New-York tribune., 1905-11-12
PTBLIC EXPENDITURES.
TORE CLOSELY WATCHED.
rommittees of Congress Enpected
to Effect Much SaOimg.
rFrom The Tribune Bureau. ]


,nr 10 members who have already reached the
,i+sl They are discussing the advisa bility
f urging the Speaker to revive the still extant
~, for some time cuiescent committees on ex-
ndit1res of the various departments, and 70
sreate a committee expenditures Of the Pan
sua Canal Commission
Members who favor this policy argue that
.bera are numerous matters in connection with
,be expenditures of the executive departments
and commissions which should be investigated,
and that these committees most Of them al
.esdv standing committees of the House and the
ea,a+e can easily perform the function for
,.hich they were created witho at any sugges-
,icn of scandal or the notoriety which would
.ttend any general investigation. Careful work
~, these committees it is urged, would newt
obiv result in a large saving in all the depart
,,en,s of the government. would close many
1oonboles for extravaganza. and doubtless pint
the way for legislation needed to legalize neces-
CORY expenditures not now within the purview
of the Law.
COST OF THE SECRET SERVICE.
Attention is called for instance, to the 1ace
that the appropriation of Congress for the
r,.;ntenanoe of the Secret Service S125000 a
year limits the scope of this service to the
oetection and prosecution of counterfeiters,
rended IN the wholly necessary work of pro-
+ectng the President 1t is also well known
that members OF the Secret Service nave been
,sriously employed by the Departments of Jus
iice and the Interior in the prosecution OF Flo-
,ation of the Antitrust law and the detection
Of land frauds, etc.
While the propriety of thus employing detec-
tives is fully recognized by members of Con-
gress it is pointed out that the multiplication
of the work Of the Secret Service operatives
renders it impossible for Congress to exercise
proper supervision over the expenditures for
This class of work, tntelligently to estimate
the funds needed by the service or properly TO
sIpervise the disbursement of other appro-
priations some portions of which must undoubt-
edly have been diverted from the purposes for
which they were appropriated.
It is further pointed out that at no time for
some years past has it been possible for the
military committees of Congress to ascertain
with anything approximating exactness the ex-
penditures of the War Department. War De
partn1ent officials have always represented that
the books of the department for the year ending
with June 80 preceding the assembling Of the
session of Congress were not sufficiently up to
date TO permit of such detailed statements, and
therefore, Congress has always been more or less
in the dark regarding the use to which the funds
6eeoted-
EXPENDED WITHOUT AUTHORITY.
OF course there is assumption that the
funds of the departments have been improp-
properly expended, but that they have been
expended frequently without the express sane
ton of Congress is emphaticaIly asserted,
For instance. the printing committee of
the two houses of Congress has recently dis
covered that the Public Printer includes in his
annual report charges for the printing of
speeches delivered year ago in various places
by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, such
speeches having been printed in lots of 2,eoo'
and while the members of the committee admit
that there may in equity have been warrant for
such printing. they insist that there is no au-
rbority under the law for the work being done
ny the government printer, and assert that If
Tho necessity exists il should be authorized by
e specific enactment of Congress in order that
It may be legally done.
PANAMA CANAL EXPENSES.
It is further claimed that a committee of each
House should be created for the purpose of
supervising the expenses of the Panama Canal
Commission which are necessarily large and
which should come under more complete super
vision by Congress than be attained by
those committees charged with the enactment
Of legislation affecting the canal and the COM
mission. one OF the subjects which such COM
mittees should carefully consider. 1t is urged is
the eouslization of salaries of the members and
employees of the commission in their relative
proportion 10 the salaries paid for similar
class of work in other branches of the govern
ment.
With the exception OF a committee to super
wise the expenditures of the Panama Canal
Commission. all of these committees are now in
existence but they have not actively exercised
the functions assigned them for some time
This cauli be remedied by the Speaker reor-
ganizing The committees assigning energetlc'
active members TO their chairmanshlps ana
personally inpressing on the members the I'M
rortance Of q conscientious performance of their
duties
One of the advocates of such revivifcation of
these ,oo,,,,i,taes when asked by a representa-
tive Of The Tribune if the Keep Commission vas
net perforninp practically the duties which were
outlined for the Congress committees, replied
thai e,,rb vas not the case. and, moreover, 1t
would he obviously impossible for that commits
sion to narforn, the work which it was believed
the Congress committees should. Tor the reason
that the Keep Commission was IN the position
OF "a man investigating himself Ee urged
FOR instance that even though the Keep Com
mission should find conditions IN the Postoilce
Department which demanded a change 1t would
be n delicate matter for Mr.. Hitchcock to cali
attention TO the fact: that the same would ap-
liy to Mr. Garfield and the DepartInei- 0. con-
merce and Labor: 10 Mr. Keep and the treasury '
Department; 10 Mr.. Pnohot and the DeI'a' 'ni'''i'
of Agriculture. and on. Moreover Nhe MI
Commission is charged with totally dihereh'
line Of work and. as i. appears. with more
~ S=