The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1916-09-23
REPUBLICAN, THRIFT IS
SQUANDERED BY WILSON
Built Panama Canal Out of Cur
rent Revenues, Periodically
boarding Bonds in Treasury
Which Democrats Fitch
to Hide a Deficit.
CARNIVAL OF DEBAUCHERY
IN PUBLIC EXPENDITURE

IN PUBLIC EXPENDITURE
Senator Penrose Believes the Looted
Condition of the Treasury VIII
Necessitate the Withholding of
Contracts for Battleships and De-
lay the Whole Scheme of Prepared
ness - Nations Money Frittered
Away to Finance Hare-Brained and
Ill Advised Projects.
William r. Wilcox, Chairman of
the Republican National Committee,
has received from Senator Penrose a
brief but positive summing up of the
extravagances of the Wilson Admins
tration during the session of Congress
just about to close. The Senator
says:
when the country realizes what
| this Congress has done In the way of
appropriations 1t will be dumfounded.
Already, it has been shown that over
a billion, seven or eight hundred mil
llOil uOllulS nav bOCh opPhOPhh'SN
more money than was ever appropri-
ated in any one 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
is reached, because no ccoun has
been taken of the twenty-five millions
g H. n-,411o s-1,a1r +hn fbirfu mil
lions which the government will prob
ably have to refund as a result of
the five per cent rebate allowed on
importations brought across the seas
in American bottoms, and other mat
tiers which are likely TO come up.
sit is only too evident that this bill
which is expected to bring in some
two hundred million dollars will alb
solutely fail to meet wen the require
ments for the ill-advised and certainly
not urgent projects authorized by the
present Congress.
ut 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 1896. 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
inefficiency, to resort to it.
ITO 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 unissued as
the result of the thrift and economy
and wise administration of the Repub-
lican party.
"Only about S130,O00, 900 of bonds
were put out in the construction of the
Panama Canal. The balance of the
cost of that s%tupendous 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, to my mind, preposterous.
In fact, it 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 that
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 $200,000,000 of wasteful
appropriations and expenditures by
the present Congress. That condition
of the treasury will absolutely neces-
state the Withholding Of contracts
for battleships and delay the whole
scheme of preparedness.
1.-THE figures of the Secretary of
the Treasury may be 1uggled as they
may, but when the Secretary Is up
against the brute fact of not having
money to pay for these projects he
will her find that figures will not
make a surplus in the treasury"