CONGRESS. (APPROPRIATIONS.) 



193 



To incorporate the Society of American Florists 

 ;and Ornamental Horticulturists within the Dis- 

 trict of Columbia. 



Granting homesteaders on the abandoned Fort 

 Fetterman Military Reservation, in Wyoming, the 

 right to purchase one quarter section of public 

 land on said reservation as pasture or grazing 

 land. 



Extending the mining laws to saline lands. 



Supplementary to an act entitled "An Act to 

 prohibit the coming of Chinese persons into the 

 United States," approved May 5, 1892, and fixing 

 the compensation of commissioners in such cases. 



For beacon lights at Point Dums, Colorado; 

 Point No Point, Chesapeake Bay; Hambrook 

 Bar, Maryland; Cambridge, Maryland; Grubbs 

 Landing, Delaware; and Hillsboro Point, Florida. 



Extending immediate transportation privilege 

 to Everett, Wash.; Fall River, Mass.; Honolulu, 

 Hawaii; Milwaukee, Wis.; New Bedford, Mass.; 

 .Saginaw, Mich. 



The construction of bridges was authorized 

 .across Alabama river, at Montgomery, Ala.; 

 Arkansas river, near Pine Bluff, Ark.; Clinch 

 river, Kingston, Tenn.; Choctawhatchee river, 

 Geneva County, Alabama ; Cumberland river, Car- 

 thage, and Nashville, Tenn.; Delaware river, 

 Trenton, N. J. ; Devil's lake, North Dakota; 

 Little river, near Big lake, Arkansas; Lavaca 

 Bay, near Nobles Point, Texas; Lumber river, 

 Lumberton, N. C. ; Manatee river and Gasparilla 

 Sound, Florida; Mississippi river at Grays Point, 

 Mo.; Mississippi river, Burlington, Iowa; Missis- 

 sippi river, St. Louis, Mo.; Monongahela river, 

 North Charleroi, Pa.; Monongahela river, Port 

 Vue, Pa.; Nehalem Bay and river, Oregon; Pearl 

 river, Monticello, Miss.; Red river, Fargo, N. 

 Dak.; Red river, Hooks Ferry, Texas; Red river, 

 Turnbulls island, Louisiana; Rock river, Henry 

 County, Illinois; St. Joseph river, St. Joseph, 

 Mich.; Tombigbee river, near Demopolis, Ala.; 

 Warrior river, between Walker and Jefferson 

 Counties, Alabama; Yalobusha river, Grenada 

 County, Mississippi. 



Various acts were passed dealing with the af- 

 fairs of the District of Columbia; others making 

 provisions for United States courts at different 

 points ; together with a multitude of private bills. 



Appropriations. The appropriations for the 

 second session of the Fifty-sixth Congress, cover- 

 ing the year closing June 30, 1902, were as fol- 

 low: Agriculture, $4,578,400; army, $115,735,- 

 649.10; diplomatic and consular, $1,850,228.76; 

 District of Columbia, $8,504,969.94; fortification, 

 $7,364,011; Indian, $9,596,221.09; legislative, etc., 

 $24,600,753.85; Military Academy, $747,653.68; 

 navy, $78,653,973.75; pension, $145,245,230; post- 

 office, $123,782,688.75; sundry civil, $62,553,108.- 

 21; total, $583,212,888.13. Deficiencies, $14,340,- 

 574.94; total, $597,553,463.07. Miscellaneous, $8,- 

 000,000; total regular annual appropriations, 

 $605,553,463.07. Permanent annual appropria- 

 tions, $124,358,220; grand total regular and per- 

 manent annual appropriations, $729,911,683.07. 



The grand total of appropriations by the Con- 

 gress for two years was $1,440,062,545. The 

 amount appropriated by the Fifty-fifth Congress 

 was $1,568,212,637. Mr. Cannon, of Illinois, in 

 commenting upon the expenditures provided for, 

 said : " Of the total appropriations made at this 

 session, at least $30,000,000 will not, in the light 

 of past experience, be expended. This consider- 

 able margin between actual expenditures and ap- 

 propriations made by Congress indicates a sum 

 total of expenditures during the fiscal year 1902 

 of not exceeding $699,911,683.07; and this sum 

 includes $53,000,000 on account of the sinking- 

 VOL. XLI. 13 A 



fund requirements for the fiscal year 1902, which, 

 of course, under the terms of the law, will be met 

 only to such extent as surplus revenues in the 

 Treasury may permit. After meeting the fullest 

 ordinary requirements of the public service under 

 the appropriations which have been made, there 

 will surely remain suflicient revenue for 1902 to 

 meet not less than $30,000,000 of the requirements 

 of the sinking-fund, amounting in all, as stated, 

 to $53,000,000; and from other surplus money in 

 the Treasury the whole sinking-fund obligations 

 for the year can and will be met, if deemed expedi- 

 ent by the Secretary of the Treasury. The large 

 deficiencies provided for during the fiscal year 1899 

 by the first regular session of the Fifty-fifth Con- 

 gress, amounting, to $349,772,389.96, were designed 

 almost in their entirety to cover the expenses of 

 the military and naval establishments during the 

 fiscal years 1899 and 1900, incident to the war 

 with Spain. The most marked increase indicated 

 in the appropriations for ordinary expenses of the 

 Government made for the two years 1901 and 

 1902 at the two sessions of this Congress over 

 those 'of the two preceding years, 1899 and 1900, 

 provided for by the Fifty-fifth Congress, is for 

 the postal service. This is the one branch of the 

 public service that can not be restrained in its 

 growth. It registers with precision and exactness 

 the welfare of the nation and the agricultural, in- 

 dustrial, and commercial condition of the country. 

 That the growth of the postal service for the two 

 years provided for by this Congress is nearly 8 

 per cent, greater than was the growth of the ap- 

 propriations made therefor by the Fifty-fifth Con- 

 gress over that provided for by the Fifty-fourth 

 Congress is a source of congratulation. It is an 

 axiomatic truth in economic science that in order 

 to reduce taxes public expenditures must first be 

 retrenched. Acting upon this philosophy, the ap- 

 propriations, as I have shown, have been reduced 

 $128,150,091.89 by this Congress under those pro- 

 vided for by its predecessor, and this has ren- 

 dered possible a reduction of taxes in the sum of 

 $41,000,000." 



Mr. Livingston, of Georgia, compared the ap- 

 propriations with those made by the Fifty-fourth 

 Congress, and he took a more gloomy view. He 

 said: "The Fifty-sixth Congress (the one just 

 closed) is the first Congress appropriating for the 

 support of the Government since the close of the 

 so-called Spanish-American War. The difference 

 between the appropriations made by the Fifty- 

 sixth Congress and those made by the Fifty-fourth 

 Congress amounts to $395,482,272.08. During 

 the session just closed the demands of the people, 

 through their representatives, for the construc- 

 tion of the Nicaragua Canal, have gone unheeded; 

 for new public buildings they have been persist- 

 ently denied. The river and harbor bill has been 

 permitted to fail. The payment of just claims 

 of honest people against the Government has not 

 been provided for. It is doubtless conceived to 

 be wisdom on the part of the leadership of the 

 dominant party in Congress and the Administra- 

 tion to have denied these just demands of the 

 people in order to provide for this enormous in- 

 crease in expenditures that is almost wholly re- 

 quired in order to support the increased military 

 establishment that has been inaugurated under 

 the policy of the Republican party. Notwith- 

 standing the heavy taxation o2 the people and the 

 enormous sums that are collected each year to be 

 poured in the Federal Treasury, the public works 

 and internal improvements of every character 

 throughout the country have practically been de- 

 nied by this Congress. The most casual examina- 

 tion of this table makes comment practically un- 



