The Owyhee nugget. ([Silver City], Idaho) 1905-1984, 1909-06-11
ERA OF EXTRAVAGANZA
A Policy of Reckless Expenditure
of Funds Inaugurated.

of Funds InaUgUrAted.
The reckless extravaganza that
marked the administration of President
Roosevelt is thus shown by Hon. James
A. Tawney, Chairman of the committee
of Appropriation of the National House
of REPRESENTATIVES, in an able article
contributed to Van Norden's Magazine:
1t is time for the people of the United
States to pause and consider the alarm
ing increase in the annual expenditures
of the Government and the necessity of
checking growing tendency toward ex-
cess. In the past eight years militar-
ism and the REIMBURSEMENT of certain
powers and rights by the states to the
Federal Government have forced Con
gress to appropriate billions where
hundreds of millions less should have
sufflced; and yet the estimates of the
executive branch Of the Government for
that period we're pared down s433,OO0,-
600
Those who talk recklessly of thou
sands of miles of exposed coast line and
predict Japenese invasion from the
West or European invasion from the
East doubtless care little for cold facts
and figures. Let them have their way
and it will not be many days until we
are spending three-fourths of our avail
able revenues on wars past and antici-
pated. AS it is, our expenditures for
military purposes or as the result of
wars, are greater than those Of any
other nation in The world, though our
army is far smaller than that of either
Great Britain, France, Germany, japan
or Russia
appropriations for public expendi.
ures are made upon estimates submit
ted by the executive departments of the
Government at the beginning of each
session of Congress. The aggregate
amount of these estimates during the
past eight years, including the fiscal
year 1910, equals the enormous sum of
1921, BAL ,8O6 30. Upon them Congress
appropriated $7,0O7 1899, 1896. This in
cludes $3.50, 100000 for river and harbor
improvements not estimated. The ra-
pidity with which our national expen-
ditures have been increasing during this
period is shown by comparing the total
appropriations for the fiscal year 1903,
which were s796, 633, S6479, with the to-
tai appropriations at the last session OF
the Sixtieth Congress for the fiscal year
1910, $1,O44,Ol4, 29S %; the difference he
tween the amount required for the pub
lie service seven years ago and the
amount required nov being S247, $780,
433.44 or more than than three times
the total expenditures of the Federal
Government for the fiscal year 1861.
Let me emphasize what stated above;
that the two primary causes leading to
this result have been the popular and
executive demands upon Congress foi
appropriations from the the Federal
Treasury for the exercise of rights and
functions belonging exclusively to the
states and the abnormal and unneces-
sary war expenditures in time of peace
Fixing responsibility for this state %
affairs may be like closing the barn dool
after the horse has fed, but it is only
just that it be not charged to Congress
If the estimates submitted during the
past eight years had been appropriated
for, and if the amounts proposed il
bills introduced and demanded by pub
t lie sentiment had passed, the treasury