Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-09-07
InequalIty OF Appropriations.

to see all the larger cities and towns in
the country supplied. with government
buildings. Representative Shallenber-
ger says that the number Of buildings
authorized by the present Congress is
larger than for many years, and that
they are widely distributed over the
country, chiefly in the smaller cities.
That the larger cities should absorb the
public building appropriations, as they
have done in the past almost entirely,
he thinks is not right; and that " the
people who pay taxes and travel great
distances to postoffices and courts, have
equal claims upon the government for
suitable accommodations" We strongly
incline to sympathize with this opinion,
which will doubtless be a popular one in
the country. Naturally it does not meet the
views of the metropolitan journals, which
aim to lead the sentiment of the country
and to command all the government ex-
penditures to be made around their own
doors. The New York editors look out
upon a government postofice that cost
many millions of dollars and think it
quite right that the money should have
been spent to provide New York with a
great and elegant building for its post.
Office /; but they cannot see that equal
reason exists for furnishing q small city
like Lancaster with the modest struc-
ture that it will be content with. Yet
the one expenditure is as justifiable as
the other. 1t is true that New York
has twenty or thirty times our popu-
lation; but it is equally true that its
postoffice has cost more than twenty
or thirty times as much as is
asked for one at Lancaster. New
York is great distributing point of the
mails it is true but Lancaster is also
distributing point in smaller way.
The New York citizens receive and
send newspapers and letters so do the
citizens of Lancaster, though not so
many in the aggregate. The two cities
occupy the same position in regard to
their postal relations, the sole difference
being that one has a bigger mail than
the other. Now if this difference is
matched by a proportionate difference in
the amount of public money expended
upon the post0ffices in the two cities will
they not be treated with equal and exact
justice by the government !? We are
quite ready to have such test put upon
our demand for a postoflice apprOpria-
tion. We will not ask for more money
in proportion to our postoflice business
than New York has had expended upon
her pOstOflice.
Now why arc we not entitled to SO
much? Should we not have a national
building because the government can
rent an Office here at a less rate than six
per cent. upon what the proposed invest
ment would be or three per cent. if that
is the value to the government of it's
money? That looks like sound bus;-
ness proposition and we are ready to
yield to it il the big cities are. But the
United States could readily rent plain
building suited to its uses in New York
city for much less than the interest upon
the investment it has made them. If
the nation should not expend any money
unprOGtably in the ornamentatiOn of
its public buildings the rule should apply
to New York as we'll as to Lancaster.
We do not think there should he such
extravaganza in public buildings as is
seen IN our great cities. The money
that has been wasted upon them would
have supplied many smaller towns with
the accommodations they need. But
what We do insist upon is that the same
measure should be meted out all around.
Ii the government has business in Ian
caster which requires building we see no
reason why it should not build one of it's
own instead of renting. We certainly
are unable to see why it should build
extravagantly in New York and rent
miserably in Lancaster. Some of tie
Democratic brethren seem to think that
the Democratic opposition to national
improvements commits the Democratic
party against such appropriations for
public buildings. But We do not so con.
slider. That doctrine does not forbid the
government to erect buildings that it
must use, and has to hire when it does
Lot build. 1t does, however, i'm its es-
sence, forbid unequal appropriations for
such purposes. 1t demands that when
made they shall be made generally and
that no one community or set of CON-
munities shall be unduly favored and
without just cause. We consider that
it fOrbids the expenditure of millions in
cities of a million population, upon
postoffices which are equally required in
cities of twenty-five thousand popula-
tiOn, when the latter are refused the
fOrtieth part of the millions that the big
cities get. We are quite tired of this
fav0ritism towards the metropolitan
towns which use all their gush and
newspaper froth to elevate themselves,
and disparage their neighbors, and see
no justice in an appropriation that does
not blow into their own pockets.
THE last speech in the Star Route
trials is being made to-day. The
speeches began 90 long ago that We for
get the date, and the trial itself CON-
menced away back somewhere. There
has been fearful stretching out of the
proceedings {; fact which is due to the
money expended upon the defense and