Iron County register., 1881-09-15
Our National Finances.
BY THOMAS CALLAHAN.


the United States Government.
The head or chief is known as the
Secretary of the Treasury. He IS a
member of the Cabinet of the Presi-
dent, and is appointed by him, by and
with the advice and consent of the
Senate. The business of the Depart
Inent is to manage the mOneyed con-
Germs Of the ent-that is, to
receive and disburse the public reven-
ues-and to propose and digest plans
for the improvement and management
of the public revenue and the support
of the public credit, and to make re-
ports through the President to Congress
upon all matters referred to him. That
these duties, many of which are exceed
ingly complicated, may be properly per-
formed in due time, they are divided
among number of subordinate officers,
each one of whom again sukdivldes his
word among long array of clerks.
The First Auditor receives and ex-
amines the accounts in relation to the
revenue and civil list, certifies balances
and transfers them with the necessary
vouchers to the First Comptroller. The
Second auditor receives and settles ac-
counts in relation to the pay, subsist-
ence, forage. clothing, hospitals, armo-
ries, arsenals, ordinance, recruiting ser
vice, and contingencies of the army, and
those accounts relative to the disburse-
ments of the Indian service. The Third
Auditor examines and settles the ac-
counts relative to the Quartermaster's
Department of the Army, the Military
Academy, Notifications, land roads. The
Fourth Auditor examines the accounts
of the Navy Department and certities
Wi Il ,nt, fn nd
Comptroller. The Fifth Auditor has
charge of the revision and settlement
of accounts in relation to the State De-
partment, the General Post Office, and
the Indian Department.
The First Comptroller examines and
certifies the accounts and balances of
the First and Fifth Auditors. The
Second Comptroller examines and GER
titles the accounts of the Second, Third
and Fourth Auditors, and keeps rec
ord of acquisitions.
The Treasurer receives and keeps the
public moneys, and disburses the same
upon warrants drawn by the Secretary
and countersigned by the Comptroller.
The Register keeps all accounts Of
the receipts and expenditures of the
public monies.
The Solicitor of the Treasury is q
law officer, who has charge of the civil
suits commenced in behalf of the Unit
ed States, except in the Supreme Court
of the United States, in which the At
General has charge of them.
Below all these is long list of Custom
House officials and Collectors of the In
ternal Revenue. But the duties of ev-
cry official down to the hum blest detec-
tive or keeper of d light house are purely
Executive. The whole thing is one de-
partment of the Presidential Office.
Having thus outlined the machinery
of the Treasury Department. it will
now be. in order to explain how the
money gets into it.
The Constitution of the United States,
Section Z, says:
''An bills for raising revenue shall originate
in the House of Representa- YES, but the sem
ate may propose or concur with amendments
as on other bills "
There is no other part of the functions
of the Government that is more care
fully guarded than the Money Power.
Not only is it true that no revenue can
be assessed except in strict accordance
with Congressional legislation, but ev-
cry bill for that purpose must originate
that is to say, must be brought up
and acted upon first-in the Lower
House. which is supposed to be the rep
of the peOple-the members
being elected for only two years, the
shortest term known to the law, and SO
most directly responsible to the people,
who thus provide, as far as possible,
against being taxed against their will.
This carefulness is necessary, because
that in one way or another by one dew
ice or another, the revenue ali comes
H. Ian
the carefulness Is merely self-defense.
And yet under the Constitution the
power of taxation is very extensive and
varied. Section says that "The Con-
gress shall have power to lay and col
lect taxes, duties, imposts, and excis-
es." These are all convertible terms,
i'm so far as they represent portion of
private property taken for the public
use; but they differ according to the
classes of property on which they act.
A tax can be laid on mans head or
his household furniture, or cattle or
land. A duty is a tax on ships, accord
ing to their capacity to carry freight.
An import is a tax on goods imported
into a country. An excise is a tax on
liquors or tobacco.
The design of the law is that if neces-
sary not only persons, but all kinds of
property may be taxed. And yet we
will presently see that this power of
taxation is distinctly limited.
At present our prominent sources Of
revenue are imposts, excises, taxes on
banks. luciler matches, proprietary
and the proceeds of the pub
|lc lands-all of which come out OF the
user. For illustration: 1t an article has
been imported, the amount of the i'm
port is added to it's selling price, and is
paid by the consumer. When liquors
Or tobacco have paid the excise, it is
taxed on their selling price. and paid
by the user. Every dollar used in
banking is taxed, and the tax is paid by
those who deal with banks. Every
box of matches and every package of
quack medicine is taxed, and the tax is
paid by every one who burns match
Or closes his liver or any other organ
for repairs. The average cost to the
Government of our public lands when
patented TO the purchaser, is twenty
two and One-thir,l cents per acre; so
that when sold AT 81 % per acre the tax
Is Sl.02s per acre. By these different