Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-09-10

the House. .................. 14O.3s4, 606 95
For the fiscal year ending June 80, 1879
Estimates of departments. $l76, 22634S 81
as passed the
house. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. l47, 6S7, 739 "a
as increased by
the Senate. Observation-Disclosures. 16l, So, 1863 Al
as reduced by
tne House. Observation-Disclosures. 1928. 1873 n
1t mi2h, here be remarked that in this years
appropriations is to be found an item of
80, 500 600 for the payment of the fishery
award. which is in no sense fairly embraced in
the net ordinary expenditures of the govern
ment, but which is. nevertheless. included in
the above statement. Taking the aggregate for
the three years, 1877, 1878 and 1879, we find
that the Democratic House. as it originally
passed these bills, made the following reduc-
tions namely: If the bills had become laws as
they passed the House, there would been a
SAVING OF $l43, 7O6, 00324
under the amounts estimated as necessary by
the Republican secretaries. while there would
have been also a saving of Sll4, 7SS, 1929 90 for
the three fiscal years 1877, 1873 and 1879, under
the three fiscal years 1874, 1875 and 1876 But
this is not all. for while these unauestioned
1acts, from official sources, show attempted
savings by the Democratic House of over 5ll4-
O00,OOO for a like period of Republican rule, it
also shows that u
REPUBLICAN SENATE ADDED S5I. 1873 OlS.53
to these eleven appropriation bills against the
earnest protest of the Democratic House.
Now, taking these same bills as they finally
passed both houses for the years 1877, 1878 and
1879 we find the following reductions. namely:
The saving secured by the Democratic House
under the department estimates was SILT 1877
400. 70, and under the appropriations for 1874
1873 and 1876, it aggregated S6S. 270 236.47. as
before stated whilst the increase secured bv
the Republican Senate over the bills as passed
the House. after most desperate struggle
was S26,51S.593.45, SO that the very pertinent
question remains for the distinguis ned Senator
tions, to answer how do his professions of
economy tally with the stubborn figures,
which prove him and his Republican
associates the floor of the Senate
and of the House of Representatives to
have labored .nestly to fasten more than
tfty-one millions of dollars upon Democratic
House bills, and who succeeded in increasing
them over twenty-six millions of dollars? In
some of the statements here given to you,
have dealt IN round numbers, leaving off the
fractions, but should You desire it you are at
liberty to use the tabulated statements from
which these estimates have been taken and in
that connection l may assure you that the
sources of information from which these tables
have been made are not to be questioned, as
Is,
taken from the official reports of the treasury
department, and so far as they relate to appro-
prlatlons, are obtained from the records of the
appropriation committee.
Rep.-What force is there then in the point
the Republicans are trying to make against the
democracy upon the score of deficiency bills.
which it is charged are larger in the present
fiscal year than heretofore?
Mr. B.-No more than there is in any other
or the campaign misrepresentation that are
being manufactured by their campaign com
mIttee and sent broadcast throughout the
country The appropriations made by Con-
gress constitute the law by which the several
departments OF The government are to be con-
Quoted. No deficiency occur SO long as the
law is observed. The appearance of deficiency
Is generally proof conclusive that the officer
charged with the administration of the depart
hent IN winch the same appears has passed
outside of and violated the law 1t
must be remembered that the execution of all
laws during these years has been intrusted to
Republican hands and that it is Republican
secretaries and Republican officials that have
manufactured the deficiencies that Demo-
cratic House has been forced to confront. We
believed at the time that these appropriations
were made, and do still believe, that it is sus-
ceptible of proof that the appropriations as
made, Notwithstanding the heavy reductions,
were more than sufficient, with proper admin
provided for all the necessities of the govern
ment. Now, however, are charged with
any laxity of administration that may during
the last eighteen years. have crept into and es-
tablished itself in the management of the gov
eminent in the hands of the Republican party
and thus they seek to detract from the great
savings secured by Democratic House by
charging against it the millions illegally ex-
pended by Republican secretaries. But beyond
this 1T Is to be said that very large proportion
OF the sums found necessary to be provided for
by deficiency bills ante-date the advent of the
Democratic party into power in the House,
reaching back to the fiscal year 1876 and years
prior thereto. For example, by way of illus
tratlng the character of these Cebts for which
appropriations made in these deficiency
bills, take the case of the late administration
of the navy, which bequeathed to us as a legacy
debt of nearly $4,000, 900, the greater
portion, if not all, of which had been
created outside of and without any
warrant of law, no one denying that under the
head of deficiencies for 1876 and pr or years,
and those growing out Of misrepresentation of
funds IN the navy department. of the whole
amount of $3.50, 000 about 100000 was for
deficiency of pay of the navy. produced by an
illegal diversion of funds that had already
been appropriated for that purpose, and the
remainder, nearly S4,0O0,000 being for the
liquidation of contracts made without any
with suspicion at least, if not tainted by fraud.
SO that but little justice can be discovered in
the effort of the Republican leaders to make
us responsible for these sums of deficiency
which their own officials unlawfully
created and left to rest as an incubus upon
some succeeding Congress. Indeed it was a
matter of grave doubt in the minds of MANY
whether this vast debt, created without sem
blance of law and much of it the product of
fraud, should have been discharged without
searching investigation or judicial inquiry
But to avoid the sem blance of reputation upon
the part of the government, even of obliga-
tions entered into by faithless officials, it was
deemed best to provide payment for such sums
as might not be avoided, recognizing in this
one of the many penalties i'm posed by Republic
can rule. Again, l might say, by way of illus
tration, you will find one item in the shape of
an advanced appropriation on the next
year of three hundred and odd thousand
dollars, for subsistence to the army, which
sum was inserted in a deficiency bill, and de-
Quoted from the army bill, upon the sugges-
ton of the secretary of war. And SO you might
go through the list. There is nothing in this
point of substantial truth or force and it is
only made use of by the Republicans because
the very title of the deficiency bill affords them
.pretext for the confusion of facts. So that
view it as we will, no one car deny that during
the last three years, with the control of the
House in Democratic hands, the appro-
priations have been smaller. even
as loaded down by Republican sena-
torial iberality, than for any like period
OF time under complete Republican rule; and
however much or little Importance may be at
tached to the Democratic policy of economy. as
evinced by the work of reducing appropria-
lions, the country is yet confronted by the fact
that on the score of actual expenditures there
is no period of Republican domination mat
does not suffer grievously in comparison with