Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-14
ENTRAyAGANCE AND PARTIES,


The stunning nature of the total of ap-
preparations made by the last Congress in
spires the New York Sun to take advantage
of the opportunity to claim for the Demo-
cratic party the credit of being the party of
economy in State and nation. To sup
port this claim il cites numerous authorita-
tive declarations of the Democracy in favor
OF economy of the public service. The
declaration of Tilden, that "every useful
and necessary Governmental action at a
proper cost is productive labor; every ex-
cess beyond that is public burden" the
| pledges of the National Democratic plat
forms of 1880, 1884 and 1888 in favor of
the restoration of economy and the reduc-
ton of taxation are cited by our cotem-
porary to prove its claim that ''the Democ-
raey is pledged and committed by assur-
ances the most solemn and binding to
! frugality in the public expenditure" and
that sit cannot countenance any other
policy without violence to its record and
disaster to its hopes"
This is a most commendable conclusion.
But as to its effect as showing that the
Democracy is especially worthy of public
confidence in this respect it does not quite
take in the whole subject If it were worth
while numerous pledges of economy could
be cited from Republican platforms; and
The events which have followed on those
pledges could be made to give peculiar force
to the conclusion that the Republican party
like the Democracy cannot ignore those
pledges without disaster The touchstone
of the value of platform pledges lies in their
performance. That test is worth applying
to the promises of the Democracy. We see
that in 1880 and 1884 that party was pledged
to the reduction of public expenditures from
the standard then existing. During the
greater part Of the time following, I'D to
1889, the Democracy had control of enough
of the Government to prevent extravaganza;
but so far from reducing expenditures below
the standard of 1884, there was an actual en-
largement of them. The increase was not
such gigantic one as that made by the last |
Congress; but it was no slight enlargement |
OF the expenditures which the Democracy |
had already declared to be excessive
Not only was the Democratic platform re-
duced to waste paper in this respect, but |
the Democratic managers of the House
actually made the change in the rules as to
the treatment of appropriations bills which
opened the gates to the food of extravagant
thar followed in the las. forr
years. Prior to the attack made on the late
Samuel j. Randall all appropriation bills
had 10 come before the House from the
Committee on Appropriations. This en-
abled that body to form the public expendi-
ture on homogeneous plan and restrain
the total of appropriations within a fixed
limit. As the Sun showed the other day,
this rule was changed in order to punish
Mr.. Randall for his views on the tariff
question and his undoubted use of his power
over the appropriation bills to check the
progress of tariff reduction measures. But
in placing tariff reduction above economy
the Democratic managers placed it in the
power of every committee dealing with an
appropriation to increase expenditures, and
took the step which has done the most
toward producing the late extravaganza.
Everyone knows that in their personal
conduct Democratic members are Just as
1SlNS III huCtL SudIS Oub Vi the gen. |
eral grab-bag as Republican members. That
ioes not diminish the responsibility of the
majority for excessive expenditures. Nor
loes it obscure the fact that no Democratic
Congress has ever equalled the stupendous
-ecord of the late Republican Congress in
high water mark for lavish
appropriations. But the reference to the
platform pledges of the Democracy for
economy renders it pertinent to recall! the
act that these pledges were not redeemed. |
If they had been made good by material
,eduction of Governmental expenditures
rom the standard of 1884, there is no doubt
hat the result of 1885 would have been
liferent.
As it is, while the Democratic record is ,
leither SO recent or SO stunning as the Re- !
publican, there is no doubt that the two
,arties are tarred with the same stick The
Iunger Of the practical politician for an ap-
'ropriation is as keen ON one side of the ,
ence as on the other. But if the Demo- {
rats show that they have learned by the ex- /
erience of the past four years sufficiently
o lend vigorous performance to their
hedges Of economy, they may succeed in ,
a notable difference between
he two parties.