The McCook tribune., 1898-01-07

Washington, ID. c., December, 1897
And hereafter the secretary of war
shall annually submit estimates in de-
tail for river and harbor improvements
required for the ensuing fiscal year,
to the secretary of the treasury, to be
included in and carried into the sum
total Of the book of estimates" From
the sundry civil appropriation act fer
the fiscal year 1897.
The above quotation from the last
sundry civil appropriation bill as it
became law and stands upon the
statute books, explains the apparent
prospect of a deficit in the fiscal year
which is to begin July 1st of next
year.
good deal of professed distress has
been manifested in certain quarters
over the figures of the report of the
secretary Of the treasury which indi-
cate a deficit in the next fiscal year.
The people indulging in these evil
dences of distress will perhaps be
gratified to know that the apparent
deficit is only apparent, and that the
figures when considered in light of the
paragraph quoted above, warrant the
assertion that the fiscal year begin
ming July 1st, 1898, will show a sur
plus Of $30,OOO,00O, instead Of deficit
of $21 600, 600.
The explanation of the apparent de-
ficit is found in a single line on page
u of the secretary's report. 1t is as
follows:
Public works, war department, $685.
400,409.S1"
The above is the formal estimate"
for river and harbor improvements in
the fiscal year in question now re-
quired by the paragraph quoted at The
beginning of this dispatch, to be IN
serted in the annual estimates sent
to Congress by the secretary of the
treasury. Prior to the adoption OF
this new requirement the secretary of
war made his estimates of the amount
required for the river and harbor i'm
provement upon the judgment Of the
chief of engineers. Now he is required
to insert in the annual estimates ev-
cry dollar that any and every subor-
dinate officer in charge of the various
improvements the country ever may
chose to name as the amount that can
be "profitably expended" during the
coming fiscal year.
Everybody familiar with the reports
C the officers in charge Of river and
iharbor works knows that it is the fa-
bit to recommend the appropriation CT
large sums, usually two or three times
as much as is expected to be obtained
for the works of which they are in
charge This custom magnifies to a
certain degree the apparent importance
of the work of which the officer IN
question is in charge, makes him ex-
tremely popular with the people Of The
city or locality in which the work is
being carried on, and where he usually
resides during the progress of the
work itself, and is looked upon as a
harmless way of pleasing the surround
ing public and making the official in
question both popular and his duties
apparently important. The result is
that is has been the habit of the war
department for many years to reduce
to about one-third of their dimensions
the estimates made by these subordin-
ate officers.
An example of this may be found
in the total estimates for river and
harbor works as sent to congress IN
December, 1891, to cover the eXpendi-
lures Of the fiscal year 1898, in which
the secretary recommends an appro-
priation Of s13,20S,393 for river and
harbor works. On the very same
page, however, began lengthy table
which gave the detailed estimates pre-
sented for the various rivers and har-
'bors, the total of these figures being
S52, ,489,950. That table was preceded
by the following note:
"River and harbor, showing i!le
amount that can be profitably expended
in the next fiscal year-The following
statement is not furnished as a part
OF the annual estimates for the public
service required by the act of March
8, 1875, to be presented by the secre-
tary of war to the secretary of the
treasury, but is inserted as a convent
ent and customary summary of items
taken from the annual report of the
chief of engineers for the fiscal year
1891, showing under the provision of
The act of congress approved March
2, 1867, the amount that can be profit
ably expended in the next fiscal year
on each of the works mentioned"
In the above case it will be seen that
the figures covering the amount that