The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1886-07-17
Ore Gbibo0aux Sentinel
SATURDAY, JULY Il, 1856.

seq IL tih' Stifatt on the UnlCtu
States. an amendment was prOpo
sed of improving the harbor at SAY
annaii, Georgia..
The conmittee fixed The figure
at 5000. Hn0.O6 {.
On the motion to increase, Srua
tor Be- OF krntacky arose and
said
| desire 20 say IA word ia regard to
Savannah 1arhor. | will vote with
the Senator tinm Georgia to increase
the appropriation to $500 90. | think
if it Were proposed to lie made S23U,-
900 l should vote for it, unless there
Was some good reason given why it
should not be 50 much. On the occa-
sion when | had charge of the sun'iry
civil bill it was proved before the com
mirtee that there was a great deal of
bic about the navigation of the
Savannah River. much OF it growing
out of distractions placed in different
parts OF the channel during tAe last
years of the war. | Was in the city of
Savannah a few years ago, and | was
shown how the of the city
had grown and what might DO acrom
plished by removing o~bstructi"n- 10
q vigation. l have watched the progress
of the city ever since. Year by year
if has grown and its commercial inter
ests have Geveloped. until | am salts
tied there is no pot on the Atlantic.
certainly home >outh of Norfolk, that
is developing mere rapidly than the
city of Savannah. 1t has fine lines of
steamers its commercial importance
is magnitring every day therefore
whatever is needed TO aid its prospect
ty ought to be given. Our water ways
are the great competitors with railways
and other transportation lines in cheap
eDing treights, and all the money We
spend innrrs to the benefit Of all the
people of the country.
| do not blame the Committee on
Commerce of either House for cutting
down this aud other appropriations as
low as they can because of the Immense
pressure that must have been brought
to bear upon them from every quarter
and because of the large sum Of money
that the bill necessarily appropriates.
/ have not examined the details of the
bill !; not being on the committee, |
have had no opportunity to study its
provisions. But while | believe in rea
sonably economical appropriations l
am not troubled about the amount of
money o proposed to Le expended
In improving oar rivers and harbors.
My trouble is that we have too much
idle public money. The country will,
in my Judgment, very soon suffer more,
indeed is now suffering more by reason
of the amount of money that the Gov
ernment of the United States has ly-
ing useless in the Treasury and is
needlessly collecting every year by
taxation, than it would if the Govern
ment did not have money enough or
had barely money enough to carry on
its ordinary operations.
While this debate has been going on
l have been looking over the monthly
debt statement handed to me in the
last half hour, coming from the Secre-
tary of the Treasury. 1t makes a full
exhibit Of the condition of our finances.
We have paid off $96, 0 900 of the
principal of the national debt in the
last year. We have only $l44 600, 900
that we can by any possibility pay off
before September, 1891, unless we 80
into the market and buy our not yet
matured outstanding bonds at 127.
lao. or $50 per cent. premium, which l
suppose no wise legislator would think
it a proper or prudent thing to do, or
to be placed in a position to require it
to be done in order to avoid greater
evils.
MR.. TELLER. l do not think we
have paid off 500, GOO. 900.
MR.. BECK. If the Senator will look
at the decrease of the debt during the
year ending June 80, 1886, he will see
that it amounts to 500. O97 .796 .25-
Arr |