The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-03-23
HOW THE MONEY GOES.
Nearly Billion Was Appropriated
by the Last Congress
SOME THING PEOPLE WONT APPROVE.
An Enormous Increase in the Expense
of Running the Government.
Tspecial Correspondence.l

Especial correspondence
WASHINGTON, March 14.-Blessings
brighten as they take their flight, and
SO does the Fifty third congress- AL
ready we hear many good things said
about it, and the members who still
Finger grow every day more confident
that when the measures it has enacted
begin to take effect the people will re-
verse their present judgment, which is
admitted to be very unfavorable 1 was
particularly struck with the farewell
words of Hon. Andrew Jackson Hunter
of Paris, Ills. who, with many other
things, said: "We came together with
everything at the worst and with hon.
est differences of opinion en- the money
question which were utterly irreconcil-
able, and yet we have done an immense
amount of first class work. When the
clouds have rolled by and better days
return, it will be seen that we have
really done more for the relief of the so
called common people than any congress
since the war. The trouble is that when
the patient is very sick indeed and the
doctor has to give him nasty medicine
he does not appreciate it at all, but
when recovery comes he sees that it
was necessary. The next time that
prices begin to rise and speculation to
be active the people will see that the
new tariff law is to their benefit, and SO
1 am perfectly content to await the bet
ter judgment which is sure to come. -
Opposite Views.
It is quite unnecessary to set forth
! the opposite view, as all the papers are
full of it, and peculiar feature Of the
situation is that the spirit of discord
| still fingers, and now the storm center
is in the appropriations committee. We
have the unusual spectacle of clerks I'M
able to figure out at once just how much
the Fifty third congress has appropriate
| ed and two widely differing state
ments from majority and minority.
''Was it a billion dollar congress?
Did it spend more money than the
Mckinley congress?'' To those questions
Sayers Dockery e Co. give an emphatic
no; Cannon, Henderson 6 Co., an equal
~ emphatic yes. Mr.. Court, clerk of the
| house committee, and his assistants
were SO exhausted by the continuous la
Dor of the last three days of the session
that they had to take two days rest be-
fore entering on the final summary, and
committee members of the two parties
remained to the end and sent their op-
posing views to the public printer at
the same time with the clerks report
The explanation is simple. Sayers s.
Co. count only what is to be actually
paid out by the close of the fiscal year
1896. Cannon e Co. count all that is
liable to be paid out and all that is
appropriated for dates later than July
1, 1896-in short, all that the late house
| hos oopoDa1la6 tho rovt hOuco 70 T,royyi6fa
for. Some of them also count. the cost
of issuing bonds to maintain the gold
reserve and thus succeed in making the
sum away above $1,000, 900, 900, but
the public will hear all about this in
next years campaign.
Ny own figuring is that this congress
has really provided for the expenditure
of about 1892, 900, 900, which is near
enough to 81, 900, 900. 900 for political
| campaign purposes. 1t is a little singu-
lar, by the way, how easily the people
get reconciled to that sort of thing
| When it was announced that the Fifty
first congress had for the first time in
peace appropriated 81, 900, 600, 900, there
was a great howde-do in the country,
and when it was proved that the aggre-
| gate was really but $988, 416, $50 it did
not help any with the people. The Fiji
ty- second congress came in pledged to
economy, and yet it appropriated ST.,
OFT, 1O4, DAT, and the people made very
little fuss about it. The excuse of the
members was that the preceding con-
gress had made permanent appropria-
tions which compelled this increase.
and as, deducting the increased amount
for pensions, the aggregate would have
| been less than 81, 900, 900, 900 the people
granted forgiveness. Now that the Fiji
! ty- third has adjourned it is suggestive
fact that the people are saying very lit
tie about what it spent and blaming it
! very great deal for what it failed to
| do.
I Good Pay For Boys.
A few extra millions are always slip
ped IN in the haste of the closing hours,
and this year the sums were much lar
ger than common. The salaries of en-
| ployees are large enough in all con-
| science, and yet a months extra pay
was voted, so the total for members and
| employees, the mere cost of running
| the national legislature, falls but few
| dollars short of So, 900, 900 for this
year. This does not include stationery,
! printing and many other expenses.
Some of the items must strike the aver
age farmer and laboring man as ridicu-
lous. Thus the 227 persons who wait
on the house receive 1887, SO per year,
and of the pages, nearly all of whom
are under 10 years of age, the salary is
| 5000 per year. Many of the officials
whose pay is nominally by the month
are in office till the next congress meets
and will thus receive from $3.50 to $500
per month for the nine months vacation,
besides a months extra pay. They are
good fellows, of course, and I like them,