The San Francisco call., 1899-03-06
VAST APPROPRIATIONS
OF THE LAST CONGRESS
In All 1885, 89OO16 Has Been Set Aside for National
Expenses, but Nearly 0ne-Third Of This Is
Owing to the War With Spain

WASHINGTON, March 5-The of
fetal statement of Representative Jo-
seph G. Cannon of Illinois, the chair
man of the House Appropriations Com
mittee, summing up the appropriations
of the Fifty-fifth Congress, shows an
aggregate appropriation by the entire
Congress of $1,566, ,89O,016, and for the
session just closed a total of $673, ,65S, 400,
with authority for contracts subject to
future appropriations amounting to
$50 1000, 900. Chairman Cannon's state
ment in full follows:
The appropriations made at the session
! of Congress just closed amount approx
mately to $673, ,65S 400 and show an appar-
ent reduction of $219, ,571 900 under the ap-
propriations made at the preceding ses-
sion. This is attributable to the large ex-
! penses occasioned by the war with Spain
/ that We're provided for during the preced-
| ing session. The entire appropriations
made by the Fifty-ffth Congress aggre-
gate 81, ,566, 800 016 2S. OF this sum $4S2 562,
| 0S3 II is directly chargeable to our late
war with Spain or Incident thereto De-
! Quoting this charge from the whole
| amount of the appropriations, the re-
mainder, $1084, 1921. .632 81 represents the
ordinary or normal appropriations made
| by the Fifty-fifth Congress.
The appropriations made by the pre-
ceding Congress, the Fifty-fourth
amounted to S1,044 5S0.273 81. compari-
son shows an increase in ordinary appro-
priations made by this Congress over the
Fifty fourth of $39 ,747 900, but this appar-
ent increase is more than accounted for
by increases under eight items alone,
namely: For pensions, $4,0O0,000; for the
postal service $16 900 900; for rivers and
harbors, including work under contracts
previously authorized, 50, 500 900; for new
ships for the navy, Sc, 900 600; for begin
ming the work of the twelfth census,
81, ,000, 600; for the Paris Exposition, $780,
900; for new public buildings, including
the building for the Department of JUS
tice, and for site and partial construc-
ton of the new Government printing Of
fee, about S., 900 900, and for payment of
judgments rendered against the Govern
ment on account of French spoliations
and under the Bowman act $3,100, 900.
| These very natural and necessary in
creases in public expenditures, on ac-
count of the pension list, the growth of
the postal service in response to the de-
mands of commerce, the Improvement of
the great waterways of the country and
for increase of the navy, the construction
OF needed buildings to accommodate the
Government service in the cities of the
country, the taking of the census, the
participation Of the nation in the great
and the payment of the French spOliation
judgment and Bowman. act cases so long
considered by and pressed upon Congress
aggregate $39, 800 ,000-more than dissipat-
ing the entire apparent increase in the
ordinary appropriations by this Congress
over those made by the Fffty-fourth Con-
gress.
In addition to the direct appropriations
made at this session, contracts were au-
to be- made bT 20 lgtTe aPnGRiof9 f
about $4,000, 600. Of this amount $44 900 900
is for additional ships for the navy, S22,-
900 is for work on rivers and harbors.
and something over 50, 900, 900 is for public
buildings. The contract system is of ne
cessity applied to the construction of new
Warships, which require periods Of years
for their construction. In the case of
river and harbor improvements and the
construction of public buildings expert
ence has shown that the AUTHORIZATION of
contracts tends materially to expedite and
cheaper the same.
Dockery Of Missouri, the ranking
Democratic member of the House APP
propriations Committee, made the fol.
lowing statement, giving the Democrat
fc view:
predecessors in the stupendous aggregate
of its appropriations. 1t was thought that
as the .'Btllion-Dollar Congress- had in
point of extravaganza of appropriations
touched a limit which would not be
reached or at least surpassed by any of
its successors. This Congress, however.
has far exceeded the appalling total OF
appropriations there made, and it will be
gress' was followed by overwhelming dis
aster to the Republican party at the en-
suing election.
Confronted with a war with Spain re-
qutrtng the imposition of additional taxa
ton. It is obvious that rigid economy
should have been applied in all other di-
rections to the expenditure of public
money. The people were willing to meet
all the demands upon the national treas
n ENy flnn 1fe,IN
but it is fair to presume that they ex-
pected their representatives, in view of the
cheerful disposition manifested to meet
these added burdens, to limit the ordinary
appropriations to the necessities of a wise
and economical administration. These ex-
pectations have not been realized.
The result is an annual deficiency in
the country'S revenues amounting on the
first of this month to $99, ,109 554 so. This
deficiency, as SHOWN by a regent conserva-
tive estimate by Chairman Cannon of the
Appropriations Committee, will probably
reach $159000,000 on the 30th of June next
1t is impossible to estimate with absolute
accuracy the treasury deficiency for the
coming fiscal year. The Secretary of the
Treasury, in his annual report made in
December last, estimates it at about $31-
100000. but 1t is now apparent that it will
not be less than 500 900 00O 1t is almost
certain, therefore, that the Government
will be compelled during the calendar
year 1900 to face an actual treasury def
cheney. The $462 900 600 of income arising
from the sale of bonds under this admin
istration ana that of President Cleveland
will then have been exhausted, and the
treasury will pass from the condition of
a borrowed surplus to an actual def
cheney. Such condition must be met.
either by increased taxation or by the is
sue of treasury certificates, or by an ad-
ditional bond issue.
notwithstanding this deplorable treas
ury situation, which has been called over
and over again to the attention of Con
gresS and the country appropria tions
have been made which, in many cases,
have not been warranted by the interests
of the public service, or which, if proper
in themselves, should have been post
ample to meet all it's liabilities without
the necessity of bond issues.
The appropriations of the original 'biI-
lion dollar Congress" amounted to 81 OBS =
$50 ,1O9 "a. The appropriations of the Con-
gpfss Just g ef ended S6S o1 reach the mighty aggre
from this total $4s2 ,562 OSS 47, made neces-