The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-11-02


debt during the first seven months of its
holding office by the enormous sum Of
S57, 900 600; that il is still continuing to re-
duce the debt at the rate OF nearly or quite
S1OO OO0, 900 per annum that at this rate the
whole debt would be extinguished in fifteen
years. while with decrease of taxes by
$50. 600, 900 per annum, il would be swenkof
in twenty-three years-unable, we say, to
deny these facts, the Democratic orators are
finding fault with the pleasant prospects thus
opened to the country, and doing their best
to cloud them.
We are told. for example, that a considera-
BILE part of the surplus revenue comes from
the sale of war material by the Government
Well. suppose for a moment that it does. lis
that any reason for ceasing to sell the old
material? One of the best features OF Stan
toms administration of the War Bureau was
the promptness with which he mustered out
men and sold off material at the end OF the
rebellion. thus bringing down the war ex-
penses with a run from three millions day
TO less than a tenth of that sum. General
Grant. in succeeding him, pushed the same
policy still further, as in turn did Secretaries
Schofeld and Rawlins; and the same was
true of the navy. At that time there was an
outcry that we we're going too fast in reduc-
tion-that we might need the material; but
we have not needed it yet, and are not likely
to the men and material, we should have lost
both the expense of their keeping and the in
terest on the money received from sales of
goods. We should have totally lost, besides,
many of the goods themselves, which were
perishable-such as commissary stores, cloth
ing, medical stores, and the like; while of
others we should have lost q great part of
their value by better or cheaper articles of
the same nature being introduced, in time,
into the market.
TO represent that this war material has
been sold off, simply in order to produce q
fictitious idea of economy is absurd 1t was
sold, and is now selling, as the proper mode
of getting rid of what will not pay the ex-
pense of storing on mere possibility of flu
ture use. Moreover, the great bulk of these
sales were effected under the last admins
tration, not under the present; and yet, with
less current revenue from this source, the
gain in general surplus income of Grants ad-
ministration has been remarkable.
The only real force in the argument is, that
this source of income must one day cease
This is very true but that day has not yet
come, and when it does come, and we have
no more war assets to help to defray the war
expenses, there will be more than enough to
balance the loss from this source in new
ways If we are asked in what ways, we will
mention two in illustration.
In the first place, the surplus of last year
(Which was SIS, 900, ,0QO) was reduced by a
payment of $1S, ,0O0, 600 on extra bounties,
and one of $7,5OO,OO gold Cor, So, 500, 900
currency for the purchase of Alaska. Here
we have an amount of 1927, 100, 900 in these
two items alone, which we shall gain each
year hereafter; and hence these must be
added to our account of probable receipts
and our surplus revenue for each succeeding
fiscal year.
In the second place, the careful calculation
by Mr.. Commissioner Wells shows that the
average annual increase of elasticity in the
revenue arising from the regular growth of
the country is fully $15,0OO,000 And, in
deed, whoever notes the rapidity with which
both North and South have recovered from
the prostration of the war, the prospects of
the crops, and the growth of population and
power to pay, will not account this an ex-
travagant estimate.
Upon the whole, therefore, we do not feel
alarmed at Democratic discoveries of the
sources of our surplus revenues, or at their
despairing auguries for the future. We
weathered the war and arrived at honorable
peace, when the Democratic policy was capi-
tulation, and we shall weather the financial
storms and come to prosperity, though the
Democratic policy be reputation