The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-06-26
AN EXTRAvAGANT CONGRESS.

The session of Congress just ad
| journing is noted for its wild cxtrava
gance and for its subserviencc to exc
cutive dictation.
Its appropriations exceed those ever
made by any session of Congress here
tofore, reaching almost $l,l00,0 100000,
aud this at time when bank clear
ances are falling all over the country
and the balance of trade is enormously
against us, when gold is being drawn
by the scores of millions TO Europe, to
| Brazil, and TO all parts of the earth
where we trade. And besides, the rev.
enucs of the country show deficit as
compared with the expenditures, and
the cost of the construction of the
Panama Canal will inevitably demand
the issue of more bonds. 1t is difficult
to understand the state of mind OF
members of Congress who would dehb,
eratey enter into wilful and waste
full expenditure of public money undci
these conditions Tho situation calls
for retrenchment rather than lavish
ness, and the extraordinary and un'
precedented appropriations CONTRAST so
vividIy with declarations made by Con-
pressional leaders that s500.o00,GoO
could be saved, as Senator Aldrlch said,
by a proper form of public manage
ment, that the public will naturally IN
quire why this proper form of public
mana cement is not put into effect pS
Congress and tine $30o,000,oO0 saved
rather than such enormous aud Tn
procedented expenditure should be ln-
dulged in, especially when 1T is PLAIN
to everyone of any sort of discernment
that tho country can not afford those
expenditures at this time.
With respect to the enaetmen2s made
at this session, it is a clear case that
everything of Importance was orig
mated and pressed to conclusion IN
Congress by the executive department.
Congress has abandoned its high pre-
rogative of being an Independent de-
partment of the Government, and has
surrendered TO the cxecutIvo the
in law making ana the right
to rush measures, even measures abhOr'
rent TO Congress, to final enactment,
This encroachment of the executive up
on the legislative functions of the Gov"
ernment has always preceded the down
fall Of republics, and it looks as though
the peoples representatives, so faT as
the present Congress is concerned, are
quite ready to see tha American Re
public pass into an administrative or
imperial form as other republics have
done before in the history or mankind.
1t is a bad symptom altogether, from
til sides. 1t is an evil thing to see
the executive department usurp and
use power over Congress, and 1T isl
doubly evil to see Cong :ess yield TO
this usurpation. But this IS only Que
symptom, although a very sensational
and prominent one, The gahera' dispo-
sition noticeable on every hand 10 take
power away from the people and vest it
iu "stronger hands, is tho manifesto
ton of an evil which has oeen more
in Congress during this ses-
sion than ever before. Aud II is per-
meating all officialdom. through all
the gradations from the highest to the
lowest, from activities of Congress to
the changing of municipal forms of
Government TO desposic commission.
The tendencies Of the tines In this di-
recton, from high to low. may well
cause patriots grave concern and those
who mock may well, to quote the old
phrase, ask "Where are we at -