The National tribune., 1911-04-20
"OPENING THE BOOKS"
Continued from page one.)

out of this opening Of the books. and
their antics to that end should at least
be interesting.
President Taft's Cabinet officials are
by no means distracted because of the
little committees of the House on
departmental expenditures. They ex-
pect some annoyances therefrom. The
more they inquire. however. the more
they are troubled about that Holman
amendment to the House rules, over
which the House Republicans have
made a terrible rumpus. It provides
an ingenious but merciless method for
forcing economies in governmental ex-
penditures. 1t also ushers in an era
Of legislative riders upon appropriation
bills and opens the doors to important
Democratic enactments which other
wise Republican Senate and Repuo-
lican President might be able to pre-
vent. Last, but not least, 1t assures
tremendous struggling between the
Senate and the House.
In normal times appropriation bills
are not allowed to change existing law.
The House rules provide for points Of
order against existing paragraphs in
these bills as reported or in proposed
amendments. This gives the individual
member great veto power. New legis-
lation cannot go thru on an appropria-
ton bill except by unanimous consent
When one political party has control
of House, Senate and the Presidency
it can put thru much of the general
legislation II desires. and this is better
done separately. But by the same
token when there is divided political
control. as at present, 4 Democratic
House has very slight prospects of get
ting much general legislation thru. The
appropriation bills. however. must 60
thru, and therefore become the. only
convenient vehicles for forcing general
legislation upon the opposition party.
The Holman Amendment.
The Holman amendment, of interest
ing history, makes every kind of
amendment to an appropriation bill in
order if only upon its face it reduces
existing Government expenses.
This so-called amendment to the
House rules dates back to 1875 in the
44th Congress, when the Democrats
first controlled the popular legislative
branch after the civil war. Samuel J.
Randall. of Pennsylvania, was Chair
man of Appropriations, and Watch
dog" William S. Holman, of Indiana,
himself subsequently Chairman of APP
preparations, was the second man on
protest went UP when the Holman
amendment was adopted in that Con-
gress, but there was no alternative. The
rule remained in force. and In the first
session of that 44th Congress was In
no small measure responsible for the
reduction of the appropriations by the
House to the extent OF $4,000. eco. The
Republican Senate declared war, and
the first session of the Congress was
prolonged thru the hot Washington
Summer into August. But when ad-
iOurnrnent came the House had saved
$40, 100000 of its reductions. In those
davs the total annual appropriations
were only s300.000,000.
The Holman amendment remained a
part of the House rules up till the 49th
Congress. which marked the beginning
of the first Cleveland Administration.
Wonderful .feats of legislation were ac-
compliShed. A Federal election law
was enacted as a rider upon a sundry
civil appropriation bill, because it was
shown this would reduce Government
expenses, and some years later the
same law was repealed on a sundry
civil appropriation bill for similar
reason.
There was gerat popular Interest for
awhile in the application Of the Holman
amendment The first Democratic
House after the war had come in fol-
lowing the panic of 1873. Times were
exceedingly hard, and the country was
in the mood to applaud the saving Of
nickel anywhere in the cost of run
ming the Government. OF course, there
has been a great change now, and it
remains to be seen whether the people
can be greatly interested in economy
operations at Washington.
Democratic Policy og Economy.
In any event, with the President
Departments and to cconomiZe the cost
of operations, the Democratic House ia
intent upon making better record
tnan the White House, if il be possible.
Experts In appropriation matters say
that with the enforcement of the Hol-
man amendment to the rules il should
be feasible to bring the annual total
considerably below a billion, but the
cut, if it comes, must be chiefly in ap-
propriations for the Army and the
Navy. There it is question whether
public sentiment viii sanction economy.
Hundreds of hapless clerks and useless
officials may be detached from the
Government service by amendments of
individual Representatives, which will
henceforth be in order. Great reStric-
tions upon the expenditures of appro-
priationS may be imposed. 1t may even
become possible to prevent the increase
Of official automobiles. And yet all
these and many other minor matters of
Government expense do not run rapidly
into millions, and nowadays economies
must be expressed in at least seven fig
ton. r-.r
There is some difference of opinion
as TO how much scope the investiga-
tions of the little committees" on de-
partmental expenditures. which the
Democrats have promised, will have.
Announcement of such Investigations
is Welcome news to a lot of disgruntled
people at Washington, some of whom
are discharged employees and others of
whom have grievances of divers kinds
against Government officials. A de-
partmental investigation by a commit
tee of the House is a glorious oppor-
tunity 10 all such persons, and there is
inevitably rush ito get even"
Members of such committees have
invariably TO work in the dark 1t is
no easy task to develop irregularities;
even when Irregularities exist. A great
deal is made of the fact that one of
these little committees" on expendi-
lures uncovered the Relknap scandal
and forced the resignation of Secretary
of War Belknap. The Committee on
Expenditures in the War Department,
however, probably never would have
uncovered the scandal had not the
beneficiaries OF a permit for a trading
post over which the War Department
had Jurisdiction fallen out with each
other One of them came to Washing
ton, and told the story of the payments
for the permit because he wanted to
get even with his partner.
The Government employees who have
fat sinecures-and probably there are
goodly number OF them--are trem-
bling over the adoption of the Holman
amendment. They have had ample