The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-07
MIR. cANNON,s EXPLANATION.

MIR. CANNON's EXPLANATION.
We are not at all surprised that Mr.. Can
non, the chairman of The committee on ap-
preparations. thinks it advisable TO tell the
people something about the appropriations
made by the last Congress. The aggregate
OF these appropriations is so large as to be
absolutely startling 10 the country. Mr..
Cannon, however. seems to think that they
were natural and necessary"
lie says that outside of the amount made
necessary by the war with Spain, which
amount he places at 1882. So, OS3.S7, the last
Congress appropriated only about $4,000
900 more than the Fifty-fourth Congress
But why was il necessary, at a time when
the utmost economy should have been
practiced, that there should have been an
Increase in the ordinary appropriations of
almost s40000000? That Is a question
which Mr.. Cannon tries unsuccessfully to
answer. And it would not be surprising
If it should be found upon careful invesd-
cation that much less was appropriated
for war purposes than the amount stated
by Mr.. Cannon-that money alleged to
have been spent for war purposes was APP
propriated for other purposes and charged
up to the account of the war. We do not,
of course, know that such was the case,
but the Republicans knowing that the peo-
pie would overlook expenditures for the
war much more readily than for the OBJ
jects which actually received attention, 1t
is not unreasonable that the war was
made to carry a heavier burden than the
facts show was placed to its account.
The whole amount appropriated by the
Fifty-hfth Congress was 81, 500, $50, 016.2S.
This amount does not include the contract
liabilities which were authorized, and
which amount TO $70,6O2 524 OF the appro-
priatons Mr.. Dockery, the ranking Dem
ocratic member of the committee on ap-
populations, says: These increased APP
preparations have gone for French spoha-
ton claims public buildings. rivers and
harbors, Bowman actsclaims and hundreds
of other projects. some meritorious, but
many of them not entitled to recognition
by the national government. In nearly
every branch of the civil service of the
government there has been an increase of
appropriations"
Mr.. D6ckery undoubtedly gives a cor
rect view of the situation. The Republi
cans, instead of exercising economy, seized
upon the war as an excuse for rushing
through Congress all sorts of claims. 1t
looks as If they thought they would never
again have so good an opportunity for APP
propriating money for claims of a ques-
tionable character. Under cover of ex-
penditures made necessary by the war
they apparently thought they could hide
appropriations which helped greatly to
swell the total, but which should never
have been made, or. If made al all, at some
time when the treasury was in better
condition to pay them.
1t is admitted that the deficit op June
80 next will be $159. 100000 What it will be
for the following fiscal year cannot be
stated with any degree of accuracy, but
Mr.. Dockery estimates that it will be fully
500, 100000. 1t is apparent therefore that
there must be a pretty big issue of bonds
in the near futures or very great in
crease in the revenues. About the only
way that the revenue can be increased is
by increasing the taxes, because it is not
probable that there win be much increase
from the taxes already levied.
1t is about as certain as anything can be
that the people will demand greater econ
omy in the administration of the govern
ment demand of that sort would offer
the Democratic party a splendid oppor-
tunlty for getting control of the govern
ment The people win hardly entrust the
work of financial reform to the party
which has been guilty of such extrava-
gance as that which characterized the
Fifty-fifth Congress.