The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-06

Washington, March 5.-The official
statement Of Representative Joseph G.
Cannon of Illinois, the chairman of the
house appropriations committee, sum
ming up the appropriations of the Fff-
ty-ifth congress, shows an aggregate
appropriation by the entire congress of
81, Oft. .S90G16, and for the session just
closed total of S679. .65s, 200. with au-
thority for contracts, subject to future
| appropriations, amounting to $50000,-
GOO. Chairman Cannon's statement in
full follows:
| The appropriations made at the SeS-
| sion of congress just closed amount
| approximately to s675, ,65S, 400, and show
| an apparent reduction of $219, 81, 900
under the appropriations made at the
| preceding session. This is attributable
to the large expenses OccasiOned by the
war with Spain that were provided for
| during the preceding session. The en-
| tire appropriations made by the Fifty
| fifth congress aggregate 81. $50, ,S90, ,0162S.
OF this sum, $4S2, 562, ,0S3.47 is directly
chargeable to our late war with Spain
or incident thereto. Deducting this
charge from the whole amount of the
appropriations. the remainder $1,0S4.-
327, ,6S2.S1, represents the ordinary or
normal appropriations made by the
Fifty-fifth congress.
The appropriations made by the
preceding congress- the Fifty-fourth,
amounted to $1.044. $50, ,273.S7. A COM
parison shows an increase in ordinary
appropriations made by this congress
over those made by that congress, the
Fifty-fourth, Of S39, ,747, ,O00, but this ap-
parent increase is more than accounted
for by increases under eight items
alone, namely, for pensions, 100000;
for the postal service, SIG, 900, 900; for
rivers and harbors, including work I'M
der contracts previously authorized,
So, 600 900; for new ships for the navy,
Sc, 600 900; for beginning the work of the
twelfth census, 81, 600, 000; for the Paris
exposition, S1,2OO,OO0; for new public
buildings, including the building for the
department of justice and for site and
partial construction Of the new govern
menL printing Office, about $4,000. 900.
and for payment of judgments rendered
against the government on account of
the French spoliations and on account
OF the Bowman act, 81, 100,0 600. The very
natural and necessary increases in pub
lie expenditures on account of the PEN
sion list, the growth of the postal serv-
ice in response to the demands of COM
merce, the improvement of the great
waterways of the country, and for in
crease of the navy, the construction Of
government service in the cities of the
country, the taking of the census, the
participation of the nation in the great
exposition TO be held at Paris next year,
and the payment of the French spolia-
ton judgments and Bowman act cases,
so long considered by and pressed upon
congress, aggregate $500, ,000-more
than dissipating the entire apparent
increase in the ordinary appropriations
by this congress over those made by
the Fifty-fOurth congress.
''In addition to the direct appropria-
tions made at this session, contracts
were authorized, subject to future ap-
preparations TO be made by congress,
amounting to about $40, 900, 900. Of this
amount, sA0O0OOO is for additional
ships for the navy, 22,5OO,0G0 is for
work on rivers and harbors, and some
thing over So, 900 600 is for public build
ings. The contract system is. of neces-
sity 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 build
ings, experience has shown that the
authorization of contracts tends ma
terially to expedite and cheaper the
same
CHARGES OF EXTRAVAGANCE-
M
Democratic member OF the house ap-
propriations committee. made the fol-
lowing statement giving the Democratic
view:
"This congress easily surpasses all
its predecessors in the stupendouS ag-
gregate of it's appropriations 1t was
thought that the Fifty-first congress,
commonly known as the billion dollar
congress- had. in point of extravaganza
of appropriations, touched limit which
would not be reached or at least sur
passed by any OF its successors.
This congress. however, has far ex-
ceeded the appalling total of appropria-
tions there made and it will be remem-
bered that the billion dollar congress
was followed by Overwhelming disaster
to the Republican party at the ensuing
election.
Confronted with a war with Spain,
recurring the imposition Of additional
taxation. it is obvious that rigid
economy should have been applied in
all other directions to the expenditure
of public money. The people were
willing to meet all the demands upon
the national treasury made necessary
bv the Spanish\ war, but it is fair TO
presume that they expected their repre-
sentatives. in view Of the cheerful dis
nosition manifested to meet these adj
ded burdens, to limit the ordinary ap-
propriationS to the necessities or wise
and economical administration These
expectations have not been reaized-
DEFICIENCY IN REVENUES
'The result is an actual deficiency in
current revenues. amounting, on the
first of this month, TO S99. .109, ,554.5O. This
daficiencv. as shown by a recent con-
servative estimate by Chairman Can
non of the appropriations committee.
viii probably reach $159,000,ee0 on the
3eth of June next.
.sTt is impossible to estimate with
absolute accuracy the treasury de-
fciencv for the coming fiscal gear. The
secretary of the treasury. in his annual
renort made in December last, esti-
mates It at about .SS1 100000; but it is
now apparent that it will not be less
than. S1OO. 900. 1t is almost certain
therefore,. that the government viii be
cornneiled during the calendar year 1906