Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-22

stimulate a popular desire ICT
greater comforts, etc, that the pressure
! will constantly be upward any amount
Of revenues In a broader sense, one of the
things in which the new American govern
ment may well invite comparison with its
| Spanish predecessor is precisely in its
spending more. The Spanish budget was
sad revelation of things unachieved and
opportunities unimproved.
Revenue and Expenditure.
The actual appropriations for 1905 for the
| insular government. apart from the city Of
| Manila go per cent of the expenses OF
| which are paid by the insular governmenD
| and the provinces and municipalities the
| support of which is paid by local taxation
| to the amount of somewhat more than
| 100000 pesos a year,, amounted to APP
proximately Il, 10000 pesos. The estimates
| sent in by heads Of bureaus for the fiscal
year 1866 amounted to 9T43 600 pesos,
| and this will be much reduced, for an en-
ergetic 'headhunters committee" 1t
| has been ncknamed, has been at work, try
| ing to use the ak in al the bureaus in
| cutting Off unnecessary employees and other
| expenditures. The actual expenditures,
| net, for the fiscal year 1904-5 were 1895 900,
| including Implications amounting to about
100000 pesos; while the collections or
| revenue for 19O4-5 were 1924, 600 pesos.
| A little examination of these figures will
| have been talking governmental extrava-
ganee have not been at all careful about
getting accurate figures when they talk
| of insular expenditures of 100000 pesos.
The Benguet Road.
1t would be impossible to defend all the
| expenditures OF the past few years as wise,
| and doubtless no member Of the Philippine
government would undertake that task I'M
reservedly 1t Is common talk In govern
mental circles that the expenditures on the
| road into Benguet's highland regions. where
| the Philippine summer capital Is located at
, Baguio, have been out of all proportion to
| the size of Philippine revenues. The truth
| Is the government was led into 1t originally
with the expectation of building the road
| for half a million dollars or less. The origi-
| nal reports of the engineer on the work
| were incorrect, and the first work done had
| to be reconstructed on different lines. Dur
| Ing the last two years more efficient work
| has been done on this piece of road. which
| is now in operation. 1t has cost steadily,
| however, more money than the engineers
have estimated. until the total expended
| or appropriated up to the middle of last
August amounted to almost &GJ0,O60 In
| United States currency. OF this sum $780,
600 has been spent from the congressional
| relief fund, and $212,50 from the perma-
nent improvement fund raised this year by
| bonds
The Coast Guard Boats.
The coast guard boats have also cost tho
are constantly costing for maintenance
more than a government of the revenue
| size of that in the Philippines afford.
| They are better boats, in construction and
| equipment than that government can as
vet afford to have 1t is realized that the
service Is not at this moment jusifying IT.
self, and it is proposed to tie up most Of
the boats unless they can be sold to inter-
island shipping firms on favorable terms
and in connection with such an agreement
as VIII safeguard the interests OF the pro-
ducers of the Philippines. For the govern
ment was led into organizing this inter-is-
land service of communication largely on
account of the attempt of the owners of
inter-isIand steamers to hold up" the gov
eminent, along with shippers of produce
and travellers about the archipelago. Looked
at in this light the coast guard service has
justified itself. 1t is just now, however, one
of the fittest subjects for retrenchment.
The Manila Ice Plant.
Somewhat the same judgment must be
passed on the insular ice and cold storage
plant at Manila, hugh structure begun
under Gen. Otis and on which the military
government spent over three-quarters Of a
million dollars sold out of the civil revenues
before it was completed. On grounds Of
public health and of 1t having broken up a
petty monopoly of the ice and cold storage
business by an insufficiently equipped local
plant this large item of expenditure has
been partially justified. 1t Is SO run by
the government that 1t pays nearly 20 per
cent return annually the valuation Of
| 81 ,OO0,0O which the government has placed
upon II for sale. while not attempting to
push it's sales of ice at all Yet 1t will be
sold as soon as the price can be obtained
principally because 1t is not thought that
this Is a line of business into which the civil
government of the archipelago should enter.
The Civil Service.
The Philippine civil service is also an ex-
pensive one. The principal cuts are being
made by the "head-hunting committee in
this direction Bureau chiefs are too prone
to cling to all the American clerks, stenog-
raphers. etc, whom they can keep, rather
than accept Filipino employees. and with
them encounter the difficulties experienced
In keeping oversight over them. as always
has to be done for time and in training
them. for work according to American cler-
ical and accounting methods. 1t is. there
| FORE one of the chief complaints OF Filfpi-
nos that their countrymen are not admitted
with sufficient rapidity to the cierkships, as
well as to the higher Offices of the civil
service. Just now the demands of economy
are working with the clamor Of the Fiji
pinos for more rapid admission to the gov
ernmental posts. The Fflipin0s. too, are at
the same time willing to see because 1t
helps them, the force Of the argument that
the scale Of wages for the American em-
ployee ought to be higher than FOR the Fiji
vx1xr IN