The Portland daily press., 1885-12-07
TREASURY SAFEGUARDS.
MIR. Randall's objection to Dividing
Appropriation Bills.

| WAsHINGTON Dec. 5.-Mr Randall today gave
| to a reporter of the Associated Press his views
respecting the proposition to change the rtlles of
| the House so as to take from the committee on
appropriations the jurisdiction over some OF the
| into the control OF the federal government he
said, sin the distinct understanding that 1t would
| adhere to an economical administration. This
| cannot be overlooked or eyaded If it expects TO
| remain in power. In all governments the prepar-
alton of suitable bills to meet expenses mas been
cOntided to organization. Nothing can be GER
| tainly done until by careful and comprehensive
scrutiny the amount OF necessary expenditure has
been determined; Taxation depends upon the
amount of expenditures, and increase of expend-
lures means increase of taxation. 70 keep down
extravaganza OF appropriation, estimates BY the
heads Of departments have been subjected to
question and examination item by item. The
Treasury has been protected by every safeguard
which could be devised. 1t is now proposed that
nearly all these safeguards shall be broken down,
and the treasury thrown open. Increased appro-
priati0ns, Judging from experience, will inevitably
follow. as each of the many committees to be
authorized by this change to consider appr0pria-
tonS, and into which the appropriation committee
as now constituted is to be divided, viii naturally
enhance its own Importance. Instead OF one
committee having charge of the expenditures
and checking unnecessary appropriations, there
will be many acting independently of each other
and nobody will know the aggregate of annual
appropriations until it is too late to avoid the dis
aster of deficient treasury which may al any
time in the near future be precptated on the
people. The proposition is too plain to need
argument, and there is not business man III the
country who viii not appreciate the correctness
and force of this statement The surplus revenue
we now have Will not continue forever, and habits
of eXtrayagant appropriations cannot be changed
at once The agricultural and river and harbor
bills were taken from the control OF the commit
tee appropriations, and here is the evidence OF
the failure OF the venture. 1t is known that eX-
made and it Is notorious that much of the money
appropriated in the latter might as well have
SsgH 1T1sn Denayment aMay frd to 1886
elusive, when they were under control OF the
committee on appropriations, averaged S190,647
per annum From 1881 to 1856, the agricultural
appropriation bills being under the control of the
committee on agriculture, the appropriations
averaged S43O,616 per annum The appropria-
when this subject was controlled by the commit
tee on appropriations averaged, 81 1896, 1928 per
annum. From 1881 to 1885, inclusive, during
which the committee on commerce and rivers and
harborS have had the subject i'll hand, the annual
appropriations have averaged $l3591 ,243. Ii
this enormous increase of expenditure character
ICES the first experiment the withdrawal OF these
two subjects from the protecting safeguards here
tOfore enforced under existing rules, and general
ly since the foundation of the government, who
can f0retell the devastation of the public finances
when the treasury doors are thrown wide open to
the unrestricted and unreStrained Vaccinations
and combinations OF every character? Such
combination might even enter Congress itself, and
the general government would then become hot
bed to start into existence every dangerous policy.
The same reasoning that would take from the
committee ON appropriations some OF the regular
appropriation bills would likewise devolve the
functions Of an appropriation committee upon
nearly every other committee of the House-as, |
for instance the reasons that would turn the naval
bill over to the committee on naval affairs would
just as logically send the estimates for public |
buildings to the committee on public buildings |
and grounds, for surveying and the expenses Of |
the public domain to the committee on public |
lands etc. In addition to preparing the regular |
appropriation bills for the service of each fiscal |
year, these committees would and should by the |
same method of reasoning be charged with pro |
viding for all deficiencies in separate bills. MAX
ing two regular bills to come from each commit |
tee, thus multiplying the number Of regular |
appropriation bills each session from the present /
number, a. to not less than so. To commit the |
power to control appropriation bills to the stand
ing committees, coupled with their present legiti-
lpate powers, would cut the House off from every
eenue of information touching the public service,
part through the committee controlling each |
owSar branch, thus breaking down What is
House st wholesome check possessed by the
over each>qgh the appropriations committee |
over that ol 'mittee and by all of the committees
considered ~ wopriations A potent fact to be
the statement Oh 9ection with this proposition is
eXpendltur@eS res LOT tntreasury that the estimated |
$339,689,0 900, while suing fiscal year aggregate |
the same period ailoude estimated revenues for
expenditures over feNehuNO only S315, ,O00, 900. |
H S24, 100000.