Los Angeles herald., 1891-05-09
A BILLION DOLLAR CONGRESS WHICH
FORGOT Los ANGELES.


The people of the United States are
slowly becoming habituated to the fact
that the restored Republican ascend
ancy has been disastrous to the national
treasury. The one hundred million dol
lar surplus left by Mr.. Cleveland has
disappeared like snow bank under
hot June sun. The billion dollar con-
gress made its mark wide and deep on
our congressional history, and its per-
formances have left a great and abiding
impression on the public mind. In
every little hamlet, and at every cross
roads of the country, these big figures
are being pondered over. Those persons
who are of an arithmetical turn
of mind will work out hum
dred problems in which the
grand total of billion dollars will
figure. The immensity of the sum will
be made plain by numerous examples.
Angelefios will note, however, that no
matter how monumental the appropria-
tions of the Fifty first congress were they
contained no provision for public
building in this city. The coffee mill
on Main street still remains as trial
and admonition, to humble our pride.
The work on the harbor of San Pedro is
still uncompleled, no appropriation
appearing in the proceedings CT congress
for an enterprise that has been suffered
| to languish ever since General Van
dever, of happy memory, was sent to
congress from the Sixth congressional
district. A billion dollars And yet
the people of Los Angeles have
the satisfaction of knowing, to employ
cant phrase, that they are mot in it,"
The case is rendered all the more aggra-
waiting because the gross and indefensi-
BILE extravaganza of the Republican
tory on the Democratic house of repre-
sentatives of the Fifty-second congress
to practice extreme economy. We may
be pretty sure that that body will spend
no billion dollars, at the same time it
may choose to be exceedingly frugal in
its appropriations. The first direction
in which such an economical tendency
shows itself is always in the line of har
bors and public buildings. No matter
how urgent the necessity for these i'm
provements, they are postponed when
the retrenchment mood has got hold of
congress, or either branch of il. These
moods only occur when the Democrats
get hold, of either one house or the
other. 1t was not a spirit
of economy that denied us appro-
priations for harbor improvement and
a federal building, while the billion dol
| lars were being slashed around, but
downright, painstaking discrimination
against our people, which they ought to
have sense enough to remember at the
polls. The embarrassment of our situa-
ton is aggravated by the fact that we
now have no member of congress to rep
resent us at Washi ngton, not even a
fraction of one, like General Vandever.
Our people voted largely for Mr.. Bowers,
but that gentleman is no longer in this
district He now resides in the Seventh
district, and will look for promotion and
reward to the voters of that district. On
the other hand, we did not vote for the
member from the Fifth district, and he
owes us nothing The statesmen of the
city and county of Los Angeles have GER
tainly queer genius for bungling their
| political affairs.
Alas! for that billion dollars 1t
would really seem as if we ought to
have had some of it. A little for Will
mington harbor, trile for a public
building-these things might have in
duced Angelefos to look leniently on
the gorgeous largesses thrown out by
Republican congress elsewhere. But
billion dollar clay out" in which the
name of Los Angeles does not even
figure once will open the eyes of even
purblind Republicans to clearer vision
of the shortcomings of their party.
THE coming summer in Los Angeles
ought to be unusually lively. Not for