Iron County register., 1899-03-09
APPROPRIATED BY CONGRESS.
Half Billion Dollars of War Expenses
swell tho Appropriations of the
Eifty-Fifth Congress.

Washington. March 6.-The official
statement of Representative Joseph G..
| Cannon, of Illinois, the chairman OF
the house appropriations committee
summing up the appropriations of the
Fifty-fifth congress, shows an aggre-
| gate appropriation by the entire con-
gress of S1,566, ,s9o.O16, and. for the
session just closed a total of $673, $685.
| 100, with authority for contracts sub
| ect to future appropriations amount
ng to $70,00O,Oo0. Chairman Cannon's
| statement in full follows:
"The appropriations made at the ses-
ZION of congress just closed amount ap-
oroximately to $673, ,65s, 400, and show
| an apparent reduction of $219, ,573, 900
ander the appropriations made at the
preceding session.
swelIed by War Expenses.
This is attributable to the large ex-
penses occasioned by the war with
Spain that were provided for during
The preceding session.
The entire appropriation made by
the Fifty-ffth congress aggregate ST.
| 566, ,S90,OI6,2S. Of this sum $4S2, ,562,-
)s3.47 is directly chargeable to our late
war with Spain. or incident thereto.
Deducting this charge from the whole
amount of the appropriations, the re-
mainder. $1,0s4, ,327 ,632.81, represents
the ordinary or normal appropriations
made by the Fifty-ffth congress.
appropriations by the Preceding Congress.
The appropriations made by the pre-
ceding congress, the Fifty-fourth,
amounted to 81, 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 $50, ,747 900; but this
apparent increase is more than ac-
counted for by increases under eight
items alone, namely, for pensions, $4,-
100000; for the postal service, $16,000,.
300; for rivers and harbors, including
| work under contracts previously au'
thorized, $3, 100000; for new ships for
the navy, $6,OOO,O0O; for beginning
the work of the twelfth census, 1,000,-
300; for the Paris exposition, 81 ,200, 600;
for new public buildings, including the
building for the department of justice
and for site and partial construction
of the new government printing office
about $5,OO0,OOO, and for payment o.
judgments rendered against the gov
ernment on account of the French
spoliations, and under the Bowman
act, $3,100.000.
Natural and Necessary Increases.
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
demands of commerce, the improve.
ment of the great waterways of the
country and for increase of the navy
the construction of the needed build.
ings to accommodate the 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 spoliation judg-
ments and Bowman act cases so long
considered by and pressed upon con-
gress, aggregate $39, 900, ,O00-more than
dissipating the entire apparent in
crease in the ordinary appropriations
by this congress over those made by
the Fifty-fourth congress.
Contracts Authorized.
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 $70,00O,000. OF
this amount, $44,OOO,OOO is for addi-
tional ships for the navy, $22 100000 is
for work on rivers and harbors, and
something over $3,oOO,OOO is for public
buildings.
The contract system is of necessity
applied to the construction of the war
ships, which require periods of years
for their construction. In the case of
river and harbor improvements and
the construction of public buildings.
experience has shown that the author,
iZation of contracts tends materially to
expedite and cheaper the same"
nEuyEv DATCED uTc ETAG