, 1912-09-12

In the closing holn Of Congress
Senator Warren, chairman of the Sen
ate appropriations committee, made
{ the following statement in the Senate
concerning the appropriations for the
present fiscal year:
Ssatsnente of Appropriations.
Mr.. WARREN. Mr.. President, y
. been usual for many years. with
the exception Of last year, for tn,
chairman OF the Senate and Houss
committees on appropriations to pre-
pare comparative statement showini
q total appropriations for the fisca
year. giving the appropriations of the
year before. the estimates, and other
Information,
Inc present chairmeN of the Senate
committse on appropI Iations has not
arranged any prepared speech regard.
tng the finances of the country, its
incomes and expenditures, and he does
not propose to make or undertake to
! make any political capital out Of this
statement. but to state the facts as he
sees them. l want to say, and do so
with great pleasure. that the Presi.
dent of the. United States and his
cabinet have laborcd conscientiously
to- curtail expenditures to the lowest
Limit Of safety. The estimates for this
ysAr were carefully prepared to be
inside the estimated income by q safe
margin.
The House of Representatives has,
l must admit, endeavored to keep
down the expenses of the government
whether wiselyso unwisely will be
dstermined by the country; but l cred.
1t them with o desire,to be economical
and to keep expenses inside the esti.
mates.
The total appropriations, regular,
miscellaneous, and permanent, includ.
ing every allowance Of every nature
for the year 1913, amount to $1,019.
6S6,148.6e. The total appropriations
for the fiscal year 1912 were s 1926
68e ,sS1.72. The, appropriations for
1913 are less than those for 1919 by
$7.046. 7ss.06.
The appropriations for this fiscal
yoar are less than the estimates by
te1.011.s82.89. OF course supplemental
estimates later made increased this
difference. In order to keep thai total
Of appropriations inside the. limit OF
last year the House, in the first
place. made a great many calculations
for the, coming year only. for amount
Of money that will be exhausted be.
tween now and the 4th of March.
AohSC thOi0 IA pIoDdbty DSp oOou
after we meet next winter, either a
very large. urgent deficiency ~appropria,
ton bill or later a large general de.
ficiency appropriation bill, or there
will BERN the regular appropriations
permission for certain sums to be con.
tinued available.
The House. and rightly SO. examined
carefully the witnesses from the de-
partments-t to know whether the money
appropriated for last year and prior
years had all been used or would be
used before the end of the fiscal year
1912, thus to find out II there were
margins which would go back into the
treasury. They discovered quite large
surplus amounts, which goes to show,
first. that preceding Congresses have
endeavored to be liberal in a%ppropria-
lions, trusting to the capacity, hon.
esty. and economy of the departments
not to expend what might be to the
necessary, and to the everlasting cred.
there were found numerous and large
surplus. amounts.
These have all beer taken into con-
sideration and have caused smaller ap-
propriations for the year 1913. That,
Of courae. will not materially affect
the future. There Il also a short ap
preparation for the Panama canal be-
cause It is, nearing. completion. and
that viii decrease still further.
As the Senate knows the canal was
supposed to be built from money OBJ
tanned from bonds. SC, that the present
Inhabitants Of the United States
should not be called upon to pay all
the cost Of 1t, but could allow those
who may get the benefit of it years
afterwards to have the privilege and
duty of paying some portion of 1t.
But We have only issued a compara-
lively small amount Of bonds. and we
have paid large sums each year, near
ly 100000 last year and more than
half as much this year. The discon-
%tinuance OF that will help to make the
bills in the future smaller.
I want to say, however, that I do
not believe, with the growth Of this
country, that we have any right to ex-
pect the next administration, be 1t Re-
publican. Democratic, or otherwise. to
expend or to appropriate very much
less, II any, than our expenses are now
running, unless indeed, we propose to
cut into the future and lower the first
year at the expense Of the others to
follow. I am ~prophesying that in the
next four years run It will be found
thai the government wifi expend an
nually a billion dollars, more or less
and + believe It will be more at ev-
cry session. These shortages, or what
I think may be shortages. will OF
course be provided for. as usual. in de-
ficienciss. I wish to say that In de-
ficiencies the present Congress has
been careful. and the preceding Con-
crosses by their legislation have so
far a. possible wiped out the necessity
OF ~dcfictsncies.
The bills this year as they came from
the House have. Of course. been added
to by the Senate. as has always been
done h~eretobefore. They sent the bills
over here with that expectation. But
we have added, with the single excep-
ton, perhaps, Of the deficiency bill.