White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1916-09-24
Built Panama Canal Out Of Cur
rent Revenues, Periodically
boarding Bonds In Treasury
Which Democrats FiIch
to Hide a Deficit.
CARNIVAL OF DEBAUcHERY
IN PUBLIC EXPENDITURE

william II. Wilcox. Chairman Of
the Republican National Committee.
has received from Senator Penross .
brief but positive summing up Of the
extravagances Of the Wilson Admlnis-
tration during the session sf Coogrsss
Just abont to close. The Senator
says:
when the country realisss What
this Congress has done In The way Of
appropriations Il Will be dumfoundel.
Already. Ii has been shown that over
Il billion. seven or eight hundred nit
lion 6Uilars have been appropriate
more money than was ever appsOpri-
sted In any year In the history
Of the American government. The to-
tai will reach nearly two billion dol.
lars before the end Of this carnival
Of debauchery In public expenditures
10 reached. because no account has
been taken Of the twenty-five millions
for the Danish islands. the thirty mil
lions which the government win prob.
ably have to refund as . result Of
the ave per cent rebate allowed On
importations brought across the seas
In American bottoms. and other mat
tiers which are likely to, come up.
sit IL only TOO evident that this bill
which In expected to bring In some
two hundred million dollars will ab-
solutely fail to meet ever the require
ments for the Ill-advised aud certainly
not urgent projects authorized by the
present Congress.
at is now claimed that these pro
jects are to be financed by the issu-
ance Of Panama Canal bonds. The
American people will regard such a
proceeding as a very queer one be-
cause the issuing Of bonds by the
Cleveland Administration largely help
ed to bring about the downfall Of the
Democratic party In 1906. A bond
issue has ever since been viewed with
adherence by the Democracy now,
we find the party leaders compelled.
by reason of their extravaganza and
in~eficiency. to resort to II.
"To defray the expenses of a nitrate
plant and of a shipping board and
many other needless projects by the
issuing OF Panama bonds will be In
the last analysis equivalent TO paying
for them by bond issues. These bonds
are lying In the treasury unlssued as
the result OF the thrift and economy
and wise administration Of the Repub-
lican party.
'Only about $50. 100000 of bonds
were put out In the construction OF the
Panama Canal. The balance Of the
cost of that stupendous undertaking
was paid out of current revenues;
and now, to advance the novel doc
trine that these bonds which repre-
sent the thrift of preceding years
shall be issued for these questionable
projects is, 10 my mind, preposterous.
In fact. IL was expressly provided In
the Spooner Act that Panama Canal
bonds should not be issued for any
other purpose than that Of the con-
~struction of the Canal, and the In
genious theory that they can be Is
sued now to repay the treasury and
that then the money can be squan-
dered by the party In power TO finance
doubtful projects and TO make good a
deficit will not alter the fact hat
such a deficit exists.
mo amount Of reasoning on the
part of the Chairman of the Commit
tee on Finance will alter the fact
that outside of preparedness there has
been at least $200, 1000, 900 of w~asteful
appropriations and expenditures by
the present Congress. That condition
of the treasury will absolutely ueces-
state the Withholding OF contracts
for battleshlps and delay the whole
scheme of preparedness.
'The figures of the Secretary of
the Treasury may be juggled as they
may. but when the Secretary Is up
against the brute fact Of not having
money TO pay for these projects he
will then find that figures will not
make n surplus In the treasury"