The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-03-07


the case of river and harbor improvements
and the construction of public buildings,
experience has shown that the AUTHORIZE
ton of contracts tends materially to ex-
pedite and cheaper the same"
How a Democrat Views 1t
Mr.. Dockery, of Missouri, the ranking
democratic member of the house appro-
priations committee, made the following
statement, giving the democratic view:
This congress easily surpasses all
it's predecessors in the stupendous ag-s
gregate of it's appropriations. 1t was
thought that the fifty-first congress.
commonly known as the billion dollar
congress-, had-in point of extrava-
gance of propriations-touched a limit
which would not be reached, or at least
surpassed, by any of its successors
This congress, however, has far ex-
ceeded the appalling total of appropriations
then made, and it will be remembered that
the llion-dolar-congress' was followed
by overwhelming disaster to the republican
party at the ensuing election. s
Confronted with war with Spain re-
quiring the imposition of additional taxa
ton, it is obvious that economy should
have been applied in all other directions to
the expenditure of public money. The peo-
pie were willing to meet all the demands
upon the national treasury made necessary
by the Spanish war, but Is fair to pre-
sumo that they expected their representa-
tives, 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 adj
ministration. These expectations have not
been realized. $500 -
1.-THE result is an actual deficiency in cur
rent revenue amounting on the first of the
month to 500, 109, $780, This deficiency, as
shown by recent conservative estimate by
Chairman Cannon, of the appropriation
committee, will probably reach $159, 900
on the 30th of June next.
1T is impossible to estimate with abso-
Lutte accuracy the treasury deficiency for
the coming fiscal year. The secretary of
the treasury, in his annual report made in
December last, estimated it about $31 900, 900,
but it is now apparent that 1t will not be
less than $l00, 100000. 1t is almost certain,
therefore, that the government will be COM
PEELED during the calendar year 1900 to
face an actual treasury deficiency. e.z.
THE 462,O00,000 of income arising from
the sale of bonds under this administra-
ton and that of President Cleveland will
then have been exhausted and the treasury
will pass from the condition of a borrowed
surplus to an actual deficit
"Such a condition must be met, either by
increased taxation or by the issue of treas
ury certificates or by an additional bond
issue.
Appropriations Not Warranted Il
Notwithstanding this deplorable treas
ury situation, which has been called over
and over again to the attention of congress
and the country appropriations 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 postponed until the ma
tional income should be ample to meet all
its liabilities without the necessity of bond
issues.
lion dollar congress amounted to ST. $780,
1884. The appropriations of the congress
just ended reach the mighty aggregate of
,566 800 016.28. 1t is fair to deduct from this
total $4S2, 562, 0S34, made necessary to meet
the liabilities of the Spanish war So If we
deduct from the grand total the liabilities
on account of the war with Spain, it APP
pears that the appropriations for the Or
binary expenses of the government are 81
0S4 1921, 1892 81. The appropriations of the con-
gress just ended. to meet the ordinary
governmental expenses, exceed those of the
preceding (Fifty-fourth) congress by $780,
TAT 1894. Not only this, but the contract
liabilities authorized by the congress just
expired for new ships and their armament,
public buildings, rivers and harbors and
miscellaneous items amount to $70.502 5A.
"If, therefore, to the ordinary appropria-
lions is added the liabilities on account of
these authorized contracts We ascertain
that the appropriations and contract lfabili-
ties amount to the tremendous total of
81, 154 1896, 456.S1.
'These increased appropriations have
gone for French spoliation claims, public
buildings, rivers, harbors, Bowman act
claims, and hundreds of other projects,
some meritorious. but many Of them not
entitled to recognition by the national gov
ernment In nearly every branch of the
civil service of the government there has
been an increase of appropriations"