Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-10-16
THE GOVERNMENT POOR PAY.

THE GOVERNMENT POOR PAY.
 In the popular mind the United States government has always been associated with good business methods and pune tual payments for work done. This idea has been strengthened by the eager ness with which investors have always been found ready to take up government bonds as desirable and certain holding. It appears, however, from an article in Monthly on the "United States and its Creditors" by Mir Henry l.. Nelson, that the popular idea is wrong, which may serve somewhat to explain why honest merchants, and manufacturers hesitate to contract with the government to do work or furnish supplies.
 According to Mir Nelson, and he brings a long list of illustrations to support his statement, the dealings of a citizen with the United States are of precarious and unsatisfactory character. The govern ment is whimsical and frequently gross ly unjust-that is, some of the numer- ous representatives are-and if the citi- zen, for any reason and through no fault of his own, fails to immediately collect the money due him, the chances are he will never collect it, and will be looked upon as an impostor because he has the temerity to make a claim. The assumption until recent years was that no claim could rightly bs Io of fbo tol Nelson points out, our government was in this respect more tyrannical than that of England, for which the latter has rested on the assumption that the sove- reign could do no wrong, this fiction has not included the responsible ministers, who can be brought before the courts in the same way as any other citizen; but that broad measure of Responsibility which in England is accorded to the sovereign has in the United States been debt incurred by the government can in no way be legally collected, for, even now that the court of claims has been established. it by no means follows that its judgments will receive the indorse- ment of congress in the form of the needed appropriation. It is for this reason that business men in this country show such reluctance in making con tracts with the United States govern ment. They are disposed, as simple matter of business precaution, to put the government on basis exactly simi- lar to that on which they treat with individuals. If an irresponsible or poor paying individual presents himself as a customer seeking credit prudent merchants are accustomed either to decline altogether to do with business with him, or to charge such prices for their merchandise as to compensate in some way for the risk assumed. In most instances it is probable that, unless extremely anxious for trade, an honest business man will decline to have any financial transactions with the govern ment.
 The conditions which Mir Nelson pre- sents in his articles are certainly far from being creditable to the govern ment of this great country. They would seem, too, to explain why it is that the government is charged high rates ..for the work that is performed on its ac- count, and why, when it advertises pro- posals for supplies or services, it finds such relatively small number of per sons willing to make bids. This is not as it should be. In order to get all the advantage of trade, our government should, by constitutional changes if necessary, place itself, in respect to its creditors, on precisely the footing occu- pied by the honest citizen that is, show 8 willingness to pay all claims for which the court decides it is liable. In no