The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-01-06
THE WEATHER.
AS TO INFRINGEMENT.

AS To RETRENCHMENT.
The entire country is agreed on ono
public questlon-that there must be
economy in public expenditures. 1t is
unnecessary for the press to iterate and
reiterate the popular demand, for both
political parties, on the eve OF a national
election, are bent on making a showing
Of frugality. The one danger now is
that we shall have from congress an ex-
hibition< of parsimony rather than a
statesmanlike appreciation of public
necessities. Extravagance is not the
only sin Of legislators. Blind penuri-
BUSINESS is equally harmful and repre-
hensible. We have seen so-called econ
omy in past congresses result in embar-
rassment to the machinery Of govern
ment, ana ~much-vaunted reductions in
annual budgets at one session followed
at another by the passage of adefic!ency
bill appropriating millions that We're
simply withheld to make a fine showing
OF retrenchment. The people long ago
learned to distinguish between true and
false economy, and we hope they will
not have cause to hold the Fifty second
congress guilty Of the latter. The San
Francisco Examiner, in commenting on
some things necessary to be done, says:
One of the most important duties Of the
present congress will be the reduction of
the expenditures of the government to an
economical basis. But this does not mean
starvation. During the past thirty years
the people have become accustomed to do
ing things on a scale of liberality that
would not have been tolerated before the
war, and a return to the old frugality would
be distasteful to them. The work of the
Fifty-second congress will be to suppress
wild extravaganza; not to cripple any use
full line of government work.
For this reason we regard the selection of
Mr.. Holman to lead tlae committee On ap-
p.opriations az unfortunate. Mr. Holman's
ideas of economy are of precisely the wrong
kind. He would save a dollar by leaving
our coasts defenseless and spend ten on un-
necessary pensions. If he is to be the
chairman of the appropriations committee
he should be held in check by a majority of
more reasonable views.
We think the Examiner does Mr.. Eol-
man injustice. So far as we have OBJ
served he never has favored e~xtrava-
giant, Or rather airy, pensions.
We do not believe that he will approve
the pension commissioners recommen-
dation of an appropriation for this pur.
pose larger by s1o,ooo,ooo than was ever
before asked. If he does, he can lay no
claim to the title of "watch dog of the
treasury The Examiner mentions
among the items for which the appro-
priations may be cut down: Public
buildings; Indian service; rivers and
harbors; naval construction; fortifica-
tions; bounties; census; postal deficit;
congressional expenses; public printing;
interest on public debt; direct tax refund.
Some Of these items suggest good places
to slash. River and harbor~ improvements
should be limited to a few important
n%avigable waters; public building ap-
preparations should be made only for
those places where the rentals now paid
by the government would pay the inter
oi1 cio lAOuoy lu'tSGeO III Il IeQeral
building; there should be a looping off
OF bounties and and a great deal of use
less public printing should be stopped.
AS to coast defenses it would be
folly not to complete them as rapidly as
the work can be done; a fourth-rate
power like Chill could destroy in few
hours, in one of our unprotected harbors.
property exceeding in value all the an
preparations made for Notifications in a
score of years. No false ideas of economy
should induce congress to halt in the
work.of reconstructing our navy, either.
The country demands a respectable
navy and does not begrudge a dollar that
is honestly spent upon it.
In a word craftsmanship and not poll
tics should govern the work of congress,
There is an economy that is foolishness.
That is politics. There is a liberality
that is wisdom. That is statesman
ship.