The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-08-31
Bangor Whig.l
Lying in Figures.

We have been taught to believe that figures
would not lie but it is certain that this rule
like all others has its exception. Fusion figures
are dreadfully strange to the truth. The Fusion
organs seem to think that, while they are about
it, they may as well be condemned for big,
round, wholesome lie as for feeble and halt
ing one. For example, they start out with the
theory that the Republican Congress ought to
have been very extravagant in order to furnish
the Fusionists with campaign ammunition
and, therefore, it was. The next step after es-
tablishing this theory is TO fix the size of it,
and here the Fusion authorities are quite at
home, The size of their imagination is limited
only by their confidence in the gullibility of
their readers, and they put that to the strain
terribly. Their latest efforts vary somewhat,
but that does not mi ure their character for We
racity in the least Two stories coming from
two Fusion authorities or from tho same one
on two days in succession may materially diff
fer without making any material difference to
them.
|. Now, with reference to this matter of extrav-
agant appropriations he Fusion orators and
writers assert that the amount voted by Con-
gress this year exceeds that of last year by any
where from eighty to one hundred millions. A
little discrepancy of twenty millions doesn't
trouble them at all Well, let us see how this
is. Last year the Democratic Congress appro-
of the Government But the Democratic Con-
gress, as usual, saw an opportunity to make po-
litical capital for the future, and knowing that
the ensuing Congress was 10 be Republican, 1t
purposely created discrepancy for the future
TO take care of-that is, it refused to apDropri-
ate enough for the actual expenses. This made
good display for them in Two ways: by reduc-
ing the appropriations they were responsible
for, aud increasing the amount necessary for
the Republicans to Apr pirate. The deficiency
they created was SIS, 900, 000 which added TO
what they actually voted makes the amount
for which they were actually responsible $685.
1857 1888.
OF course the Republicans had to vote the
money to pay that Democratic deficiency, as
the Democrats knew, because, whereas the
Democratic party has not the slightest regard
for the welfare of the Government, and would
have voted for it to shut up shop if they dared,
the Republicans are responsible party, and
know that the credit and welfare of the peo-
pie depend upon the prompt payment of all the
obligations of the Government Aside from
this Democratic deficiency, the Republican ap-
organizations amount to S265, 513, 439. But $685.
742430 of this amount was made necessary by
the new pension laws, and to expedite claims
already pending, all OF which the Democrats
conceded and voted for as readily as the Re-
pnbIicans Suotracting this amount, which
was necessarily voted to comply with the
law. ard the amount chargeable to the Repub-
lican Congress for ordinary Government ex-
penses is less than $230 ,OO0, OO0.
The method, therefore, by which the Fusion
organs magnify the Republican apI ropriations
is by adding to the ordinary expenditures the
extraordinary amount of the deficiency created
by the Democratic Congress, the extraordinary
amount necessary 10 carry out the pension laws,
and then recklessly jumping at about forty
million dollars. But what are forty, or even
one hundred million dollars considered beside
the establishment of Fusion Democratic econ
omy? Their whoppers will have TO be bigger
than these to save them from being caught and
annihilated by the honest people who are rag
idly discovering their tricks and their man
ners."