The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1889-09-14
CONGRESSIONAL EXTRAVA-
GANCE AND STINGINESe.

'h-NSL ANI cI NlN Eds.
The Congress Of the United State.
has very strange ways without any re-
lation to party politics. In some thing.
1t Is very extravagant, in others it j.
very stingy. Our readers may have
noted how ready Congress has been of
late years to vote money for public
buildings anywhere and everywhere
This is on the "you-ticllle-me-and-I- l.
tickle-you' principle Towns Of little
Importance have been furnished with
buildings that communities Of four
times their size would consider sufi-
cient. And then how the public mon
ey is voted away on all sorts Of claims
for pensions. Mr.. Cleveland's vetoes
very clearly pointed out the careless
ness and extravaganza Of Congress in
this matter.
Now, let us look at the stinginess Of
Congress. The quarantine appropria-
ton Is a case in point. Surgeon-Gen-
eral Hamilton, OF the marine hospital
service, asked for eighty thousand
dollars for quarantine purposes. The
committee to which the matter was
referred higgled and objected, ard at
last appropriated fifty thousand dol
lars. What is the consequence? AL
ready the force at each quarantine
station is being reduced, and by the
first of October there will be only two
quarantine stations supported by the
Government-one at Mare Island,
California, and the other at Chande-
leur Island, on the Gulf coast.
1t must be remembered that quar-
antine Is necessary on the Atlantic and
Gulf coasts of the Southern States
until frost comes. Frost sometimes
does not put in an appearance until
the latter part of November or the
first part of December. All quaran-
tine and inspection stations of the
South should be kept up until at least
the first part Of November. Congress
men could not well have understood
what they were doing when they fail
ed to appropriate sufficient money to
keep up all these stations until cold
weather.
We cannot but feel that the Gulf
coast has not received proper consider
alton, either, from the Treasury De-
gartment We have already alluded
to the fact that there is only one reve-
nue. cutter on duty between Lake
Pontchartraln and Apalachicola, Fla.
Congress may have also been at fault
in this matter in failing to make prop
er appropriations for the revenue ma
rine service. We know that the cut
ter Forward" which went North for
repair months ago, lay for months
without any work being done on her.
Probably there was no money availa-
BILE until recently:
We trust that the Representatives
from the Southern States will use
every exertion at the coming session !
Of Congress to secure suitable APP
preparation for quarantine purposes.
We don't care rap whether the mon
~ is handled by National Board of
Health or by the marine hospital SER
vice, though we think for the present
t may be better to let the present ar
continue. What we waHt
S money enough to keep up all quar-
antine stations until November. We
want also enough cutters in the Gulf
% patrol the coast.
This is Of much more Importance to
he people of the South than public
although they are not to be
lndervalued. Still, if Congress must
De particular in some particulars, let it
lot be in the matter of quarantine
Mobile Reqister.