The Globe-republican., 1893-03-31
THE BILLION DOLLAR HuMRUG.
RefOrmatory Work of the Defunct Eco
nomlcal" Congress.

THE BILLION DOLLAR HuMBUG.
Reformatory Work of the Defunct Eco
nomIcal' Congress.
1t is within the memory of men now
living-that is to say, it was about two
years and half ago-that a great
party in this country rose up as one
man, and, lifting both hands with the
palms outward in the manner of one in
distress, began rolling its eyes in such
a way that young persons were
alarmed, and watchers of the skies,
installing the glow from the whites of
so many eyes, said: This prefgures a
new dawn" Many persons got ready
to take office under it 1twas the dem
ocratic party in the midst of one of its
ructions. 1t had appeared that the APP
preparations made by the republican
congress to carry on the government
reached nearly $3.50, 900, 600. lacking ten
or a dozen millions to make in round
mum bers a billion. Near enough, they
said, to call it billion for short The
democratic party was writing over
the extravaganza. the prodigality, the
criminal waste of such an expenditure.
The newspapers broke out with excla-
nation points, scare heads, double
loaded editorials inquiring when
this would end, and gen.
eral acknowledgements all over
them. which indicated that the
expense of carrying on the
government was borne principally by
the editors of democratic newspapers,
and if things kept on in that way
they would either have to stop the
wheels of government or suspend pub
LEGATION. Either one a calamity. Many
democratic orators were in circulation
throughout the country quivering with
emotion from town to town openly and
publicly dripping with cold sweat over
the dreadful, outlook, and the number
and variety of disasters that would
surely overtake the country unless the
democratic party were put in control.
In this town there were persons so
deeply affected by this state of things
that they used to leave off work and go
to the nearest saloon to talk about it
and find out if possible what the coun-
try was coming to. The feeling was so
profound that hardly any body dared to
talk about it except in close proximity
to facilities for drowning sorrow. In
several instances some of the most ex-
perienced and level-headed statesmen
who stand behind the bar when the
legislature is not in session permitted
regular customers to suffer several min
utes from thirst while they discussed
the perils into which q republican
hn mi
or shed bitter tears at the thought
that a billion dollars had been spent
and the democrats were mot in it. y"
Some of these persons remembered
with sadness that if the democratic par
ty had been continued in power through
the last thirty years the govern
ment would have been conducted with
much greater economy. There would
have been no war, no national debt to
pay interest on, no pensions to speak
of. and. what is more, no botheration
with the labor question. as the system
of labor approved by that party per-
mitted no question of wages, hours or
rights This induced melancholy re-
Elections, but they were INDUCED
silently; no public reference was
made to this aspect OF the case
The present agony was simply because
the republicans were driving the coun-
try to the bow-wows by extravagant
appropriations Singularly enough.
the same supersensitive party few
wears before had been standing on its
head in a similar ruction because I'M
der republican administration a surplus
had accumulated in the treasury. That
was condition, too, that threatened
disaster. and the party wept and tore
its hair over it in a manner most touch
ing to behold
Largely because of the row-de-dow
over the billion dollar congress" the
people two years and half ago called
in a democratic congress to correct the
evils of extravaganza and waste. and
see that economy was observed in the
appropriations. Called in . democratic
majority IT one hundred and fifty, so
that there might be no mistake about
it Having done this the people