The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-10
DIVERS AND sUNDRY SCHEMES IN
AUGURATED TO GET MONEY
FROM TREASURY
WILL BE QUICKLY DEPLETED
Unless Appropriation Committees
Garry Sharp and Heavy Pruning
Knives When the Come to
Consider the Greed Bills.
LEADERS REALIZE DANGER
FROM THE GLOBE BUREAU,
WnsT,iue-tOn. ID. G..

washington. IL. u.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9-The infuen-
tial members of the appropriations COM
mittees in both senate and house are be-
ginning to shy at the propositions that
are coming in for reducing the surplus.
1t is not any scheme for reducing the
revenues that is putting them on their
guard, but the numerous avenues Sug-
gested for reaching the money in the
treasury by direct appropriations. 1t is
foreseen that if congress should sanction
the expenditure of anything like the sum
of money contemplated in the various
propositions that have been made or will
be made, the surplus would be wiped out
and adj thought of reducing internal rev.
enue taxes would have to be abandoned.
Up to this time it has not been posi-
BILE to make a reliable estimate of the
amount of money the numerous expansion
schemes will demand, but it is said that
members of the purse-string committees
have figured enough to be staggered by
the prospect. Chairman Cannon, of the
house committee on appropriations, has
gone over the situation in casual way
with Representative Hemenway, of Indi-
ana; Bingham, of Pennsylvania; Grout,
of Vermont, and two or three other val
liable members of his committee, and
there is said to be a tacit understanding
that in order to save the reputation of
the congress the pruning knife must be
used freely from the start
General Demand for Money.
Senators Allison, Hale, Collum, and 9TH
er controlling men on the senate commit
tee, it is said, heartily concur in the de-
cision the house committee is reaching.
The view seems to be that with the most
rigid pruning the appropriations are
bound to be unusually large. With the
public apparently demanding legislation
that will carry with it some enormous
expenditures, the disposition among the
members of the appropriations commit
tees seems to be to save wherever it
can be done on things of less import
ance.
The first weeks session has demon
strated that the statement that every
body would be coming up with outstretch-
ed hands was not an idle tale. The pub
lie bills have not been counted and fig
ures are not available showing the to-
tai appropriation they call for, but it is a
notable fact that about half the congress
sional districts in the country are repre-
sented in the bills introduced Indiana.
which has come along with bills for five
buildings, is one of the most modest in
the long list of states. Evidently every
city or town in which there was ever a
suggestion that it ought to have a new
federal building has heard of the surplus
in the treasury and has sent up it's claim
for a share of the money. The West
leads the East in this demand for new
public buildings. From beyond the Mis-
sissippi there is a multitude of pleas for
recognition.
Notwithstanding the warning from
senators and Representatives that con-
gress intends to call halt in the pri-
vate pension business, bills have poured
in by the hundreds daily. Members have
simply been overwhelmed with requests
to endeavor to get through private
claims. All this unusual pressure is ac-
counted for by the fact that the public.
having knowledge of the fat surplus,
deems this an opportune time to make a
move against the same.
The unprecedented demand on the
|. treasury will be one of the arguments
used against doing anything at this ses-
sion toward reclamation of the arid
lands of the West. It will probably be
met with the argument that it would be
good policy to spend less money on
rivers and harbors and more ON the arid
lands, but the interests that are able to
form combination in favor Of appropTia-
tions for rivers and harbors are power
full and would probably get the better
Of contest of this kind.
The situation may make it easier to