Arizona republican., 1899-03-06
THIS A BIG NATION
That Shown by Congress-
 sionoI Appropriations.
War With Spain Cost Neat IY $5OO,- O,OOO-CannOn'S Comparison of Amounts Voted With Those of inc FiftY-FOurfh Congress.

Washington, March 5,-The official statement of Representative Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois, chairman of the house appropriations committee, sum ming up the appropriations of the Fifty-fifth congress shows an aggfe- gate appropriation by the entire con gress of $1, ,566, ,S9O,O16 and for the ses- sion just closed a total of S673, ,658, 200, with authority for contracts subject to future appropriations amounting to s50,OOO OOO. Chairman Cannon's state ment is full is as follows:
 ''The appropriations made at the session of congress just closed amount
 approximately to $673, ,65S, 200 and show an apparent reduction of S219,- 571 ,000 under the appropriations made at the preceding session. This is at tributable to large expenses occasioned
 by the war with Srain that were pro- vided for during the preceding session.
 "The entire appropriations made by the F'ifty-ffth congress aggregate 1,566, ,890, ,016,2S. Of this sum S4S2,- 562, ,083.47 is directly chargeable to our
 late war with Spain or incident there to. Deducting this charge from the whole amount of the appropriations, the remainder $1,OS4, ,327, ,632.S1 repre- sents the ordinary or normal appropri- ations made by the Fifty-fifth con gress. The appropriations made. by the preceding congress, the Fifty-fourth, amounted to $1,O44, ,5S0, ,273.87.
 "A comparison shows an increase in the ordinary appropriations made by this congress over those made by that congress, the Fiftyfourth, of S39, ,747,- GOO, but this apparent increase is more than accounted for by increases under eight items alone, namely: For pen sions s4,O00oO0, for postal service $16.- 900, ,000, for rivers and harbors includ- ing work under contracts previously authorized $500 GOO. for new ships for the navy s6,0O0,O0O for beginning the work of the twelfth census ~$1, ,OOO. COO. for the Paris Exposition S1,2O0,O0O. for new public buildings, including the building for the department of justice and for the site and partial construc- tion of the new government printing office about S, 900, OO0, and for the pay ment of judgments rendered against the government on account of the French spoilations and under the Bowman act $3,1G0,0OO
 ''These very natural and necessary increases in public expenditures on account of the pension list, growth of postal service in response to the de- mands of commerce, improvement of the great waterways of the country and for the increase of the navy. con struction of needed buildings to ac- commodate 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 pay ment of the French spoilation judg- ments and the Bowman act cases so long considered by and pressed upon congress aggregate $39 900, GOO, more in the ordinary appropriations by this congress over those made by the Fifty-fcurth congress.
 ftIn addition to the direct appropria- tions made at this session, contracts were authorized, subject to future ap- to be made by congress- l to about S70,00O 900; Of | this amount $44,OOO,OOO is for addi- tional ships for the navy, $22 ,500, ,000 is 1 for work on rivers and harbors, and l over $3,000,000 is for pub i lie buildings. The contract system is of necessity, applied to the construc- ton of new war ships, which require periods of years for their construction. Tn the case of river and harbor inn and the construction of | public buildings, experience has shown | that the authorization of contracts | tends materially to expedite and | cheapen the same"