The morning news., 1892-01-02
SAVERS AS A REFoRMER.
he Wants to Abolish the so-caIled
Permanent Appropriations.

WASHINGTON. Jan. 1.-RepresentGtive
Sayers Of Texas, one of the veteran men,
bers of the appropriation committee. viii
introduce on Tuesday bill to repeal the
statutes providing for the so-called perma-
nent appropriations, indefinite and specific,
which were estimated to amount to over
Sl47 ,O00, 900 for the next fiscal year. Re-
preventative Sayers thinks that the epprO-
Prietions should be annually estimated for
in detail and not In the lump and passed
upon individually by congress as 8il other
appropriations are. The result would be "A
saving to the people of millions of
dollars. Among the permanent appropri-
atious which the bill would repeal
would be the sugar bounty appropriation,
which is estimated to take this year be-
tween $9,0O0,00O and $4,000, 600 from tho
treasury, and the national bank redemption
fund appropriation, estimated at $4,000
600 for this year. representative Savers
points out that the people know little or
nothing about these permanent appropria-
tions, which are there estimated aud made
in lump They do not know, for exam
pie, that the estimates for 1899 leaped from
$l0l ,000 900 to $4,000, 900, aud those for
1898 to Sl47, 500, ,000-the circuit tax, sugar
bounty and national bank note redemption
laws making the difference.
ALTOGETHER TOO NUMEROUS.
AS Representative Sayers points out,
there are 12l different permanent appropri-
ations, some Of them very small, but many
Of them large, some of them dating from
the end OF the last century, many OF them
being really obsolete As to others the con-
ditions have completely changed. Among
the permanent appropriations are those for
customs collecting. for supervising the fed
eral elections, for transportation over the
Pacific railroad, for the salaries of retired
judges, for the steamboat inspection service,
for the marine hospital service for the
inspection Of immigrants, for the expenses
of the shipping service, for arming and
eluipping the militia, and for several
classes Of claims Representative SRyers,
IN his bill, excepts from repeal
the permanent appropriations for the
sinking fund, interest, premium and prin-
cipal OF the public debt, purchase Of silver
bullion and certain trust funds. 1t will also
re-euact more stringently the covering in"
| act of 1874 by direction that after two years
all balances Of appropriations shall revert
TO the treasury except those for the public
debt, public buildings, light houses, fOrtiti-
cations and rivers and harbors, pay OF the
navy and marine corps, construction of a
new navy aud certain trusts.
BIG SAVING.
Representative Savers thinks the reform
provided for in his bill which will bring
these appropriations under the scrutiny of
! congress every year, will result in an
| especial saving in the expenditures
for the collection of the customs revenue
1t would repeal specific appropriations
aggregating S., 100000 and "indefinite" ap-
propriations aggregatiag $1,000,00) and
would save probably half of both. AS Rep
resentative Sayers says the affect of the re-
| peal is we'll brought out IN the contrast be-
tween the cost OF collecting the scustoms
revenue aud the cost collecting the internal
revenue. In 1891, under the indefinite per
manent appropriations, it cost 3.26 per
cent, not including departmental expenses
here, to collect $207 900 customs revenue,
while under the regular itemized appropria-
tions it cost but 2. 50 per cent, including de-
| partmental expenses. to collect S146 10000
internal revenue. The Sayers' bill is not
unlikely to become law,