The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-06-30

" " " ~ "
can tell how much they are going TO get.
When the year begins you cannot tell what
the sum will amount to. The law fixes what
they shall get per pound, and If we do not
appropriate enough we have to put enough
in the deficiency bill to make It up and
square the books. That is all there is of it.
Now, if you will take this list add run
it through you will find that the general APP
preparations made by the last congress nave
not been a cent more than what is necessary,
when you take into account the increase IN
the necessities of the people. why SHOULD
you keep comparing one year with another.
The only question to ask is, "Did you spend
you appropriate for the govern
ment a larger amount of mon
ey than it needs to run it in a decent
way; for nobody van our government To
go higgling along. If you attempt to COM
pare one year with another look at the diff
ficulty it will get you into. In 1861 this gov,
eminent only spent about S62, oOO. 600, in 1862
it jumped up to $3.50, 600, OOO, in 1868 it rose
to $685., 600, 900, in 1864 to $s11 ,0O0,0 and in
1865 to 81, 21S, OO0, 900. Was that ~chargeable
to the extravaganza of these four congresses!
] nave an idea that there is not "a Democrat
here who does not know what increased the
appropriations in those years. We were
compelled to expend that money in
order to defray the expenses OF a
war that certainly the Republican party did
not bring on the country. Laughter and ap-
plause.] We did carry it on though with
considerable vigor. GApplause.]
APPROPRIATIONS FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
But we are told that there is terrible ex-
~travagance in public buildings. Now l want
to say to you that they did vote for several
public buildings that l voted against, be-
cause l did not believe in building them,
except where good business principles war
ranted them. We passed in the last con-
gress SO bills for public buildings in the
United States. Twenty-three of these were
for 500, 900 and upwards. Brooklyn, n. Y,
got $500, 900. Detroit got the next largest
sum, 5000. 600. Louisville, KY, received
$4,000 o Columbus, O., $25O,OOO; Roches-
$500, 600. Now, all admit that these large
appropriations were all right, because they
were voted for large cities where the gov
eminent needs the buildings. But what they
complain. of is these other ten. Five of them
got $4,000 each and five of them $4,000
each. dS will say say for got the benefit t,o of
small buildings-I did not vote for
them-that in no one of them that 1 re-
collect was there a building voted for except
where there was an United States court.
And they claim that wherever there is a
court, a revenue Office and a postofice all
COulDlbeu, WlUlOuU IbHdTu W Jle SlZ6 VI Uuo
place, there should be a public building.
My idea is that we should put buildings in a
place when it gets large enough
so that the government needs it in order to
control it's business, and can save rents
enough SO as to make it a fair business
transaction as it does in these large cities.
1t does not In some of these small ones, but
you will readily see that these appropria-
tions are not open to the charge that
has been talked about, for there
is no job in a public building. 1t
must all be bid for and let to the
lowest bidder, constructed according to tho
s%tr,Ttsst s st0 . S g rn oat e1 n ,S as a ar rrls; aoS
except BY competitive Propositions. l AVE
doubts about the advisability of putting
up a building at Marquette, and l voted
against that bill, although it was in my
own state. Marquette has a court, a
collection Office and a postoffice. but it has
it was large enough to deserve a public
building. The majority of congress said it
would be, and 800. 600 was voted for it.
Now, the money is not thrown away. You
nave your building. 1t may be in a town
where it ought not to be, that is,
where the town is too small for it;
but there is no job in it. Here we nave
this same trouble that is often met with of
the big swallowing up the little 1 met it
when | attempted to get the free delivery
system introduced in this city and Bay City.
Free delivery is allowed to every city that
has a population of 10000 and upwards.
for years past the Democrats had re-
fused to give an appropriation so that we
could get the free delivery in a sin gle
one OF these smaller cities. They appro-
priated money enough, but every dollar of
it would be absorbed in voting for increased
facilities in New York City, Chicago and
these other large cities which are always
,.ooI,rt IN faya axrar-yfhinn fbau nop rat
nave no doubt they need it. They do. not
take anything that they do not think they
need. tLaughter.l Finally we put an
amendment on to thai bill where
by we compelled them to appropriate
$780, 900 or 500, 0O0 to establish a free de-
livery in the smaller places where they were
entitled to it. But what l say is there is a
tendency in this country for the large cities
tt swallow up the small, for the large COM
mercial centers to forget the interests of the
smaller parts of the country and not do them
perfect justice.
was amused, and perhaps all Of you saw
the same thing, at Ben Butterworth's state
ment as to the river and harbor bill. He said
the river and harbor bill in this country had
come to be a great mich COW which for the
last 60 years had been standing with her
fore feet over on the west side of the Ale
ghany mountains, and that we fellows in
the west and south had been feeding the COW
for TO years, while those in the east had
been milking her. daughter and applause. ]
He said all they proposed to do was to turn
her around for awhile and let the other fel
lows do the feeding her while we did the
milking. Laughter and %applause.l Now it
has been so with all these public buildings
and these improvements in this country.
We want simply fair justice between all
parts of the country, and the time is soon
to come when we will be able to get it. The
reason for this is that the center of popula-
ton and wealth is moving westw ard all the
while.
Why, they say that we are putting up
these public buildings simply in order to get
all the money out of the treasury. They
say the Republican congress have taken all
they can and that o they are simply
waiting for the treasury to fill
consider alton the fact that the coun-
try was prosperous. Do not business men
do that generallys Is it not right that they
should do itl Can we not improve our
streams better when we nave plenty of
money to do it than when we have none?
There might be years in which I would not
vote for river or harbor bill. 1
so in 1852, nor for a public build
ing. / think there were other uses for
the money. But now we can improve orr
country. Do not business men do it? Why.
take the depot of the Flint and Pere Mar,
quette railroad here. They would not have
built that depot away back in 1874 when
they were trying SO hard to get the money
to pay their coupons, would tReyi No, they
could not have done it. Now their
dividends warrant their e~xpending
money in this way. Their bust,
ness warrants it, and like level-headed
men they put up a building not for to-day,
s.s1ftpA t< thu nttxr A,,l xrLszl