Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-08-15

!. senator Windom--Nine. 1t was thought at one
ne that 1t would be necessary to classify and num-
per them, as 1t was feared there was not enough
ietters 10 indicate them in that way
Correspondent-Why was II necesarv 10 div;da
the amount into many bills9
Senator Winaom-Our Democratic friends nc IN.
House knew that the people would understand thesr
deficiencies to be refutation of their fnrnoa- l5
pretenses OF retrenchment, and hence they reluc-
family doled out in detachments such amounts "a
they were compelled to appropriate from time to
time. e "
THE EMPTY BOAST OF DEMOCRATIC ECONOMY.
Correspondence notice that at recent banuues
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 ac-
compshed a.saying in the entire Congress of ST.
oooOOo, and that it was the fruit of putting men in
do. Allowing for all the deficiencies it amounted to
S23oO0,0oo clear saving" Sc. (See Now York World
OF the Sd instantly Now, Senator Won have been a
member of the Appropriation COMMITTEES for many
years What do You say to this boast of Democratic
economy in comparison with the alleged Republican
extravaganza?
Senator Windoul-It is my turn to ask Won cues
ton Don't you think this boast of having saved
only S23,OOo00o in the entire Ccngress'' is great
letting down from the claim made by them in the
Presidential campaign that they had saved $40
O00000' at one session? This modest claim now
amounts to only about $l1 100000 for that session.
in which they insisted that they had saved 10000
O00 BY their confession there seems TO hare been
only about 25 per cent. Of tr IN teis 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-third Con-
greSs In looking over the tables and statements in
Mr.. Atkins speech, notice that he makes the de-
cieneies appropriated since 1876 S302i2l65 so that
he and Mr. Hewitt substantially in accord on thst
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 before the people
with the pretense of having saved over $400000OO
when, in fact, they knew that S30o000o0 of that
sum would have to be made up by deficiency bills?
Correspondent-Were the $23O000O0 which Mr.
Hewitt claims to be clear saving" by the Forty
fourth Congress an actual saving. or only post
ponement OF appropriations, and failure to provide
properly for the public service, &C.?
Senator Windom-Some portion of it was doubt.
less saving" but by far the largest part was not
On the 18th of August, 1876, after carefully analy-
zing every item every appropriation bill for thai
year, and comparing each with like items in tho
bills for the previous year, stated on the floor OF
the Senate that "of the total pretended re.
duction of s40000,000 not So 100000 could in any
sense be called saving of money to the Treasuryh
and that this sum fell far below the retrenchmenf
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
S32S6,593; the postponement of surveys of public
lands to S647300; the failure to appropriate money
to pay judgments of the Court of Claims, &C.. to
Sl,6ll,0O0 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 come in at future time to swell the
bills. The three items have just named, amount
ing to So,5l4,9S3, were only small part of such
postponements made in the one wear 1876 De-
fbpfof Nvhia 10 oil aF
what Mr.. Hewitt claims to be the total savings of
the Forty-fOurth Congress for 1876 and 1877, we
have less than 100000 as the actual saving for
that year. There many other items of reduc-
ton made in 1876, which are in no possible sense a
saving to the Treasury, but which, if deducted from
the ST., 100000, would wipe out the whole of the
pretended economy of which so much boasting has
been done.
Congratulations 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
biect to use, carried to the surplus fund.-"
which means they returned TO the Treasury 1t is,
therefore, the annual expenditures rather than
the appropriations which show what it really
costs to carry the Government any given year.
The exception to this rule is when 'deficences''
are created, which makes the expenditures" of one
year appear less than they really In such case
the expenditures of the next succeeding year
will show proportionate increase. An instance of
this kind is found in the apparently reduced expend
tures of 1877, which will he fully balanced by the
increase for 1873 and 1872 when all the deficiencies
are charged up.
When the Executive Departments are honest and
faithful. only much money is necessary will be
used and the balance of the appropriations will be
returned to the Treasury. 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 an official Treasury
statement, were very large exceeding by many mil
lions per annum the amounts so returned to the
Treasury" under late Democratic appropriations.
This proves two things: First, that nero COMPARE
son of appropriations" does not show the relative
cost of administering the Government and second,