The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1886-07-23
WASHINGTON LETTER.

hASafS9roN ". Z. Jaiy 9th, 1886.
Congress has been wringlrng all week
over the money bills whloh provide tor
rnHn'"~ 'le Govsrnment during the
''exi F,s,", year. rne subject sounds
IKE dry one but. the Congressional
iebates have not bseu dall. Appro
priallon bills always provoke mneh dsa-
srecHsnnt and afford M opportunity for
iiscuEeing the comparative extruvigancs
and economy df tha two parties.
The Nations oalancs sheet has in.t
been drawn mp asajp. The Govern.
ment- ooekaeepers have ft,otsI up their
accounfs fnr-ihe fiscal year that came tc
~ end on June 30'h., and tIse Gsurss
re even more satisfactory than
rave been ezpecied. The receipts ex-
''t'eF' ul he expenditures by so, 1923, SIG.
'hA re""ir's and expenditures for The
i 'uYi .yc..f compared With the last pre-
cesding one. show hMiacreasa OF rev. "ue
u abonl $l2 500 900 aud a decrease III
the expenditures Of abont Gil, I,500, 900.
N'''"S '''eiPis "tS Soin9 Sil ,UUV, UUJ
better, internal revenua f. 500 600 ind
miscellaneous scrie S5,00o.0O0. The
ordinary expenses are $22 ,400, 900 less
tlian last year, interest is nearly 1;C00,
900 less and pensions are sS, 800, 600
more.
~Yes, daring the year just cla4cl the
Pension Office issned Sl,422 pension
certificates, n larger number by 6 6.72l
than eyer were issued in auy previous
year. Aud xhen it is remembered -ai,ot
this immense work has been Performed
with force OF clerks less by over 100
tlan for the previous. yrs. there seems
to he sufficient reason FOR aougratulatInp
the preseut Commissioner OF Pensions.
Gen. Black upon retrenchment in his
Office.
AT n recent Ca6irsf i'seeting tho
question 81 how many telephones. were
in use at the several executive depart /.
ments of the Gavatument in this city
eame mp. The President aaksd each
ef bis Secretaries how manv the
department over which he y. .esitled used.
The Attorney General said tive. Secre.
tary Lamar gave what he thought was
his humber. aud SO on around. They
made up about fifty altogether The
president asked them to look into the
matter End report at tho ncxt meetIng.
They did aud Attorney General Carl
and was the only one who had mado a
correct return. The total was one
Kindred aad filty. The average cost Of
each telephone because the departments
have uumbor of special wires, is 300
a year.
Thus Tor telephonic service for the
departments 10 this city alone, the GOV
ernment pays nearly $4,000 year.
THIS was thought to be too high by the
Cabinet officers ard retreuchment in
this line has begun. Fifteen telephones
have alrendy been taken out of the
Treasury department leaving only one
on each floor.
The salaries of Government clerks
comes out of the Legislative Executive
and judicial Appropriation bill. The
failure of Congress to pass il by the close
of the old fiscal year caused an unusual
outlook for the new. The departments
opened on trust July 1st., it being
| against the law TO make any contract,
for services in excess OF appropriations
SO you are without pay, was the remark
nude to government clerk, that mus
be uncomfortable. He showed nj
anxiety on the subject however. Salt
he, the pay OF members Of Congress i
provide i for in ibis appropriation bill