New-York tribune., 1886-03-30
THE POS7-OFFICE DEBATE.

The House of Representatives is now engaged
in debating the Post-Office Appropriation bill.
reported from Mr.. Vilas's packed committee by
Mr., Blount The debate began with that char
actclistic movement OH the part Of the Demo
Gratis to cut it short. Notwithstanding the 1act
that MI. Blount was asking the House to
authorize the expenditure of more than MY
four millions Of money, the majority suppoi'e"
him in a resolution to limit discussion to siA
hours. In the last session the Democrats, LED
by that only greatest honest man on earth, Mt.
Holman, were positively shocked by the eXtrar-
agance of the Republican ostmaser-Gcneral.
They contendcd that he wanted vastly too
much money and knew well enough that the
Department could be managed with far more
economy.
Since then an Holmanic head has been placed
over the Department in the shape of Mr. Villas.
He has advertised that he was the lncarnatcd
economist whom the Democratic prophets fore
told. He has spent a year doing his best 10
ruin the foreign mail service, and i'll other ways
fulfilling his appointed destiny. lie has been
supplemented in the House by a committee OF
his partsans and as a result OF all this prom
ised reform, of all these pledges OF economy, OF
all this wagging of tongues about the IMPROVE
dent Republicans, he has desired his committee
to ask the House for 81, 2o1,176 50 more than
his predecessors estimates called for. ana
the committee recommends an appropriation
81 5S5 600 in excess of that passed last year.
And this is what Villas, Holman, Biount and
the rest of these genuine, all-woOl reiormerS
have produced as the issue of their new dlspen-
satiOn
That part of the fifty four millions which Is
to pay for the transportation of foreign mail,
is S37j, 600. Il is a trihe in the total fund but
the Importance Of the service can scarcely be
estimated. OF this sum Mr.. Villas proposes to
pay the American lines about $4,000. He
expects them to perform a total distance Of
2,O526s6 miles for this be2garly pittance,
though he is willing to allow the foreign lines
travelling only slightly greater distance ali
the rest of the appropriation. At the same time
he tells Congress that the coaatwise steamboat
serv ice received S5G3. .OO2 last year, or twelve
times more than the American ocean lines,
though it travelled only 5OO,O more miles.
What other motive than buncOmbe can the
Democrats have for the course they are pursu-
ing? The ocean companies would be perfectly
satisfied if they were paid at the same rate as is
conceded the coast steam boats but the bun
combe orators of the Democracy call that
" subsidy " in the one case which they grant
without a murmur in the other. Logic and
facts, figures and rhetoric, alike are lost upon
them 1t is nothing to them that our pittul
merchant marinei is exciting the derlsiOn OF our
rivals who take the trade of our American
neighbors away from us under our very noses.
1t is nothing to them that our commercial
centres are annoyed almost to desperation and
are becoming injured beyond repair by the
stupid ana almost wicked course of the Admin
istration. The Administration is there to win
buncombe reputation for reform and economy,
and they are there to make buncOmbe speeches
to help it along. They see IN a proposition to
pay American ocean carriers an honest price,
such as is being paid in Other branches of the
service, a chance to talk of their buncOmbc
about Subsidies and mOnarchical institu
tons and JefersOnan simplicity" and
class distinctions " and all that sort of rub
bish regardless of the impOsitOns they are
heapng upon trade and the merchant service.
We rather think that IN the next Congressional
election the playful actors in this mock k-merry
farce will find that in the Judgment of the
country they are demagOgues.