St. Paul daily globe., 1896-03-07
ExTRAYAGANCE ON DECK.

The country will be fortunate if this
prohigate congress shall adjourn with
out plunging the people deeper into
unnecessary and almost criminal liabil-
1ties than they have been since the
close Of the war. In spite of the obvi-
Gus necessity of retrenchment in every
direction, in spite of the fact that ap-
preparations Of recent years have
passed all limits of reasonableness, in
spite of the fact that treasury deficit
argues quite as forcibly for lessened
expenditure as it does for increased
revenue, the appropriation bills passed
at this session will be ,marvels of prod
igality. The worst of them will not
appear upon their face. The congress
of 1890. that passed the Mckinley bill,
established regular practice of con-
years to come, that is altogether the
worst habit grated upon our legisla-
tive system in the last generation.
Some scheme is set forth which will
4CAuliC lllC VI 1iiS NiiSAS
from $1O,OOO,O 900 to $1OOOOo,OOO of money.
The outright appropriation of this
amount would create a popular clamor.
Instead of this, therefore, bill is
passed carrying a modest appropria-
tion of about $1,000,000 for the first
year, but providing that the amount
shall be increased annually thereafter,
until the whole sum mentioned shall
have been expended
1t was this that exhausted the treas
ury surplus and is the cause of such
deficiencies as have occurred during
the Cleveland administration. McKin-
leys congress not only devastated the
national bank account, but they mort
gagged the country's revenue for years
ahead, almost beyond possibility of
payment The present congress prom
Ises to profit by this bad example. A
bill is On hand which assigns the modest
sum of $S700O,00O for coast defenses.
Only small fraction of this is to be
expended the first year, and then the
per annum until this vast fortune has
been distributed among the cities whose
representatives in congress are ex-
pected to log-roll the appropriation
through. The same process is under
way in forming the navy appropria-
ton bill There is a strong senti-
ment in favor of building even a larger
number of warships, torpedo boats and
other additions to our navy than Sec
retary Herbert asked for. In all prob
ability the navy appropriation bill, like
the coast defense bill, will provide a
small appropriation fol the current year,
but carry total of tens of millions of
dollars to be raised by taxation in the
next decade. If we have, in addition to
two such burdens upon the future as
this, the possible guarantee of a sub
sidy to the Nicaragua canal job and
that other scheme to subsidize a Paci-
fio cable company, the promise of
which has already induced the promot-
ers to increase their capital stock from
S1OO,UUO " we nave d OIL
drawn upon the future by this con-
gress which will require the collection
annually of an enormous amount of
money to pay fixed appropriations al
together uneonnected with the ordi-
nary running expenses Of the govern
ment
This is most dangerous form Of ex-
travagance, and one which the people
Should watch most critically and pun
ish most severely. 1t may be neces-
sary before long to provide that no
appropriation of money made by any
congress to be expended after it's term
of office expires shall be valid This
ought to be the rule of practice, and,
since it has been violated there, ought
to become a rule of law 1t is
wholly inconsistent with our system
of government itself th"t a legislative
body, elected for period of two years,
should be permitte( to saddle the coun-
try with obligations for ten or fifteen
years to come. This congress needs
watching and master; and we trust
that Mr.. Cleveland will be as ready