New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-09
THE "BILLION-DOLLAR" CRY bAS AA
IRR1NT FRAUD.

Il ;s admitted nv the Democrats that the
appropriations of the first session Vi Tue i-iiu
Congress in the lower house Oh "h'o" ''oS
have a majority of 151, amount 10 Soo'''i -
131 Ga. which is more than Sf4,oOo'ooV greater
than the appropriations OF the hrS' Ho'oi
of the List Congress. IL IS alleged vi co"lSe'
in excuse for this extraordinary increase, 'hat
IL was rendered necessary by the legislation OF
the last Republican CongreSS-lh o'her "oruS'
Aot this CONGRESS was 50 committed by the
last Coporess ~ TO render this increase I'M
ayoidabe There is some truth III 'hlS aS d
statement of fact but none at all aS i'll eAc"Se'
The only increase that was rendered absolutely
necessary in Republican Legislation occurs Ill
the item of pensions. Millions might nave oeeh
saved. if the Democrats had Waiiteo W saw
them in the Legislative Appropriation inc
Sundry Civil. the Permanent, the Naval anu
esnecially in the River and HarDor DILL
Except in the last item. all such economies
,ould have been niggardly and repiehensiDie-
but that is our doctrine and not the uoc'r'ie
of the Democrats. Their doctrine was expressed
!, IN. pIatform they adopted at Chicago ana
,,,,s mt in these words: eve pledge the
Democratic party. il it be ntrusied with power
not only to relentless opposition 10 'he hep"o-
lican policy of proligatc expenditure WHICH, AZ
the short space of two years, mas Sq""'ue'eu
an enormous surplus and emptled al oVerho"-
ing Treasury, after png new burdens oi .aAa
tion upon the already oveitlXed laDor VI 'ic
country" OF what use is relentless OPPOSE
ton, if il results in the expenditure Vi
S44 600 600 more than "Republlcan prohi-
pacy"? When party denounces certain line
of conduct as utterly atroclous ana r''ii'ouS' ""u
then proceeds in the same line 10 rum anu
atrocity far more profound ana DREADFUL u
necessarily convicts itself OF arrant hypocrisy
or inter INCOMPETENCE. To say that 1t had TO
do IN BECAUSE the other party committed u 10
sucb \ course. while promising :" relentless
onnosition'' to that course is nothing else IMAM
RI comic that its kind Of relentless opposition
amounts to nothing.
And that is the truth of it. The Democratic
party has never been in power IN the Ia, 'ar''
wear, in the Federal Government, or IN any
mart of it. or in any state without cohceulhs
that the policies and conduct OF previous re
mblicao Administrations have been wise anu
necessa,y. 1t has initiated Republican policies
wherever il has had the courage and capacity
70 do SO. and has failed in imitation, as IL mas
failed in enforcing its own peculiar theories
bocause of an inherent tendency - malldmlnls-
tration. and an inherent incapacity 10 as
charge the functions of government lis lie
bas been one long confession that the Repub-
lican parry has done wisely and WELL ana that
its own incapacty is such as to prevent II
either from carrying it's own policies INTO ene''
or from following ont those that Republican
statesmen have already formulated and es'ab-
Tshod 4, may he assumed that We have heard
the last of the Billicn-Dcllar Congress cry
for this clmpagn-at least from the bcn'o-