The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-08
ECONOMIES IN GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES.

president said:
The estimate of the expenses of the
government by the several departments
should have your careful scrutiny.
While congress may not find it an easy
task to reduce the expenses of the gov
eminent, it should not encourage their
increase. These expenses will, in my
judgment, admit of d decrease in many
branches of the government without
injury to the public service. 1t is
commanding duty to keep the appro-
priations within the receipts of the
government and thus prevent deficit.
That is about the only recognition,
and that indirect, the president makes
that the revenues of the government
are not adequate to it's expenditures.
Will congress heed this admonition to
reduce expenses, at least not to in
crease them? Congressman Shafroth,
of Colorado is in full sympathy with
what the president says on this vital
question of expenses. In a recent in
terview he expressed his intentions as
regards reducing expenses. He has sew
eral measures he proposes to press at
this season, but there is one he will
press above all others. He said:
Another measure that I propose to
press at the coming session is a bill
introduced by myself in which it is
provided that whenever the expenses
of the government exceed it's receipts
the secretary of the treasury shall be
authorized to deduct 20 per cent from
the salaries of all officials and employ
ees whose salaries are $1,000 and up
ward and 10 per cent on all salaries
below that amount. The purpose of my
bill is to stop the practice of making
appropriations in excess of the esti-
mated receipts. I have seen bills ap-
propriating $75,000,0 900 passed in ten
minutes, ten minutes debate being al
lowed on each side. Another thing that
it would stop is the persistent lobbying
of government officials for increase of
salary and enlargement of office forces.
This is a, constant recurrence at every
session, and is one of the most seri-
Gus difficulties with which congressman
have to contend. / think that if con-
gressmen had before them constantly
the possibility of being compelled to
sacrifice $50 per month until the def
cheney was covered they would be more
careful about exceeding the estimated
receipts of the government in their APP
preparations, and if government Off
Gals from the heads of bureaus to $500
clerks We're obliged to face the con-
tingency of being required to give up a
portion of their salaries they would not
be so persistent in their demands for
increase in salary and for the crea-
ton of new places for friends and rel
atives."
His object is laudabIe, but the means
by which he would accomplish it, are
wholly impracticable. He can hardly
know his fellow congressman if he
thinks for moment that they would
give the least support to his plan In
the first place he bases it upon their
selishness, assuming that they will be
anxious before all things to provide for
their own welfare. Supposing that
this is the case, is it reasonable to as
sumo, then, that they will jeopardize
those interests by adopting a sliding
scale of salaries, dependent upon the
state of the revenue? Having fixed
their own salaries, the congressman
would hardly be likely to be willing to
sacrifice all government employees
upon the altar of reduced salaries
The great saving must come, if it
can be made to come at all, in the gen
eral appropriation bill. Whenever the
practice of bribing various parts of the
country with great appropriations is
discarded, and the using of the taxes
for political purposes, indirectly to be
sure. then will there be hope of effect
ing economies in government expendi-
lures, but scarcely before.