The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-03-06
Big APPROPRIATIONS
The Ffty-6tth Congress Authorized
Sl,636, 10000 Expended.
DEMOCRATIC LEADERS PROTEST.
Mr.. Dockery, Ranking Democratic
Member OF the Appropriations Com
mittee, Charges Extravaganza Ex-
ceeding s'Billion Dollar Congress.

Mr.. Dockery, Ranking Democratic
Member OF the Appropriations Com
mittee, Charges Extravaganza Ex-
ceeding s'Billion Dollar Congress. {"
Washington, March 6.-The official
statement Of Representative Joseph e..
Cannon, Of Illinois, the chairman Of the
house appropriation committee, sum-
ming up the appropriations Of the Fifty
fifth congress, shows an aggregate ap-
preparation by the entire congress Of ST.
566, 800, O16, and for the session just
closed total Of $673, 65S, 400, with au-
thority for contracts subject to future
appropriations amounting to 0,OOO, 600.
Chairman Cannon's statement proceeds:
Appropriations made at the session
just closed show an apparent reduction
Of $2l9,573,O 900 under the appropriations
made at the preceding session. This is
attributable to the large expenses oc-
casioned by the war with Spain, that
were provided for during the preceding
session.
The entire appropriations aggregate
$1,586, S9O,0162S OF this sum $751;
562, O83.47 Is directly chargeable to our
late war with Spain or incident thereto.
Deducting this charge from the whole
amount Of the appropriations, the re-
mainder, $1,O84, 1927 ,632.Sl, represents
the ordinary or normal appropriations
made by the Fifty-ffth congress.
The appropriations made by the pre-
ceding congress, the Fifty-fourth,
amounted to $1,O44, 5sO,273S7. A COM
parison shows an increase in ordinary
appropriations made by this congress
$39, 747,0OO, but this apparent increase
is more than accounted for by increases
under eight items alone, namely: For
pensions, $4,O00,000; for the postal ser
vice, $16,O00,00O; for rivers and har-
bors, including work under contracts
previously authorized, $3,G0O,000; for
new ships for the navy, $4,000, 000 for
beginning the work of the twelfth cen
sus, 81 ,O0O,0 900; for the Paris exposition,
$1,000 600; for new public buildings, in
Guiding the buildings for the department
of justice and for the site and partial
construction of the new government
printing Office, about $5,00O.OO0. and for
payments of judgments rendered against
spoliations and under the Bowman act,
$3.1OO,OOO.
Mr.. Dockery, of Missouri the ranking
Democratic member Of the house appro-
priations committee made the following
statement, giving the Democratic view:
1.-THE congress easily surpassrs all its
predecessors in the stupcndous a@gregat"
of its appropriations 1t WAS '.nught
that the Fifty first congress. commonly
known as the billion dollar congress"
had, In point of evtravaganc" Of arpro-
prations, touched a limit whi,'h would
not be reached, or at least surpassed.
by any of its successors. This congress-
however. has far exceeded the appalling
total Of appropriations then made. and it
will be remembered that the billion dob
lar congress was followed hy oyrrwh"lm
ing disaster to the Republican party at
the ensuing election.
Confronted with war with Spain,
requiring the imposition Of additional
taxation, it is obvious that rigid economy
should have been applied in all other
directions in the expenditure Of public
money. The people were willing TO meet
all the demands upon the national tr'ns-
ury made necessary by the Spanish war,
but it Is fair to presume that ih"Y ~
pectcd their representatives, in Nirw If
cheerful dispositions manifested TO meet
these added burdens. to limit the or.
binary appropriations to the necessities
of wise ana economical administration.
These expectations have not been rt-
allied.
"rhe result is an actual deficiency ~
current revenues. amounting on the hrSt
Of this month to 500 109.5,t'u This do
ficicncy, as shown by rccrpt c'rlSrrva-
tive estimate by Chairman Cannon, oC
the appropriations committee. xiii oh
ably reach $159,C00,G00 IN III" seth Of
juno next.
st is impossible to estimate with alb
solutc accuracy the treasury deficiency
for the coming fiscal year The secret ny
of the treasury. in his aunrAl report,
made In December last, r-'imated it At
about $3l .0O0000, but it is now "ppav,r Mt
that it will not hN les" than S'UH Wbn. 'n1.
1t is almost ccrt"i,. therefore. that the
government will hu compelled during thc
calendar year 1870 to face an actual
treasury deficiency. I'll" S4|2,Hou..tm
of iucom" arising from tn" sale of hnnd'
under this administration an. tia, Of
President Cleveland will then have been
exhausted end the Treasury iii pass
from the condition of borrowed sur
plus to an actual deficit. Such q c0ndi-
ton must l.. met rithcr hy increased
taxation, by the issu" Of treasury r"r-
tjiicateS or by an additional bond issue.
Notwithstanding this d"plorablc
treasury condition, which has been call
ed over and over again to the attention
of congress and the country, appropria-
tons have been made which i'll many
cases have not been warranted by the
interests of the public service. or which.
II proper in themselves, siimlld have been
postponed until tn" national in"om"
should be ample to meet all its liabilities
without the necessity of bond issues.
"'rhc time has come to reform the
scale of national expenditures. The
reckless improvidcnce of the outgoing
congress will at least serve the good pur
pose of arousing the people and Of caus-
ing them to send representatives to the
national capital who will reduce the bur
dcns imposed by riotous appropriations
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neriIe1 I'm Favor n tho liberal Church