The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-02-16
All About ga Deficit"

Our Market street neighbor received q
visible shock yesterday in all his parts.
He had startling rumor" from Charles
ton, and as he don't have such things every
day he made much of It in headlines and
headlines, cditorially and correspondent
TALLY. This "painful rumor," in the Ian
guage Of the correspondent, who is no less
q person than the chief editor Of the
Register, the chairman Of tho Democratic
State Committee, Senator from the 1st dis.
trict and President Of the Senate, was
that "a deficit Of nearly ninety.thrcc
thousand dollars" In the State treasury
had been revealed" in the language Of
the editor, that 1t had been discovered"
Thc reporter promises particulars soon
and says "the discovery creates much
CONSERVATION in certain quarters and
squally times are anticipated"
The editor does not know "what is the
nature oI the deficit" but with n solemn.
ty intended to very terrifying asks that
judgment may be suspended till he finds
out Asuspension OF judgment is what ap.
pears to be the matter with both editor
and correspondent. Either that, or they
are engaged in little piece OF theatricals
The matter Is treated in a sort OF myste.
riOus way rs iritwere suspected that some
awful rAscalties were about 10 be re.
vealcd. We trust the reporter md his
editor both understand the difference be.
tween q deficit and delalcation. WEB.
srER defines u deficit thus:
DEFICIT. n. Deficiency In amount or quality;
lack; as, 4 d!Geit In taxes, revenue, &c. Z. =.
Now, deficit is an unpleasant though
not unusual thing, as most everybody
knows from personal experience. 1t is
not so extraordinary or so terrifying that
the mere "rumor' of one should frighton
a great statesman and distinguished edl-
tor into the printing Of the word "start.
ling" unless there is uncommon reason
for their "constcrnation," such as appre.
hension oil short rations. A deficit in the
ratlons recently decided the fate of great
city and nation. Who knows what disas.
trous results might follow If lean trea'
sury should make a deficit of rations for
the long iamiShiug army Of patriots head
ed by our contemporary? Perhaps, after
all, he Is partially justified in being "star'
tied" and in apprehending "consterna'
tion" and "squally times" (By the way,
they're having squallY times out at the
county seat OF Webster-only seven lam.
lilies in the town and five new babies
But this is digression) " '.ln
II our neighbor or his reporter had
taken the trouble 10 look into the Audi
tors report, printed some weeks ago, or
had done us the honor to read our sum
mary Of that document, this startling in.
telligence about deficit would have been
broken more gently. There was "a de-
fcit in the State Treasury" at the begin
ming OF the fiscal year, that Is on the 1st
of October, 1860, as shown by the Audi.
tors report, OF $S2, ,4s3.1s. This resulted
from two causes. One was that the ex.
penditures had exceeded the revenues,
The other, that the revenues had not been
equal to the expenditures. At the close
Of that year, 1t Is shown that the deficit
had increased to $GO,52s,34, the increase
resulting from like causes, .rt.
Now, IL 1t be true as stated, that there
Is a deficit of $03,OOO, It would mean, We
suppose, that the expenditures OF the
treasury since The first of October have
been some thlrty.three thousand dollars
greater than the receipts, This should
not DO SO. It Is true, among tho expCndi'
lures since that time Is the $2S3OOO oI
school fund, out Of which the amount Of
the deficiency in tho general treasury
had been borrowed but we arc aware
of no other extraordinary expenditures
during that time; while on tho other
hand, wo believe, the hulk Of tho
taxes are due in December. We
cannot suppose there has been any In
crease OF tho deficit since tho commence.
mcnt Of the present fiscal year; but We
shall suppose, I'LL there Is some further
and better information 10 the contrary,
that tho Registers correspondent has
made some mistake In his figuring and
gone of haltCoCked, The manner In