The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-03
Senator Henry C. DaViS's Letter. TOPICS ABLY DISCUSSED Nominee for Vice President
 Writes F0rcibly. Thsuks Times are Propitious for Re- instatement of Democratic Par ty In Contros of the Gov-
 ernment.
TOPICS ABLY DISCUSSED

Eakins. W. Va, Oct. 2.--The letter of Ex-senator Henry c. Davis accept ing the Democratic nomination for vice president was made public today and is as follows:
 Elkins, W. Va. Oct. 3, 1904 Hon. John sharp Williams. Chairman,
 and other Members of the Com
 mittee:
 Dear Sirs-In accordance with custom and my promise when notified by your Committee at White Sulphur Springs, on August IT, of my nomination for the ofice of Vice President, I submit the following observations upon some or the questions now before the country
 Times PrOpitious for Change.
 The times are propitious for the re- fnstatement of the Democratic Party in control of the government. The public mind Is being disillusioned ot the pretension of the Republican Party. so long and so arrogantly made, that the material prosperity of the country depends upon it's own ascendancy. Thoughtful and patriotic people are be- coming more and more distrustful or the heady and personal element of the present administration, and are more than willing to see it replaced by one that better recognizes constitutional and other lawful restraints. They de- mand that the present wasteful ex- travagance in the expenditure, of the money, drawn by taxation from the>in- dustry of the people. shall cease, and that economy and honesty in the public service shall be again regarded as virtues in the high places of the gov- ernment.
 Expenses of Government.
 The expenditures per capita of the government are increasing at an alarm ing rate. When the present adninis- tration went into power there was a large surplus. but notwithstanding the enormous taxation. the revenues there from are not now adequate to meet the demands made by reckless appro- priations. The revenues fell short during the last fiscal year, of over S40, ,0O0, ,o00. In the first sixty days Of this fiscal year the expenditures ex- ceeded the receipts by S24,00O,000. and if this rate of excess should continue, the deficit for the present fiscal year would be in the ueiRhborhood of $14o.- 000,000. This needless deficit Is due to the extravaganza of the administration, and can only be met by imposing addi- tional taxes or selling bonds, thereby increasing the interest-bearing debt Of the government. Which course will the Republicans adopt? The cost of government during the fiscal year was $7.14 per capita. which means that the average tax paid in some form or another by every family of five persons toward the support of the national ad- ministration of public affairs was over S35, which, in the case of wage earners, is a considerable percentage of their entire earnings for the year. No more money should be taken from the people by taxation, direct or indirect. than is necessary for the needs of a govern ment economically administered. To show the rapid growth of the cost of government 1t is only necessary to give the total expendieures in the last fiscal year of the following administra tions:
 Buchanan, 1860. s68,OOO,ooO, per Cleveland. 1892. sa45.OoO,OOo. per
 capita -. = S.z9 Roosevelt. 1904. s5s2,OOO,ooo, per
 capita .... .....'.. Il4
 Army.
 In answer to criticisms upon the size and expense of maintaining the army. the President has said that the num- Der of soldiers now is no greater per capita than in former times. But an army then was necessary to protect settlers from the Indians and to do other police duty in the unsettled DOT
 
 do not now exist. The army, however, has greatly increased in cost, much faster relatively than 1t has in num- bers.
 The expenses were:
 Under Buchanan in 1860. ..S IS 6,500, 900 Under Hayes in 1880 .. .... 3s,000, 900 Under Roosevelt in 1904.... 5000, 900
 Pension order.
 Millions of dollars have been paid O n an executive order the force of which is to supplement the law and supplant the wisdom of Congress. A body of eminent lawyers and citizens of New York, of both political parties. after careful consideration. pronounced this order unconstitutional. lawless and most reprehensible." The conclusion set forth in the report made by them on this subject was. in effect, that the pension order of the President was legislation by executive usurpatIon.
 Panama.
 We all hail as the hamburger of the new era in the commerce of the world the inception of the great work of building the canal that Is to join the two great oceans; but we deprecate the action of the present administra- ton, which inflicted a wound upon our national honor by It's disregard of the rights of a weaker nation, in order to gain a doubtful credit for energy in forwarding that great enterprise. Ter ritory of a neighboring republic. with which we are at peace, was seized by a band of revolutionists, protected by the guns of the United States Navy and erected into a state overnight, which the President promptly recognized as an independent nation. A gross offense against a friendly republic which 1t was helpless to resent.
 Imperialism
 These and many other unwarranted things that belong more to an empire than a republic, have occurred under the present administration, and brought deep concern and alarm to thoughtful and patriotic minds. They must be regarded as the first fruits Of imperialism, and show how fast we are drifting toward absolutism and ccn- tralized power. The effect of the inn perialistic tendency of the Republican party upon our foreign affairs Is in opposition to the teachings of the founders of the republic. and so im-