The Portland daily press., 1880-07-05
PORTLAND PUBLISHING CO.,
PORTLAND, ME.
In Reioinder.

LILO hESo LII Ou0 Vi us utS Ol luudcy. WHICH
are becoming alarmingly frequent Of late,
says "the record made by Democratic Con-
crosses is one of wasteful extravaganza" If
that is so why the radical cry that the DEM
ocrats are starving the government" which we
have constantly heard for the last five years,
and in which the PRESS and every stalwart
organ in this State have heartily joined?
Ha?-Argus.
The Argus has just been fitted to a mil
itary saddle and finds it the proper caper to
initiate the snort of Jobs war-horse
Hence the "Ha' of the above paragraph.
The facts are these: The expenditures for
the last year the Republicans had control of
the House of Representatives were $780,
459,797. The Democratic Congress that has
just adjourned to December has already
appropriated, in its first regular session,
1921, ,423, $685. In the last five years that the
Republicans controlled the House there was
an annual reduction of expenditures amount
ing to $33, 800, beginning at 1922, it,
1SS, and running down to $3.50, ,459, ,797.
The Brigadiers began their harmful and we
trust brief career by appropriating S23S, $780,
00S, and spent the rest of that Congress in
passing deficiency bills. By 1878 the appro-
priations reached $266, ,947 ,s33; for 1880 the
appropriations were 1850, ,237; and for
1881 they have already appropriated S291,-
423,0 1888, and have still failed to provide for
the expenses of the post-offices and courts
This shows the crab-like progress of Dem
ocratic economy. 1t is steadily crawling
backward to the standard of war-expenses,
and the increase is made at time when
the purchasing power of the paper dollar
has, thanks to Republican administration
of the Treasury, materially increased.
The increase in expenditures has been
due to the enormous appropriations for log
rolling river and harbor bills and things of
that sort and to the increase in numbers
and pay of the semployes of Congress,
while the courts have been curtailed in
their terms, impeding the administration
of justice; the postal service embarrassed; ;
and the clerical wants of the pension bureau
left unsupplied, thereby keeping many
worthy and suffering Union veterans from
the compensation which is their due The
case OF Goode of Virginia fairly illustrates
Democratic economy. He is candidate
| for denomination and assures his people that
| in the present Congress alone he has secured
for his district direct appropriations aggre-
| eating S5O0,O0O and indirect appropriations
| aggregating $3,062,O0O This he has done
| at the expense of the courts and the mails,
whose efficiency he has constantly cast his
| votes to weaken. While fattening their
districts these Democratic Congressman
| did try to starve the Government. Last
| years elections frightened them from their
| position, and when Congress met in Decem-
ber they partially abandoned their obstruct-
| i've policy-not because they thought it
wrong but because they found it unpopular.
In way of contrast Republican admins
tration of the Treasury has, during the
| year which ended with June, reduced the
| principal of the public debt SIT, 723,010.
and the annual interest charge $10,232, 1858 !;
that is, the capital of the debt has been re-
duced more than eight per cent, and the
interest charge more than eleven per cent.
While the Democrats have Increased the
annual expenditures by millions the Repub-
licans have reduced the debt and it's interest
by millions. The Republicans have made
their reductions without crippling the pub
lie service and in the face of the angry and
persistent opposition of the Democratic
party. The Democrats have swelled expen-
ses while seriously embarrassing some of the
most important branches of the service.
That is the difference between Republican
and Democratic economy.