The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-09-14

toned, as they are, SO far as they relate tc
expenditures, taken from official reports of
the Treasury Department, and so far as
they relate to appropriations, are obtained
from the records Of the appropriation COM
mittee.
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 here
tofore2
Mr.. B.-NO more than there is in any
other of the campaign misrepresentation
that are being manufactured by their
campaign committee and sent broadcast
throughout the country. The appropria-
tloDs made by Congress constitute the law
by which the several departments of the
Government are to be conducted. No def
cheney can occur so long as the law is OBJ
served. The appearance ofa deficiency is
in general proof conclusive that the officer
charged with the administration of the
department in which the same appears
has passed outside of and violated the law.
It must be remembered that the execution
Of all laws during these years has been in
trusted to Republican hands and that it is
Republican secretaries and Republican
officials that have manufactured the def
cieneies that Democratic House has been
forced to confront We believed at the
time that these appropriations were made,
and do still believe, that it is susceptible
OF proof that the appropriations as made,
Notwithstanding the heavy reductions
were more than sufficient, with proper ad-
ministration Of the several departments,
to have provided for all the necessities of
the Government. Now, however, we are
charged with any laxity of administration
that may, during the last eighteen years,
have crept into and established itself in
the management of the Government in
the hands of the Republican party, and
thus they seek to detract from the great
savings secured bya Democratic House
by charging against it the millions illegal
ly expended by Republican secretaries.
But beyond this it is to be said that a very
large proportion of the sums found neces-
sary 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
illustrating the character Of these debts
for which appropriations were made in
these deficiency bills, take the case of the
late administration of the navy, which be-
queathed to US as legacy debt of nearly
ten millions of dollars, the greater por-
tion, 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 prior years, and
those growing out of misappropriation Of
funds in the Navy Department, of the
whole amount of 5,559, 900, about ST.
100000 of it was for deficiency of pay
of the navy, produced by an illegal diver
sion of funds that had already been appro-
priated for that purpose, and the remain
der, nearly S4,000,000, being for the IL
quidation of contracts made without any
warrant of law, and many of them covered
with suspicion at least, if not tainted by
fraud, so that but little justice can be dis
covered 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 matter of grave doubt in
the minds of many whether this vast debt
created without semblance of law, and
much of it the product of fraud, should
have been discharged without searching
investigation or judicial inquiry. But tc
avoid the semblance of reputation upon
the part of the Government, even of obli
cations entered into by faithless officials
it was deemed best to provide payment for
such sums as might not be avoided, rccog-
nizing in this one of the many penalties i'm
posed by Republican rule. Again, | might
say, by way of illustration, you will fine
one item in the shape of an advanced ap
preparation on the next year of three hun
dred and odd thousand dollars, for subsist-
enee to the army, which sum was inserted
in deficiency bill, and deducted from
the army bill, upon the suggestion of tbs
Secretary of War. And so you might q
through the list. There is nothing in
this point of substantial truth or force, anC
it is only made use of by the Republican
because the very title of the deficiency bill
affords them a pretext for the confusion
of facts. So that, view it as we will, nC
one can deny that during the last thre'
years, with the control of the House il
Democratic hands, the appropriations have
been smaller, even as loaded down by Re
publican Senatorial liberality, than fo
any like period of time under complet
Republican rule; and however much OIL
little Importance may be attached to thI
Democratic policy of economy, as evinceC
by the work of reducing appropriations
the country is yet confronted by the fac
that on the score of actual expenditure
there is no period of Republican domina
tion that does not suffer grievously in com
parison with the two years now last past
wherein the hand of the Democratic party
through its control of the House, has beer
firmly fastened upon the purse-strings o
the country.
Is it unfair, then, to assume that wit
an extravagant Republican Senate dis
placed by Democratic majority in sym
pathy with the policy thus illustrated b.
every Democratic House, supported by al
Executive in accord with the efforts thu
inaugurated, that this grateful process o
diminution of expenditures and Tightening
of burdens will go happily forward to tina
consummation which the people have arigh
to demand, and did demand in no uncer
tain tones in their verdict of November
1876?
The desperate efforts of Republican lead
ers like Senator Window and Mr.. Foste
aud others, 10 tortare official figures into
cloak for their partys extravaganza ant
J corruption, whilst not to be justified
probably not to be wondered at But tn
, uncandid attempt of these gentlemen j
; taking the offensive, and thereby seekin
: to show before an intelligent people tina
the charge of extrayagance belongs to Us
: viii only suffice to illustrate the audacit
of an effort made necessary by the desper
alton of their cause.
Mrs. Cassiday, wife of one of the EN-
ployees of the Baltimore and Ohio Raj
road, residing near Bladensburg, Md
recently gave birth to FIVE children-thre
,;rls ,nd tvvo bovs Tho uothar and bf