Evening star., 1914-07-15
SENATE PASSES
EMERGENCY BILL
Joint Resolution Giving Dis
trict and Departments
Funds Goes Through.

The Senate this afternoon passed with.
out debate the House joint resolution
continuing the old appropriation for the
government departments and for the
District Of Columbia until the new ap-
shall have been enacted into law. The
resolution. which had already been passed
by the House. was called up in the Senate
by Senator Martin. chairman Of the ap-
propriations committee, after he had
polled his committee on the matter.
Representative FItzgerald's continuing
resolution to project the appropriations
of the last fiscal year two weeks further
into the present year wherever necessary
finally passed the House at the last mo-
ment yesterday. several Of the republicans
using the opportunity for attributirg the
delay to democratic incompetency.
Chairman Fitzgerald refused to take any
responsibility for the delay, claiming that
the democratic program for Panama
canal legislation and the antitrust meas
ures had been framed SO that appropria-
ton bills had been blocked. He also
blamed some of his democratic brethren
for dilatory tactics. points of no quorum.
etc. when the sundry civil bill was before
the House.
The republican view of the situation
was expressed by Representative Gillett
of Massachusetts. who said:
Il wish to call attention to the fact
which appears upon this report made by
the gentleman from New York. that
from the Fifty-third Congress. which is
the last Congress of democratic control.
until the Sixty-second Congress, when
the democrats took control again. in
those sixteen years. when the republican
party had control Of both branches of
the legislature, there was not single
case where all the appropriation bills
were not passed before the 1st of July.
That marks the contrast between the
business efficiency of the republican party
and the business management of the
democratic party.
THE last democratic Congress-the Fif-
ty-third-failed to pass the appropriation
bills on time. The following eight repub-
lican Congresses were always prompt,
again. 1t is that discrepancy to which l
call attention, because l do think that
while passing these temporary resolu-
tions for fifteen days at a time does In a
certain manner tide over the difficulty.
and the public at large probably feels
that 1t makes no difference, and that the
democratic party is doing it's duty; yet.
as a matter Of fact. 1t makes a great
difference. The Treasury Department
becomes greatly confused in its accounts.
Often in many items it is very difficult to
apportion the one twenty-fourth of the
amount which is appropriated. And
therefore good business management al
ways requires that the appropriation bills
for the ensuing year should be passed
before the commencement of that year.
That was done for sixteen years by the
republican party. And now, just as soon
as the democratic party gets in power.
they repeat their former practice and be-
gin to illustate what we have always
criticised them for, namely, their inef-
fciency and their incapacity for business
management
That may be true" retorted Repre-
sentative Fitzgerald. but it must be re-
called that those sixteen years of repub-
lican rule were the most proligate and
wasteful in the history of the govern
ment"
THE delay has been largely due to
executive interference in legislative af-
fairs" said Representative Moore OF
Pennsylvania.