The sun., 1878-05-03
How to Reduce the Expenditures.

The road to retrenchmcnt is hard t.
travel with II Fraudulent Administration
in Office having friends and confcdcr-
atcs to reward Mr.. SHERMAN reported
last December an estimated deficiency
for the next fiscal year, including the
payment to the sinking fund. Of about
eleven and n halt millions Of dollars. But
his estimates for regular expenditures We're
I'm no respect reduced to cover this expected
deficiency, nor did he point out any mode of
retrenchmcnt by which it might be met. In
other words, he proposed to run the machine
IN the old ruts.
Successful reform can only he achieved in
detail, by hearty cooperation Of the cx-
ecutive department. The present Secrc-
taries, heads of bureaus, and chiefs in the
civil service, who know it's weaknesses, are
obstacles in the way of economy. They
purposely conceal information which Is
necessary for Congress, and habitually mis-
represent the condition of the public SER
vice, in order to continue extravaganza and
abuses that are now, and have for long
years been, a serious drain on the Treasury
All inquiries are answered uniformly that
" the present force il Indispensable in every
department.
MS - NAflll VI 'bllNfhAll'llls 'Nh~l'llf anu
Misrepresentation, 10y which dust is thrown
in the eyes of Congress, is carried on in
open defiance Of law. The act OF 1872 re-
qurcs the head of each department to make
an annual report to Congress of the names
of all persons employed therein, stating the
time that each person was employed, the
sum paid to each, and whether the services
of any of them can be dispensed with. This
net is treated as dead letter. And 50 is the
net Of 1886 which directs that all the Offices
Of the public departments shall be open for
the transaction OF business eight hours n
day from the first of October until the first
Of April, and ten hours II day from the first
OF April to the first of October II this law
was enforced the expenditures could easily
be reduced twenty-five per cent. in the de-
partmcnts, which are now thronged with
idlcrs and snecures.
Two alternatives are presented to Con-
gress, either to cut down tho expenses arbi-
trarly 50 ~ To cover the coming deficiency,
or to suspend the payments into the sinking
fund, for which there are bills pending in
both Houses The latter proposition Is
beset with danger, because IL offers an
easy mode OF escaping responsibility, and
will surely check the work of economy
which is now progressing with far less vigor
than it ought to do The people demand
that rctrenchment shall go on in the public
service, until it II thoroughly purgcd of cX-
listing cXccsses, in order that taxation now
weighing down every industry may be dmin-
ished. The appropriation bills which have
already passed fall short Of this public de-
mand, and those which are TO follow will by
no means, when added together fill the gau
Of eleven and half millions of deficiency
for the next fiscal year, The Navy bill is at
Least two millions in excess, and if the
iiouse had refused to appropriate dollar
i"r lhe rotten ships that now disgrace tho
name "I navy and are patched up as false
p'e'ehee ior voting seven and half millions
year l"r pay alone, the country would have
lcloccd.
HN'lN effort TO cut off unnecessary ofIices
'''"'e salaries. and 70 combine places