The record-union., 1897-08-30
FEDERAL EXPENDI-
TURES.

The outcry against the increase of
Government expenses is in large part
keptup without due consideration of the
growth of the nation and the demand
by the people for greater and better
service by the Government. The fact
is that the needs of the Government
increase more rapidly than does the
population or anything else except the
demand.
Take the postal service, for an exam
pie. It's revenue does not grow proper
tionately with the demands upon the
service, and for reasons that are OBJ
vious. While our territorial extent is
not greater, and while the cost of mile
age carriage has greatly decreased, the
volume of mail matter has dispropor-
tionately increased and the number of
points of delivery have immensely aug
mented, while new and costly systems
of convenience have been introduced,
such as the postal delivery, the spe-
cial letter delivery. and the railway
mail service.
The army shows less demand for in
creased expenditure perhaps than any
other department. The judicial sys-
TEN has greatly enlarged, and the num-
Der of Judges, Marshals and attorneys
necessitated by the increasing business
and the rapid settlement of the coun-
try has been greatly enlarged. The
navy has been especially prominent in
creased expenditure perhaps than any
the just demand of the people for
strengthening and enlargement of this
arm of the service.
Where fifty years ago Federal build
ings were very few, now they are to be
found in most of the cities and very
many of the lesser towns of the coun-
try. The cost of the legislative arm
of the Federal Government has dis
proportionately increased, and in this
direction unquestionably there is room
for radical retrenchment. While cler-
ical wages have declined, the number
of clerks in Government departments
has vastly and unavoidably increased,
due to the demand for the rapid dis
patch of public business and the en-
ployment of all the best modern cler-
ical appliances and arts, such as type
writing, stenography, the telephone, the
phonograph, and the like.
So, throughout the departments of
government, executive, judicial, legis-
lative, administrative. educational and
scientific. the demands by the march
of progress have exceeded the march
itself Upon the scientific side this is
especially true, for our Government.
while not as yet nearly foremost in pro-
noting scientific discovery and geo.
graphical research, has promoted them
greatly, and is more and more con-
serving the sum of human knowledge
in these matters. 1t is unnecessary.
probably, to so into more of detail. 1t
is sufficient 10 know as fact that the
demand upon the Federal Government
for output of energy, expenditure in
works and the like exceeds by large
percentage the population growth. and
the growth of the nation in wealth and
material strength.
This is true of other nations also. In
1920 France collected 939. 10000 francs
in taxes BY 1910 this had risen to
]. 1.235. GOO coo, in 1860 to 1862 coo. 600,
in 1880 to 3.130o0000o. and in 1895
to 1870 000, 900. Under Napoleon the
hourly expenditure of the French Gov
ernment was 10000 francs: to-day ii
is over 100000 francs. Precisely sim
liar advance in cost of government ap-
pears in Germany and Russia. and ii
is but slightly less marked in England.
Italy shows least augmentation OF cost,
and Austria comes next in the line OF
low expenditure in proportion to in
crease of population and national de-
velopment.
When we are disposed TO cry out
that government expenses are out OF
all proportion to needs, we must not
forget that while there is unquestion-
ably waste, and while there has been
much uneconomic procedure, still mod