The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-01-10

| WASHINGTON, Jan. 4.-Secretary
Chandler, In answer to a letter from
Randall, chairman Of the house com.
mittee on appropriations, concerning
the amounts necessary properly to
MAINTAIN the naval establishment,
says in part:
II venture to express my regret
Ethat with three bills conveniently
awaiting concurrent action in the
two houses, it was found impossible
to pass any one of them before Jan.
let inst, and that, therefore. serious
embarrassments have arisen In ad-
ninlstering the naval establishment.
May I not ask the earnest attention
Of your committee to the Importance
'of speedily terminating the anoma-
loas condition ofaf1airs, which makes
1t necessary to maintain naval service
without the assistance of some usual
appropriation therefor4 The senate
having dropped all propositions for
appropriation for additional cruisers.
and for completing the monitors, the
present question In controversy seems
to be only this: On the one side,
whether the appropriation bill for the
remainder Of the flscialiyear shall be
framed after consideration in detail.
of the estimates which the law re-
quires to be submitted to congress,
for the special needs of the service
for the year, and whether the specific
om0nnt to be applicable to each OBJ
iect of appropriation, shall be dis
tinctly named in the bill; or, on
other side, whether without
such consideration there shall I've ap-
propriated in general terms 80 per
cent Of the amounts granted In last
years bill for the various objects spec
iallv named Ia that bill.
! ''Surely the question is not vital
one., The first method is undoubt-
edly the wisest and safest, conform
Ing to the practice which has never
been and never should be departed
from, except in an emergency; the
second Is loose, irregular and danger
GUS, taking from the treasury mill
lions of dollars with no indications
on the face of the act of the specific
use to which any dollar is to be al
piled. But 1t Is certain that it is bet
ter to make appropriations by statute,
giving general authority to the de-
partment tospend as much as it spent
last year, than to place it in position
where it is compelled to struggle
along without any appropriation.
appropriation by vicious meth |
cd, is better than no appropriation at
all. where important government |
may come to be suspended |
by reason of the non action OF con-
grese."
Secretary Chandle gives a tabu-
lated statement, showing the estima-
ted appropriations in the bill are in
sufficient, except In the case of the
proposed for the repairs of |
wooden vessels, and concludes as fcl-
lows: THE whole question of the
needed for the routine work
of fcoHstruction and repairs and steam
in the navy yard, de-
pends upon the national policy con-
the repairs Of old wooden
ships. 1t is the duty of the depart
ment to apportion throughout the
whole year whatever appropriation
may be made for the general service,
md thus make the work continuous
while preventing deficiencies and
his course will be pursued for the
half year. There were last
year, and have been this year, no
deficiencies which could we'll have
oeen foreseen or avoided. There
we're, in fact, none of any noticeable
except last year for the re-
,air of the hulls OF vessels. Such re-
,airs cannot always be distributed
'qually through all the months of
he year, because work can be most
done during the longer
lays, and, furthermore, when the re-
,airs are in progress, it is always
desirable to hasten them to a con-
lusion In order that the ships may
'e promptly used"