The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-03-19
Debt Reduction.

The St. Louis Globe believes the reduction
of the public debt will go on as rapidly the
coming fiscal year as it has gone on for this
year. II bases this belief on the assump-
ton that the decrease of revenue caused by
the new tariff viii be met by the decrease in
appropriations made By Congress. The as
sumption appears to be well founded. Sec
Rotary Folger estimated in December that
the surplus revenue of the current year, ov-
er and above the amount due The sinking
fund, would not be less than ST., 100000
To get this sum the receipts were reckoned
at $15,0O0,0o0, ordinary expenditures at
S295,000,OO0, and the sinking fund allow
ance at S44 1925, 1856. The new revenue bill
and the progress of expenditure make some
corrections in these figures possible.
The repeal of the bank taxes took effect
on the Sd inst, or possibly dates in part
from December l and in part from January
/. The total amount collected on the CAPT.
tai and deposits of all classes of banks last
year was $11, 20S,S75 Assuming, as it will
probably be decided, that the repeal took eff
feet March 3, the revenue of the year will be
LcuuCSU Ou ILLS dCCOuub uOb 1858 budH pO,
100000. Moreover, the repeal of the duties
on charges and commissions took effect at
once. The amount by which this will di-
minish the revenue has been yariously esti-
mated at to per cent. AT the lower rate,
on the basis of present importations, the re-
ceipts will be cut down about $2,3o0,000 be-
fore June 80. Then, again, the special tax
es on tobacco dealers will be diminished one
half May 1, and the loss, amounting to some
100000, will come out of this years in
come. Finally, the new duties on sugar will
go into operation June 1, and reduce the
revenue, not allowing for increased importa-
lions, probably to the extent of 81, 100000
per annum. or some 100000 for the month
of June. Here is, all told a loss of $S,000,-
600. The Financial Chronicle thinks that
the revenue may be lessened ''possibly to
the extent of about $9,000,000."
In the matter of expenditures, it is
knewn-or, at least, it is said by Commiss-
Toner Dudley-that the payments for pensions
this year will fall short of the estimated
s1Oe,0 900 by about $15,0OOO00. Theirs
are no date for determining what balance,
If any, will be left unexpended in other
items, or that there will not be some detic-
iencies. But the margin is so broad that it
will hardly be necessary to take into account
the reduction of IS, 900, 900 in taxes in figur-
ing out the amount available for debt pay
ment.
When we come to the next year we find
further that the reduction in appropriations
Is full offset for that of revenue, SO that
the surplus available monthly for cancelling
public indebtedness will be no less than at
present The tariff and tobacco tax reduc-
tions go into effect July 1, at the beginning
Of the year. The very highest estimate of
the amount by which the Treasury receipts
will be diminished is $65, 900, 900 to SIC, O00,-
900. But the appropriations for the coming
year are 500, e0o, 900 less than were made for
the current year, on the basis of which, as
existing laws" Secretary Folger named
$415, 100000 for probable receipts and $780,
100000 for expenditures in 1SS3-S4. A re.
duction of receipts to $350,0Oo,000 and of
expenditures to 1926, 1000, 900 leaves the sur
plus where it is now-at SIS, 0O0O 600, This
surplus, it must be borne in mind. is in adj
dition to an allowance of $45, ZOO, 900 for the
sinking fund. There is thus apparently
room for bond calls amounting to $1,000
600 for the year, or 10000 900 month. 1t
is obvious, therefore, that the payment of 3
per cents during the next fifteen months
will be much more rapid than financiers
have anticipated. This fact will inevitably
have far-reac hing effects on the banking
system, on permanent investments general
ly, and on the value of every issue of bonds.
Moreover, there is no probability that the
reduction of taxes win diminish receipts, as
compared with the present year, to any
thing like the amount of S65,000,000 I'm
portations and consumption naturally in
crease with the growth of the country year
by year, and the lowering of duties will
stimulate imports still further. The Treas
ury practically stands just where it has
stood for three years, simply because Con-
gress has this winter kept down the appro-
priations.