New-York tribune., 1874-10-21

daid ON them. Nearly four months OF the
Ascal year have now gone BY, and not
single bond has been bought for the Sinking
Fund. Nor is there any sign OF that great re-
treuchment of 80 million dollars (equal to
saving of four dollars for each voter which
was to be made. Now this is matter which
the voters should look into. They ought to
examine and make up their minds whether
this promised retrenchment, like the bank-nOte
redemption scheme, civil service reform,
"speedy resumption Of specie payments" and
Southern outrages, is clap-trap. Congress at its
last session appropriated less than it's prede-
cessor, but really makes no difference when the
money is appropriated, provided it is spent. The
money expended may be some unused balance
of a former appropriation, or it may be some
anticipated balance of an appropriation yet to
be made Death is not more certain than the
fact that our modern officials, whether at Al
bany or Washington, can spend money faster
than it is appropriated by law for their use.
In the first place, they usually have large bal
ances heaped up of appropriations OF the pre-
ceding year not yet exhausted; and in the
second place, there is nothing to prevent their
using up in six months what the people were
told was to last them year. In short the
question is not what money has been ap-
propriated, but what money has been er-
pended. Is there any way to get at this last
fact To have no curiosity in regard to this
is to show oneself unworthy of citizenship
The richest man in the world must look care
fully after those he intrusts with his purse, or
he will soon cease to occupy that lofty posi-
ton in society.
We have an official statement that the rev.
enue from taxes, sales of public lands, and
buying in disbOnored greenbacks at dis
count, is very nearly as large for the three
months of July, August and September as it
was for the same months of last year. The
total in both periods falls between SO and 81
million dollars, or twelve dollars for each
voter. In making out the monthly statements
of the Public Debt the Treasurer considers as
expended in each month for interest only the
interest which actually accrues on the bonds.
would be nearly 25 million dollars. Taking 25
from SO, we have So millions left for the other
expenses of the Government in these three
months. This money, the Secretary tells us.
has been sufficient, and there has been left
over three million dollars. which is credited
to the reduction of the Public Debt. The
expenditures have therefore been 55 million
dollars for the army and navy and Oflce-hOld-
ers and the general costs and charges of Gov
ernment, and 25 millions for interest on the
Public Debt. Last year the Public Debt was
reduced in the same months million dollars
the interest on the Debt was 25 millions, and
the other expenditures were so million dol
lars, being "a million dollars in all. Therefore
the expenditures have not decreased at all in
the three months, but have increased about
five million dollars, or nearly one dollar for
every married voter at Presidential election.
We must here caution the reader that the
Government keeps two or three separate
accounts of its income and expenditure, and
sometimes publishes figures from one
set of books and sometimes from another
These very frequently cannot be made to
agree with each other, but in none of the
items we have stated can such differences be
greater than three million dollars. We have
taken the reported decreases OF the Public
Debt as q basis of calculation. Subtracting
them from reported receipts, we have thus OBJ
tanned the expenditures. For the first three
months of the fiscal year 1894, the reported
decrease of the Public Debt was million
dollars, and the reported revenue "a millions;
but the reported expenditures. exclusive of
the interest on the Public Debt, which was
25 millions, are not reported at so millions
as they should be, but at 50 millions. One
or two million dollars. however, are not
of any great consequence. The real ques-
ton is, are we to have that much-needed re-
trenchment and reform which the Hon. Mr..
Dawes and the Hon. Mr.. Garfield promised us 7
Are the officers who administer the Govern
ment likely to be more economical after cleo
ton than they have been in the three months
just ended Is Congress more to be depended
on after the elections than it was before the
electiOns'