New-York tribune., 1875-11-26
THE NATIONAL FINANCES.

We have from Washington statement Ol
the National receipts and expenditures Tor
the fiscal year which ended with the 3Oth oil
June This statement, we regret to say, does
not Justify the promises of economy and re-
trenchment made by Messrs. Dawes and Gar
field, in their official capacities as Chairmen
respectively of the Ways and Means and APP
propriations Committees of the House ut the
adjournment of Congress In the Summer OF
1874. These gentlemen then gave their words
that the expenditures of the Government Tor
the fiscal year 1875 would be twenty-slx mil
lion dollars less than they had been In the
fiscal year 1874. We are now able to make a
comparison of official figures as follows:
1873. 1S74.o
Net expenditure. .s27i's233?2 s2S37i 75s'sp99
Less interest debt. lO3,O935io lo"llS'oIo
Expenditures slaas'9aaS9'ggss22 saS'9a9gs2
Less cost OF the Navy. 2l'i97'02O oo,eo-'oo.
Remainder .sl5oo32,22I sl47,6s6,3ss
The difference between the expenditures, IN
tcrest on the Public Debt and everything IN
cludcd. is by these official figures shown to be
only S11,115,4OS, instead of the $26,OOO,Ooo
promised by Messrs. Dawes and GARFIELD.
Leaving ont the Debt interest, on account 0f
which a larger sum was paid in 1914 thah Is
properIy chargeable against that year, we
have n reduction in expenditures proper OF
S7OS9,139, instead of the $26,OOO,OOO prom
ised by Messrs. Dawes and Garfield. Leaving
ont the naval expenditures, which were lnordl-
nately increased in 1874, an extra appr0pTla-
tion of S4,OOO,OOO in addition to the very
large regular supplies having been obtained
by means of the Yirginlus scare, all the other
- IA ptn an
of 2,345.S 1913 over the same expenditures IN
the previous year! These are mathematical
statements of the baldest, simplest facts, and
they show that the Administration at Wash
ington, up to the beginning of the current lis
cal wear, had taken no perceptblc step in the
direction of economy. Even the reduced naval
expenditures are not below their average
amount for the fiscal years 1870, 1871, 1877,
and 1873. while they are $2,065,5 500 greater
than they were in the year ended June 30,
1871.
The Democratic members OF the incoming
House of Representatives, who take control OF
the purse-strings next December, will miss an
easy chance OF strengthening the claim OF Their
party to popular support if they do not bring
the cost of Government, exclusive OF interest
on the Public Debt, below $150000,OOO.
We're Gov. Tilden in power at Washington,
he would at least make it inte!igiblc how 1t
is that it costs moro than S17O,OOOOOO to
administer the National Government though
fifteen years ago, with as many ports and
custom-houses as large a navy. and as large
territory, not one-third the sum was required.
To men who find it difficult always to
have the money to pay for roasting
piece of beef for their table, the sums in
the accounts of the Treasury often mean no
more than the metaphor of the Indian" AS
countless as the leaves which strew the for
"est in Autumn But being stated i'll num-
bers these immense sums by comparison decide
whether the partisans of the Administration
were wrong or right when they promised
$26OOO,OO0 reduction of expenditures, or
whether now they have any rightful claim to
the merit of economy in the past.