The Public Money In Politics

In whatever branch of the public service investigation íh made, the most flagnmt abusos are diseovered, showing that thé treaeUry has been habihially plnndered under Kepubliean nilo to subserve partisan iutorests, and thatthe expenditures Wjefe eontraoted or expamlíHl íus thoy would opérate on natiniiül local politicH. In other WoVdSj the whole maehmery of Government and the revenucs were constantly usi'd to preserve a partisan ascendency in the administration and in Congress. The reports to Congress are made up in B WBJ! to niislcad the country, y concealing itilormation to whiob the people are eiititled. The whole trnth can never be known until a change of administration takes place and the books and papers pass into honest hands. But, rith all the artífices employed to hide the truth, a careful alysis of even tho official and perverted figures brings to light the prácticos that were pursued to retain possession of power. Take aH an illustration the great vavicty f expendituxes for the civil list, all hunped togcther in tlie report of the Secretary of the Treasury, under the head of misceljáneous, tho element of which can only be known to the initiated, and even to well-informéd public men lmt iinperfectly, onder the system which prevails at Washington of making up the public accounts and substituting genera] statements for speeifie details, by means of which every charge might bc followed. l'ollowing the miscellaneous expenditares from 18f;}-'4 down to 1875-70, it will be found that in the years of three Preaidentia) elections, and in nearly all the years of Congress elections, the outlay was entirely disproportioned to what may be called, for discrimination the non-politioal years. Here is a table made up from the last treasury report, which shows at a glanee the marked difference betweon tho two classes of years : Amouut, Inn-eane. Decreaae. 1863-M íTiSú-iMf' 1MM BR 42,SI,383 S15.-llT.IliT 1605-fpfl lu.lil8.1lt t,876,269 IW)7 51,110,023 l0,4Sfljm IsIh r,s 58,00.ifl7 l.t-'.W.544 ISCk-U-,9 5fi.47t.Wil 3.tl,l!)4 1SWI 70 ,V.2:lT.!til S.tfJT.MXJ lll-Tl 00.481,!ll(i 7,241,455 1ST1 ?2 6O.84,7W Mia.811 1872-7 Ï3,8SS.11U 12,848,868 1873-7-i C.ii.i; H ,5'iri 3,686,517 1-T4 Tf, 7I.070.70S 1 . 411.2(1 187&-78 I8,K,eei 2,528,868 Tho year niarked with an ""' wore thots in wliirli rnHilintiiil anrl GbngTOWloDal elections were lii-ll- thrcc ol the ioinu r iu ls4, ÏMW, and 1873 and íix oí thr latti-r. Of these thirteen years, the miscellaneotis expenditures were increased for the three I'residential eleetions f31,224,714 over tlie preceding years, and $10.(1(10,(1(10 more, including the Congress elections, in the interveaning years. In the years sueeeeding the Presidential elections, the miscellaneons expenses feil off more than $9,250,000. Tlie regularity of this increase and dimiuution tells the whole story with as nmch precisión as if it were written in the plainest terms, and not in mixed figures intended to deceive the unwiiry and to put O2)ponents off their giiard. Altliongh the appropriations made by Congress ought to be the limitation of expenditures, the executive departments, under various pretexté, have assumed to disregard them, and thus created deficiencies at their own discretion. It is the duty of Congress at the first opportunity to abolish this practico summarily, ly making it a penal offense for any public officer to expend more money or to contract more debt than is legally and explicitly authorized. - New York Sun. ______