom-Nine. 1t was thought at
and number them, as it was feared there was
not enough letters to indicate them in that way
Correspondent-Why was it necessary to
divide the amount into so many bills?
Senator Windom-Our Democratic friends of
the House knew that the people would under
stand these deficiencies" to be refutaton of
their former loud pretenses of retrenchment,
and hence they reluctantly doled out in de-
tachments such amounts as they were COM
PEELED to appropriate from time to time.
THE EMPTY BOAST OF DEMOCRATIC ECONOMY.
Correspondence notice that ct recent BAN
guet given in New York to Speaker Randall,
Hon. A. s. Hewitt is reported to have said that
MI. Randall and his friends in the Forty-fourth
Congress accomplished saving in the entire
Congress of $54, 000, 900, and that it was the
fruit OF putting men in power who were able to
do the work set for them to do. Allowing for
all the deficiencies, it amounted to $4,000 600
clear saving, "&c. (See New York World of
the Sd instantly 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 now my turn to ask
you question. Don't you think this boast of
having saved only $23, 900 Sin the entire Con-
gress" is great letting down from the claim
made by them in the Presidential campaingn
that they had saved $40,00000O" at one SEES
sion! Inns modest claim now amounts to only
about $11, 500, 900 for that session in which they
insisted that they had saved $4,000 OOO By
their own confession there seems to have been
only about % per cent. of truth in their eco.
nomical pretentiOns in 1876 1t will he noted
also that Mr.. Hewitt admits that it reonired
about $31 ,000,0 900 to make up the Deficiencies
created by the pretended retrenchments and
reforms of the Forty-third Congress. In look
ing over the tables and statements in Mr.. At
Rims speech, notice that be makes the def
ciencies appropriated since 1876, $780, 241 165 SO
that he and Mr.. Hewitt are substantially in &C
cord on that point. If you will permit me to
should Ike to ask you if anything could well
Dc more oisgracefnl in the leaders of a great
party than to 60 before the people with the
pretence OF saving over $4,000, 1000, when, in
Iact they knew that $30,000,00O of that sum
"ouid nave to be made up by deficiency bills?