The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1899-02-25
NATIONAL POLITICS.
SOME FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT
OUR PRESENT BIG DEBT.
The Echo's Own Correspondent Intel
ligently Discusses the Republican
Administrators Rate of Wreck
Iessness.-The Nicaragua Canal Biii
Is Dead.-Financial Affairs.
RooM OF THE SEA CoAsT ECHO.
No. IL Sun Building.
Washington, D. c., Feb. Il, 1879.

ROOM OF THE SEA CoAsT ECHO.
| No. IL Sun Building.
! Washington, D. c., Feb. 2i, 1899.
This Congress is near the two
billion dollar mark. .
The Fifty Fifth Congress will
90 down in history of the Repub-
| lie. as the most prodigal ON record.
The Republicans are up a tree
for revenue.
The total deficiency in revenues
for the fiscal year ending next
June 80. will aggregate no less
then $159, 100000.
According to the official figures
of Chairman Cannon of the House
Committee on Appropriations,
there will remain in the national
strong box on June 80, only $S,-
900 900 of the 200.00O,O0O war
issue. This is exclusive OF the
gold reserve.
The Republicans are checked
in their extravaganza because they
cannot figure out how to get the
revenue for the immense appro-
priation bills before Congress.
EVERYTHING is pretty well taxed
up to the limit now and the Peo-
pie are groaning underthe burden.
Serious conferences ale being
held 10 devise ways and means.
The only thing in sight is to IN,
crease the taxes on sugar, tea ana
coffee.
We are already paying more
than we should on the necessities.
ANY increase will be deservedly
unpopular.
There isn't anything else to tax
unless they curl around and try
the income tax. They cannot
very we'll do this, because the In
come tax is good Democratic doc
trine. ~,
They wish they could. They
begin to see The logic of putting
taxes where they belong.
A good MANY of the approprla-
tions wanted by the Republicans
are foolish and extravagant. But
the untaxed wealth of the country
ought to bear it's share of our le-
gitimate expenses Of government.
The Republicans have almost
concluded to call an extra session
of the Fifty Sixth congress and
let some of the appropriations go
over and pass them then.
The total will be the same to
the people. But they think it will
look a little better to divide the
burden between the two Congress
ses.
AS might be expected, the cry
of economy is used as a pretext to
defeat honest and necessary legls-
lation.
The Nicaragua Canal Bill.
The Nicaragua Canal bill is
dead. 1t was throttled in the
House, as was predicted SIX
weeks ago.
The lobby never proposed to
let that bill 60 through. 1t twas
only a question of how and when
to do the job with the greatest
neatness and dispatch.
The comedy was played out In
Committee of the Whole in House
so nobody went on record. That
is always comforting to a certain
class of statesmen. 1t gives them
a chance to explain when they
come up for reelection.
There was curtain raiser when
Speaker Reed refused to grant the
petition of 800 out of 357 men,
bers for a day for special conside-
ration of the canal bill, and vote
on the measure at the close OF
the discussion.
The friends of the measure
were forced to resort to the doubt
full course of tacking to an appr"-
priation bill as a rider.
THE meant defeat from the
first. Everybody who knows
anything about politics was sure
he forehand that it would be ruled
out as not germane to the appro-
priation measure. Congressman
Hopkins was in the chair when
the ruling was made and the
House sustained him.
Reel and the lobby thus re-
mained completely under cover.
But it will be we'll to remember
how and why the Canal bill failed.
Great is the power of the lobby.
No better encouragement to
real commercial prosperity could
be found than the construction OF
| the Nicaragua Canal.