The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-08-02

riotism, truth, good sense and elo-
quence. He was greeted with one Of
the liyeliest and grandest ovations
ever rendered one in Ohio. After some
preliminary remarks he called atten-
ton to the administration of the two
great parties by the following re-
marks on
REPUBLICAN ECONOMY.
Let us see which of the two great
parties is most entitled to credit for
economy in public expenditures. The
Democracy for four years past has
held the House of Representatives,
which controls the appropriations Of
public money; and in that time the
appropriations for the expenses of
the Government, ercluSive Of the IN
terest on the public debt, have been
1904, $4,000, For the four years
preceding, during which the Republi-
can party controlled appropriations,
the same expense amounted to $685.,
$4,000; so that the control of one
branch of Congress by the Demo
cracy for these four years has saved
the people $S4, 100000, being an av-
erage of over $21, 100000 a year.
Since June 80, 1866, the people have
paid $4,311, 000 900 in Federal taxes,
and out of that vast sum but $685.
100000 have been applied TO the
principal of the public debt. If the
Republicans had been as economical
during the nine years preceding 1875
as the Democrats have forced them
to be since then, the public debt
would have been reduced three hun
dred and forty-fve millions more,
without imposing one dollar of addi.
tional taxes on the people. The
twenty-one millions q year saved
since 1876 by the Democratic House
have been saved in spite of the most
vehement and determined resistance
of the Administration and the Sen
ate; and it never would have been
saved at all had not the people at last
disregarded the bowls about the al
legged reasonable purposes Of the
Democracy which have formed the
campaign arguments of the Republi-
cans since the war.
We have here an illustration, fell
low citizens, of the necessity of fire.
quent changes of administration.
Reform of extravaganza and abuses
can only be secured by such changes.
In the flush times of Grant and Boss
Shepherd, the Hon. Proctor Knott
asked leave to introduce bill to pay
salaries to the cast-iron boys, which
are the hitching- posts along the ave-
nues, saying they are the only fel-
lows in the District not salaried !!
The constant tendency Of every
branch and tyig and leafet of the
public service is toward growth of
patronage and power. Every subor
dinate finds need for some subordi-
nate under him, every division is
struggling to become q bureau, every
bureau to he a department. This
tendency, stimulated by the enormous
revenues of the government during
the prosperous times following the
war, unchecked by formidable opposi-
ton, enc outraged by the desire of the
Republican party to magnify the Gen
eral Government which it seemed to
hold under a lease for ninety-nine
years, renewable forever, has been on
~, in part, arrested by the election
Of a Democratic Congress. Neither
the House nor the Senate can enforce
thorough economy in the public SER
vice in opposition to the Executive
Departments, and complete change
Of administration is therefore indi-
spensable to cut down public expen-
ditures to the limits of economical
efficiency. The annual exper ses of
the Federal Government in 1877, for
all purposes except public debt and
pensions were 1000, 000-nearly
twice as great as for the year 1860,
when they were but 500, 100000. 1t is
true the population of the country in
creased in that seventeen years nearly
fifty per cent; but, admitting which
is not the fact, that the expenses of
the Government must increase in the
ratio of increase of population, those
expenses for 1877 were $27,00O,000
greater than they should have been
in the ratio of the expenses in 1860,
and this, too, after the Democratic
Congress had made every reduction
which the heads Of departments could
! ha 1r;roy n nhopo,a of al ,,oirfc