The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1891-05-06


good people Of the United States will
be able to foot up the total cost to
them of the Billion Dollar Congress.
The final expense of the bounties it
provided and the jobs it got under
way cannot be foreseen.
The sugar bounties are put ut So
600. 900 per annum to rt-with, but
no one can tell what they will
amount to in the course of year.
The same is true of the postal sub
sidy and of many other elastic
schemes. But it is absolutely GER
tain that the direct and Immediate
appropriations will greatly exceed
the billion figures which have given
the monopoly Congress it's most
appropriate name. The appropria-
tions of the Fifty. first Congress in
excess of the Fifticth are ut least
sl7O, 100000, each one of the 40
monopoly Congressman having thus
cost the cou..try at least 81, 600, 900
per man for Il g luxury OF his pres
ence in that branch of the Legislature
which is supposed most nearly to
reflect the views aud the interests
of the people.
The next House will have before
it an extremely difficult task. It's
duty will be in almost every in
stance to reverse the policy of it's
predecessor The lines upon which
it will be forced to deal with tariff
taxes are probably plain enough.
The duty to simplify and reduce is
conceded, and the methods will not
be far to seek. The President or the
Senate, or either of them, may take
the responsibility of continuance
of war taxes and of barbarous
commercial policy if they see tit, but
the enormous Democratic majority
cleo ed in opposition to these Bour-
bon iniQuities can afford no partici-
patton with them.
A duty equally clear but more
difficult will be the restoration Of
economy in public expenditures.
The Billion Dollar Congress has
wound up the machine to run on the
most extravagant scale. 1t will re,
quire infinite labor and infinite cour-
age to separate the necessary from
the unnecessary, the proper from the
improper, the jobs from the actual
public needs. The Democratic Con.
gress cannot afford to expend bill
lion dollars or anything like it.
Should it do so that fact alone would
destroy its claim to be Democratic.
Democratic government is simple
and inexpensive. The Democratic
creed forbids the taking of penny
from the pockets of the people which
is not absolutely essential TO an
administration of gov
eminent within the strict limits OF
the Constitution. Many ofthe objects
to which the Billion-Dollar Congress
appropriated were not legitimate,
and ought to be cut off for that rea.
son alone. 1t is because of this wide
difference in their respective rules
of constitutional construction
that Democratic Administration
and Democratic Congresses have
always been economical in
with Federalist Ad-
ministrations and Congresses.
Jefferson and the Congresses holding
his political views surrendered pat
ronage, retrenched expenditures, re-
pealed taxes, and the same is true of
Cleveland and the Democratic Con-
gress of his time, to the extent OF
their ability. The Democratic eff.
fort is not to aggrandize government
at the expense of the people, but to
leave with the people every atom of
power and every dollar of money
which q frugal and transformations
government can get along without.
The election of Speaker and the
selection by him of the Committee
on appropriations will indicate
what may be expected from the
Fifty-second Congress. If it shall
fail in this particular the outcome of
the elections in 1892 will be less
clear than it seems to be now. Moth
ing contributed so powerfully to the
election of Tilden and Hendricks in
1876 as the wise and timely econo-
mics of the preceding Democratic
Congress.-N. Y. World.
The Republicans are no longer a