St. Landry democrat., 1886-02-06
"ECONOMf," THE WATCHWORD

"ECONOMf," THE WATCHWORD
What the Democra dc Party Has Done il
This Line for Ten Years Past-Its Present
Duty.
The State Administration of Gov
ernor Tilden in 1875 first turned the
tide of public sentiment in favor Of
Democratic rule.
In 1873 an expiring Congress on its
last day, with a Senate having onl!
seventeen Democrats out of seventy.
four members and q House containing
one hundred and five Democrats out OF
two hundred and forty-three members,
had passed the Salary-Grab bill, which
boldly took nine hundred and seventy
two thousand dollars out of the Treas
ury and divided it among the Senators
and Representatives for two years in
crease Of back pay, or from March 4,
1871, up to the date of the passage OF
| the bill. While several Democrats had
been weak enough to vote for the iniq-
uitous bill, the responsibility was clear
ly with the Republican majority.
In 1874 Governor Tildcn was elected
on a platform demanding economy
and honesty in public expenditures,
and he at once commenced the work
of cutting down expenses and cutting
off rascais.
In 1876 the Democratic National
platform declared: Reform is neces-
! sary in the scale of public expenses,
showing that in ten years of Republic
an rule taxation had risen from sixty
million dollars to four hundred and
fifty million dollars. or from five dol
lars per head to more than eighteen
dollars per head, and said: 1--WE de-
mand a rigorous frugality in every de-
partment and from every officer of the
Government. Mr.. Tilden was elected
by the people on this platform, al
though cheated out of the office by
politicians.
In 1880 the Democratic National Con-
yention based the claim of its candi-
dates to the support of the people main
~ on the ground of ''the honesty and
thrift Of a Democratic Congress,
which had reduced the public expendi-
ture $40, 100000 a year.
Samuel J. Randall was Speaker of
the Forty-fourth Congress for part Of
the term and of the Forty-ffsh and
Forty-sixtn Congresses up to March 5,
1881.
In 1880 Hancock was only defeated
by the INSCRIPTIONS use of money bv
the Republicans and by scarcely con-
cealed corruption OF the ballot-box in
Indiana, New York and Ohio. The
golden stream from Stephenson's f!
bank'' and the .:crisp new two-dollar !
Bills will not soon be forgotten |
AS Chairman of the Appropriations
Committee OF the Forty-eighth Con-
gress, Mr.. Randall kept up the reputa-
ton Of the Democracy as the advocate |
of honest expenditures and economical |
appropriations and paved the way for |
the election of Democratic President |
last year.
Speaker Carlisle has now before him |
grave and heavy responsibility. On
economy in appropriations and honesty |
in expenditures the Democratic party |
has been restored to power and to the
confidence of the people. While the
appropriation bills were under Mr.
Randalls supervision there was no
danger of retrogression. But Speaker
Carlisle, through the scattering of
these bills, has now to find eight Ran
dalls for Chairmen of Committees in
stead of one-eight Representatives in
stead of one who will exercise over the
appropriations the same watchfulness,
economy and firmness displayed by the
Chairman of the Appropriations Com
mittee of the last Congress.
No doubt Mr. Carlisle will seek to
put the committees which will nov
have to report important and heavy
bills in addition to their
other duties into honest and capable
hands. No doubt, the chairman of all
the committees among which the APP
are to be scattered, will
seek to do good and honest work The
question is, will they be able to do
such work effectively without posses
sing that knowledge of the whole mass
Of appropriations asked and of the
to be appropriated which a
single committee could command?
Ii the policy of Gripping the Appro-
oriations Committee power, which has
been wisely and benefcially used,
should destroy the Democratic record
.or strict economy, itawill be disastrous
% its authors.-N. y World.