Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-07-16
Destruelivs Fare in rn. s,n,y.
Posing The Books.

dition of politics at Washington
during the recent session of Con-
gress, with fraudulent President
antagonized by his own party in
the Senate, and supported by bare
fraction Of IL in the other branch;
with Republican Senate proven
bial for extravaeance, and with a
Democratic House checked by a
faction holding the balance of
power on measures of reform and
retrenchment like the army, the
Robson claims, and other jobs,
the results are far better than was
anticipated. That is to say, the
1rssolute Democratic managers OF
the House on the committees of
conference were able in the end to
restrain the attempted prodigslity
in appropriations, and to cut off
numerous exoreScences which the
Senate had attached to the supply
bills.
There are eleven regular appro-
of grants for the public service,
and for which estimates are annu-
ally made by the Secretary of the
Treasury. They are known in leg
islation under the following heads:
Military Academy; Fortifications;
Consular and Diplomatic; Navy;
Postoff1ce; Pension; Indian; Army;
Legislative; Judicial and Execu.
tive; Sundry Civil; and River and
Harbor. The table below con.
denses in summary the estimates,
the action of each House separate
ly, and the laws on these various
measures in the aggregate.
Estim stes. As.passed House.
Az Sa.U,eS9, Sa.ssa Sanate Sas siH'gS,,ss
% sisI.s5a,7e9 pa sl57 .goo Ws 900
$1,000 900 additional estiin ates were sent
in not included in the regular book from
the Treasury.
1t appears by these figures tha t
the House appropriated twenty
eight and half millions less than
the estimates; that the Senate
raised the bills of the House more
than fourteen millions, and that
the laws as passed exceeded the
House grants by nearly ten mill
lions. In the last Congress, when
Mr.. Randall commenced the work
of reducing public expenditures,
the Senate struck off ten millions
from his budget of economy, and
now they have repeated that act of
hostility to the same extent. These
are the naked facts.
To appreciate the great change
that has taken place since the
House passed out of Republican
control, and De Golyer Garfield
and his confederates ceased to hold
the purse strings, comparison be-
tween the appropriations made
during their rule and since then
will tell the story most effectively
and clearly. A period of three
years of Republican and three years
of Democratic ascendancy will best
represent each side fairly, and un-
der similar conditions of peace,
when public policy and duty to the
taxpayers required the strictest re-
trenchment in every branch of the
public service. The table below
gives the totals:
APPROPRIATIONS FOR THREE YEARS.
Republican.
| 1874 1875. lS76
slSs 025,7S5 slSi S047S7 Sl77 $50 ,6S7
Democratic
1877 1873. 1879.
si5i ,Ss0,9i3 Sl536O5,6Sl. s5s, iS3
Total years of Republican
| appropriations ............... 500 70l OG7
Total years of Democratic
appropriations ............. 465,773, III
Total Democratic reduction $50, 1927 $3.50
|
| Average annual reduction s27 975 1888
The regular appropriations for
the current fiscal year were largely
increased by exceptional items,
which might fairly be dcduc led
from the total. For example:
The Fishery award d..................S So.
Pensions to soldiers of 1912, drop
ped since lS6I..................... IS o COO
Half the sum voted to rivers and
| harbOrs, no bill having pass
ed las; year.."..""......"........ 4.l5O OeO
| New items and increased grants
for lighthouses, navy yards,
| public builings, signal SER
| vice, coast survey, life saving
stations, United StatesCourts
judgments, etc ....................... 75O, 900
|
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