The National tribune., 1910-04-14
A BILLION DOLLAR SESSION.
In Spite of All Talk of Economy
Appropriations Mount Up.

Economy advocates in Congress are
sounding a new alarm. The appropri,
ations for the session are mounting
high. towering toward the biIlion-dollar
mark, and practically demonstrating
that all the nicely-laid plans for pre-
venting extravaganza might as well not
have been.
The two pork barrel bills are cap
ping the climax, to say nothing OF the
hundreds of claims against the Gov
ernment which are piling up daily into
a formidable aggregate. There was
much fine talk early in the session ABOUT
modest little river and harbor bill.
The last measure for the Improvement
Of river and harbor projects, enacted
three years ago, carried about $4,000
eco The men on the watch towers
thought that an eXtravagant figure, but
they justified it with the assertion that
If the Government was bent on spending
so much for dreadnaughts, it might be
just as well to do something for the
commerce of the country.
The House River and Harbor Com
mittee originated the idea of annual
river and harbor bills. Its members
argued that that was the only proper
way to legislate. Then it would be
possible to keep the bills down to small
sums. Before their work was done,
however. they had made up bill that
would take 42,55S,176 out of the
Treasury.
The Senate always has been pretty
grasping in the distribution of river
and harbor favors. Its Committee
on Commerce has observed all the
precedents in piling up quite $4,000
.000 more upon the bill, and 1t Is now
before the Senate, calling for a total
. ~, aI ann I1t inn &c
and continuing contracts. The BILL as
it becomes law, will undoubtedly carry
approximately S50,000,0 600, the price of
about four super dreadnaughts.
IL that kind of an annual river and
harbor bill is to be passed, the Treas
ury must have additional revenues be-
yond what the Aldrich-Payne tariff law
is yielding, for the appropriations are
being made on a more generous scale,
: apparently, than ever before
The public building bill is yet to
come. Early in the session it was said
by legislators in authority that there
would be no public building bill. The
Treasury officials, who are charged with
the construction of public buildings,
claimed there was no necessity for one
There are still scores Of uncompleted
projects throughout the country. The
money is either available or authorized
and it will be year or two yet before
the Treasury Department can catch up
with the public building work already
in hand. But localities are demanding
public buildings in great numbers, and
these communities are impatient for
action. An appropriation for public
building in his district is a bit of de-
sirable political capital for almost any
Congressman-an evidence that he is
able to accomplish something down at
Washington. That kind of influence
is making another public building bill
among the probabilities for the closing
days Of the present session, and the
opposition of the economy advocates
cannot prevail against it.
To Cut Down the Bill.
The talk now is OF a bill carrying
$I2,000,00Q. The wise men around the
Capitol say a bill for $20,000,00 is in
dispensable to their program. For the
larger sum they can frame a measure
which will satisfy everybody and thus
forestall the possibility of defeat. A
bill for the smaller sum will not suffice
to take care" of everybody who can
make trouble, and, accordingly, from
q political standpoint, is regarded as
inadyisable.
On most of the general appropriation
bills the Senate has made an exception
al record for economy at this session.
Senator Hale, Chairman of Appropria-
tons one of the sterne5t advocates of
economy, has kept the lid on in his
committee. There have been fewer
large increases on the appropriation
bills as these have come from the
House. That is why the House and
Senate are having so little trouble in
the conferences over appropriation bills,
which are going-to the President much
earlier this year than usual.
But even with all this caution the
totals are mounting up, so that it seems
certain this session of Congress will
authorize the expenditure of quite a
billion of dollars. Apparently neither
the river and harbor bill nor the pub
lie building bill can be beaten A per-
sistent disagreement in conference can
alone defeat the river and harbor meas
ure. and that is not likely. There is
much more reason for it than for the
public building measure, which will
largely serve political campaign end
Most careful preparations were made
TO enforce economy at this session OF
Congress, on which account the pros
pective failure in that regard becomes
all the more noticeable. Congress en-.
acted special provision about the
preparation Of estimates by members Of
the Cabinet. President Taft co-operat.
ed cordially. There were Cabinet dis.
cussions of the economy program, and
the heads of departments were direct.
ed to srale their estimates to the very
lowest figures possible.
A great hurrah was made last De-
cember about the successful work In
that line, but it was followed by scores
OF supplemental estimates, which at.
1racted little attention when put in
but nevertheless swelIed the total Then
the Senate organized a special commit
tee of brigadiers to supervise the whole
subject of appropriations. There wds
So much jealousy of them on the part
of the committee chairmen. however
that the big committee of brigadiert
never ACCOMPLISHED anything.