Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1895-07-05
WOULD COST MONEY
Senate Committee Changes
Will Not Be Made With
w out Opposition.
CONDUCIVE OF EXTRAVAGANCE
Similar Changes in the House
Increased Expenses rs
Cents Per Capita.

WASHINGTON, July "A question,
which is engaging no small share OF at
tention among senators who are look
ing forward to the business or the next
session Of congress is that concerning
the effort which it is well understood
will be made to have the appropriation
bills distributed among a number OF
committees i'll the senate, as Ill the
house. There has not been a congress
since the house made the change from
j. the system of having Il committee
handle all the appropriation bills when
a similar change has not been agltated
in the senate, but the more conserva-
tive senators have SO far succeeded Ill
preventing the movement from gaining
formidable Roadway. The agltatlon
has begun much earlier than usual tor
the next and was in working
shape when the last session adjourned.
1t is coupled with a general desire
among the new members to secure Il
more satisfactory representation on the
committees generally and includes
anon it's promoters a sufficient num-
pCI VI SCutllOlo w SttlSS oAo OAoo
tives to feel no slight degree OF appre'
hension over the possibilities.
Older Men Opposed.
The older men in the senate will, as
a class, oppose the innovation, and
they too have been getting their forces
into line. The opposition will be based
largely on the ground that the change
if made will have a tendency to pro-
mote extravaganza in expenditure, and
the experience of the house will be
pointed to in support of the contention.
There are members in both houses who
assert that the change made in method
in the house has been productive of very
marked increases in the annual appro-
priations and they quote figures to
show that this has been the case. The
first change there was made in 1880,
when the appropriations for the ex-
penses of the agricultural department
were first put in an independent bill,
and that measure placed in the hands
of the committee on agriculture, and
the river and harbor appropriation bill
put into the hands of an independent
COI1IAl1UCCC. 1CN 4ouo L lSS c4lC NPplO-
priation bills, save that for the pay
ment of pensions (Which is excluded
from all calculations) amounted to ~. 90
per capita of the population Of the
United States. During the next four
years during which no further change
was made, there was a slight increase,
but it was Lot regarded as Of sufficient
importance to excite remark or to
afford good ground for opposing the
proposition when it came up i'll the
Forty-eighth congress, to take the
army, the diplomatic and consular, the
Indian, the military academy, the navy
and the postofice bills from the COM
mittee III appropriations, and give
them to the various house committees
having charge Of the kindred subjects.
Increased IS Cents Per Capita.
The change was accordingly made.
The new system was vigorously at
tackled at the beginning Of the Fifty
second congress and a calculation,
which has been unearthed since the
present agitation for a change in the
senate was inaugurated, was made by
the house experts, showing an increase
in the appropriation under the new
system Of over rs cents per capita, ex-
elusive of pensions.
This the opponents of the distribu-
ton plan claimed, as they do now, wa
the result Of divided responsibility.
The same statement showed that I'D to
that time the increase figured on a per
capita basis had amounted in the aggre-
gate to STA, 693, 240. Estimates made
to the present time bring the figures
up to 5000, 900, 900. In view of these
facts, said a senator, a few days since,
who opposed the similar change in the
senate, would we have had a shortage
in the treasury and been compelled
to borrow money to meet running ex-
penses if the change had not been made
from the old way of doing business in
the house, and if this had been the re.
suit with only one Of the houses doing
business in this way, what might we
not expect if both houses should adopt
it. Before this change was made in
the house, the senate had never been
known to reduce a house appropriation
bill, but it has happened frequently
since.