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Show NATIONAL GROWTH AND EXPENDITURE. If Mr. Parker would consent to descend to particulars Instead of dealing with generalties when on the subject of national expenditure the American people would have more respect for him. It is all very well to denounce extravagance in goneral terms, but such denunciations have little lit-tle or no effect on the public mind. It is absurd to institute comparisons between expenditures of different periods, for they depend upon the national na-tional growth and could only be fairly compared if the country were in an arrested stage of development. devel-opment. Judge Parker points out that during Mr. Cleveland's first term the average annual .disbursements .dis-bursements of the government were much less than they are at present, but he does not let us know whether anything was accomplished In the way of properly meeting the national needs during dur-ing the Democratic administration. It may happen hap-pen to have been the case that the smaller sum expended during Cleveland's term represents a greater degree of extravagance than the larger disbursements dis-bursements of later years. At any rate it is up to the critics of Republican expenditures to point out in which items extravagance is displayed, and not to confide themselves to wholesale denunciation de-nunciation of totals. The reason why Judge Parker does not particularize par-ticularize is known to every one who has any fa-mlliai'ity fa-mlliai'ity with the subject of national expenditure. If he should attempt to furnish a bill of details it would be possible for Republicans to analyze it and demonstrate that his charge Is groundless. If, for instance, he objected to the increased expenditure expendi-ture for naval purposes, it would be promptly shown that all appropriations for the navy were made with the approval of the major part of the Democrats in Congress. If he has a quarrel with the size of the pension list, it must be with Democrats Dem-ocrats as well as Republicans, for the appropriations appropria-tions for war pensions are practically made unanimously. unan-imously. What Is true of these two great classes of appropriations is true of all others. The record rec-ord does not show any consistent or persistent attempt on the part of tho Democrats in Congress to check expenditure. They are notoriously of the class which favors "the old flag and an appropriation," ap-propriation," and the worst offenders in this regard re-gard are the members from the "Solid South," whose chief reason for being in Washington seems to be to secure substantial recognition for their respeotive sections. Apart from these considerations, it is preposterous pre-posterous to make a comparison of expenditures with Cleveland's first term without dwelling upon the growth of the country in the interval. Judge Parker says the average annual expenditures dur- 1$ ing Cleveland's first term amounted to $269,000,-000, $269,000,-000, and for the past three years they have been $519,000,000. During this interval the population of the country has grown from 58,000,000 to 80,-000,000; 80,-000,000; bank clearings have increased from $55,-000,000,000 $55,-000,000,000 to $114,000,000,000; exports of domes-taic domes-taic merchandise from $730,282,00 to $1,382,000,-000; $1,382,000,-000; value of mineral products from $019,512,173 to $1,2G0,G49,2G5; insurance in forme from $4,-049,578,507 $4,-049,578,507 to $10,508,478,77G; annual postal receipts re-ceipts from less than $00,000,000 to over $134,-000,000; $134,-000,000; annual value of farm products from $2,-400,170,454 $2,-400,170,454 to $4,730,118,752; annual value of manufactured products from less than $5,0000,000,- q 000 to about $15,000,000,000. It is astonishing that the expenditures should have kept pace with the development noted? Not to any one familiar with the early history of the country, which shows that there has been a steady increase of disbursement under Democratic as well as under Republican administrations, ad-ministrations, and that this process has never been checked without producing a marked deter- " ioration of the public service, the efficiency of which can only be maintained by keeping it well abreast of the national growth. San Francisco Chronicle. |
