The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-12-16
BUSINESS IN CONGRESS.


Before the republic extends the scope
of governmental functions it will be
well to see what congress has done with
those already possessed by it. 1t was
only to the servant who had been
faithful with the talents committed to
his care that higher trusts were given.
If our common government has not
been able to deal with the simpler
business details it will hardly be pru-
dent to commit to it operations that
are more intricate and demand greater
executive ability. Take the simplest
of all questions, that of income and
outgo. That is purely a bushes propo-
sition, just as true in it's laws and
methods Of a government of seventy
million of people as of the proprietor
Of a peanut stand. Even so impracti-
cal fellow as was Micawber came to
know the different results when these
two factors were out of balance
We have heard much for nearly four
years about a deficient revenue; TWEEN
ty-five millions last year and nearly
forty for thus far in this fiscal year.
That means that we are spending more
than we are earning In precisely the
same conditions what would a bust
ness man do, for that is just what
congress should do? Would he keep
up or increase his scale of expenses?
Would he not slow down on them?
Would he not tell his wife that there
were things he could no longer afford?
Would he not postpone to better times
improvements contemplated? Why
should not congress do the same if it
is business body with ordinary bust
ness capacity? But what have we
seen? When the Fifty-fourth congress
met in December. 1895, it met a deficit
of revenues of over $46 100000 It's
predecessor had been confronted with
one in it's first year of over 81, zoo. Ooo
which, in its second year, had mounted
to over $72, 200.
Did this F'ifty-fourth congress do
what any business man would have
done, investigated where expenses
could be diminished? When found did
1t apply the knife with unsparing
hand? True, public building bills car
rying some $3OO00,O0O were repressed
by the speaker, but it gave us a river
and harbor bill of over $72, 600 600, mort
gaging future revenues to it. 1t dis
painfully rejected the economy pro
posed by the secretary Of agriculture
70
or so on garden and flower seeds. 1t
launched more battleship schemes and
altogether rivaled in prof1igacy the no.
torious Fifty-first congress. When bust
ness men all over the land were trim
ming ship and reefing sails to try to
weather the financial gale vainIy in
too many cases, this business" con-
gress went merrily on spending taxes
and scheming to raise more so that
more could be spent
Then consider it's treatment of the
bills payable account of the nation.
Suppose some mercantile house should
put its paid notes back in the cash
drawer and call them assets. what
~ 10 AeNtC. suppose that II
should be raising money on mortgage
with which to redeem its paper and
still continue putting out its redeemed
paper how long would it be out of a
receivers hands, and how soon would
banks and brokers refuse to discount
its paper2 And this is precisely what
the Fifty-fourth congress and all its
predecessors since 1873 have done. Is
it not a grim comment on their bust
ness ability? If business man were
to justify such methods because 1t fur
nished him with cheap money" would
not a jury OF his fellows find him a
fit subject for an insane asylum?
Did the wit of man ever devise a dear
er money? And yet today we hear men,
eminent and influential in this con-
gress and to be in the next one, who
insist that redeeming and reissuing
promissory notes give the country the
best money any nation ever had. What
Herbert Spencer said of US as a pee
pie is true Of our government, we will