The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-09-21
OUR JOE
WHO is CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE
APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE.
He is For Economy, But Wise Economy,
Not Niggardliness and Says Every
State in the Union Shall
Have a Fair Show.
Chicago Herald.

If Chicago Herald.
It Joseph D. Sayers of Texas, as cha
= man of the house committee on apr
# priations, will for the next two yea
e have control Of the expenditures
the government. Mr.. Sayers has oet
10 years in congress, and all of tn;
G time he has been a member of the al
, preparations committee. He bega
his services under Samuel J. Randall
who was chairman OF the committe
in the Forty-ninth congress, when MI
Sayers entered. 1t was from Randall
that he took lessons in econom,
of public expenditures, though
by nature Sayers required n
instruction Of that sort. He believe
in rigid economy in the expenditur,
of public FUNDS quite as sincerely al
Mr.. Holman, but he has better anC
more diplomatic method of reaching
satisfactory results. 1t was for this
reason above all others that Mr.. Saw,
ers was made chairman of the appro
prlations committee in this congress
Mr.. Sayers is one of the most popular
members in the house. He has vir-
tually been in charge of the more
important appropriation bills for the
past two years, although Mr.. Holman
was nominally chairman. Being a
better speaker and having quite as
clear conception of all questions relat.
ing to public expenditures, Mr.. Savers
was put forward by the chairman to
present the measures to the house and
in many instances to take charge of
the debate.
Mr.. Sayers' methods are those of Mr..
Randall. When the latter was chair
man of the appropriations committee
he always insisted on the debate be-
ing conducted in systematic man.
ner. The questions involved in the
bill were presented to the house by
the chairman or by the member in
charge of the subcommittee, and after
the debate on the various measures
had closed each side was allowed to
sum up the situation and upon the
floor of the house explain its view of
the case to the country. AS a result
an official statement regarding public
expenditures was presented to the
country by the chairman of the COM
mittee, and then the minority leader
on the committee was permitted to ex-
plain officially his side of the case.
Under Mr.. Holman's direction his
up of the situation was
always sort of free-for-all, in which
members of the house, some of them
unfamiliar with appropriation
were permitted to take part.
Under Mr.. Sayers' direction the Ran
dali plan will be again adopted, and
all statements, political or otherwise,
regarding appropriations will come
from the committee alone and may be
regarded as official.
Mr.. Sayers is an interesting person
atty He is SO years old and native
Of Mississippi, but he has lived in
Bastrop, Tex, since 1851. He was 20
years Old when the war broke cut and
he entered the Confederate army,
serving continuously until April, 1865.
After the war he studied law and soon
got into politics. He was a member
Of the state senate in 1873, and six
years later he was elected lieutenant
governor. His Texas friends still call
him governor" and this title he d.
vides with that of Judge" He has
never been on the bench, but he is
called ''judge." possibly because of
his eminently judicial mind. Like
his friend and colleague, Judge Gull
berson of Texas, Mr.. 5ayers is rather
deliberate in his actions, and in mat
ters of study, debate or legislation is
inclined to move somewhat slowly.
This is because he is extremely care
full and conservative, and hence it is
that when Mr.. Sayers takes a stand
upon any question it may regarded as
reasonably certain that ne is exactly
right.
Next to his Democracy "Judgeu
Sayers' greatest pride is in his Amer
lean ancestry. His family has been
in this country about $50 years, &C
oordlng to his reckoning. They were
here before the revolution, and
Judge" Sayers' great-great- grand
father was in many of it's battles. He
was conspicuous figure at the battle
Of Cowpens, and distinguished himself
at other points in the Southern cam
paign. The Sayers family came from
Wales and settled in one of the valleys
Of Southwestern Virginia, in Pulaski
county. One of the descendants still
owns farm down there, which has
been in possession of the family for
LAB years. Mr.. Sayers visited that
section last week for the first time in
mis- life, and last Sunday he took din
ner with 80 members of the Savers
family whom he had never seen be-
lore. While there he was shown any
of old family Bibles, dating
back over century, and two or three |
Issued to military an
,estors who lived and fought aud
lied over 100 years ago.
"What pleased me most" said the
Judge in talkir G of his visit, twas
he tact learned that in all the time
my family has b en- in this country
not one of its numerous mem bers was
aver tory. They have always been
Americans, first and last"
The committee on appropriations, of
which Mr.. Sayers is chairman, has
already been organized and is now
ready for work. 1t is hardly probable
that ANYTHING of Importance will he