The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-03-06
OVER A BILLION AND A HALF
THE APPROPRIATIONS OF THE
FIETY-FIFTH CONGRESS-,
Official Sum is $1,566, ,s9O,O ,O16-Of This
Amount $4s2 2,562 ,Os3 Is Charged to
War With Spaln-Chairman Cannon,
of House Appropriation Committee,
Explains Great Increase,

Washington, March 5.-The official
statement of Representative Joseph G.
Cannon of Illinois, the chairman of the
house appropriation committee, sum-
ming up the appropriations of the Fiji
ty-fifth congress, shows an aggregate
appropriation by the entire congress of
66,S90,016, and for the session just
closed total of $673, 65S, AGO. with au-
thority for contracts subject to future
appropriations amounting to $70OOO,0 900.
Chairman Cannon's statement in full
follows: The appropriations made at
the session of congress just closed
amount to $673,65S, 400 and show an ap-
parent reduction of $219,573,OOO under
the appropriations made at the preced-
ing session. This is attributable to the
large expenses occasioned by the war
with Spain that We're provided for dur
Ing the preceding session.
The entire appropriations made by
the Fifty-f1fth congress aggregate ST.
566,S9O,O16. OF this sum $4S2 1852, ,OS3 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,-
O84, ,327 7632-represents the ordinary or
normal appropriations made by the Fiji
ty-fifth congress.
The appropriations made by the pre-
ceding congress-the Fifty-fourth-
amounted to $1,044,580,273. A compari
son shows an increase in ordinary ap
propriations made by this congress
over those made by that congress, the
Fifty fourth, of s39,97o,OO0; but this ap-
parent increase is more than accounted
for by increases under eight items alone
namely: For pensions, $4,O00O0O; for
the postal service, $16000,000; for rivers
and harbors, including work under con-
tracts previously authorized, $3,360, 900;
for new ships for the navy, $6,0O0,O 600;
for beginning the work of the twelfth
census, 81 100000 for the Paris exposi-
tion, $1,200,000 for new public build
ings, including the building for the de-
partment of justice and for site and
partial construction of the new govern
ment printing office, about $5,OOO,OOO
and for payment of judgments rendered
against the government on account of
French spoliations and under the Bow
man act, SO, 100000. These very natural
and necessary increases in public ex-
penditures aggregate $39 900, 00o--more
than dissipating the entire apparent in
crease 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 made subject to future appropri-
ations, amounting to about $7O,O00,OOO.
OF this amount $44,000000 is for addi-
tional ships of the navy, $22,5OO,OOO is
for work on rivers and harbors, and |
something over $3,0O0,000 is for public |
buildings. The contract system is of |
necessity 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 au-
of contracts tend materially
to expedite and cheaper the same.