St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-12-05
Secretary Fairehild Tackles
the Financial Problem in
His Annual Report.
The Necessity Of a Readjust-
ment of the Public Reve-
nues Is Shown.
To Continue Present Taxa
ton Is a Cruelty to the
Masses.
Revise the Tariff and Make
Necessaries of Life Much
Cheaper.
Snecial to the Globe.

Special to the Globe. s'
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4. - Secretary
Fairchild's annual report, submitted to
congress to-day, presents cOnSlSely the
condition of national finances at the
close OF the last fiscal year, together
with his estimates of receipts and eX-
penditures for the current and next
fiscal years. The revenues for the pres
emit fiscal year, actual and estimated,
are placed at s377. 100000; expenditures,
S273, OOO. 600. For the next fiscal year he
estimates revenues amounting to $751;
100000, and expenditures about $780,
100000. After presenting this financial
exhibit the secretary. briefly and in
general way, gives his attention to the
questions of surplus revenue, bond pur-
chases and reduction of taxation.
He calculates that unless the
laws are changed, the present
surplus. together with what will accu-
muiate up to the close of the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1890, will ag-
gregate fully S22S.000,000, or sufficient
to redeem all the outstanding AZ per
cents, now amounting to S1SS,0O0,00O.
which mature in 1891. The principal
of the per cents outstanding Is now
$3.50, 900, and the interest which
would accrue upon them until maturity
in 1907 is abouto S500,000,0O0; and so,
present surplus revenues, if continued,
would pay before 1909 all of these per
cents. Nothing more, the secretary
saws, is needed than this statement to
show the absolute necessity of a read
justment of the public revenues at the
earliest possible date. That it will be
necessary to pay nearly the whole OF
the interest which will accrue upon the
public debt if an attempt is made to
INVEST THE PRESENT SURPLUS.
revenues in it before its maturity is evil
dent from the fact that even now the
government IS paying for the AZ per
cent bonds price which realizes only
about IL per cent annually, and re-
celves but meager offerings of them at
that price. To continue taxation with
no other use for its proceeds than such
an Investment is crnel waste OF the
peoples money, and if this oyer-taXation
is not stopped, and if the government is
forced to continue to be a purchaser OF
its own bonds at the holders price, the
loss to the people must he hundreds OF
millions. 81 cannot" the secretary adds,
''tOo strongly repeat my recommenda-
ton of last year to reduce taxation, and
as far as possible. without too sudden
disturbance of existing interests, to
make this reduction in customs tax
alton, to the end that the people may
get the greatest possible benefit from
the reduction. Beside the veXed ecOno-
mic question as to whether a country
can make itself prosperous by tariff;
whether it can increase the relative
average comfort of its whole people by
diverting portion of its labor and
capital from the employments which
could be most profitably followed under
natural conditions, thereby making GER
tain of the neceSSarieS of life more
costly than they would be otherwise.
there is higher moral question which
may well be asked, and that is, can a
government be
KEPT PURE AND FREE
which through the agency of its laws,
offers vast pecuniary temptations to
some kinds of business? "There are
many indications that this question must
he answered in the negative. There are
many proofs that large classes of our
business men have come to depend for
success on their skill in manipulating
governmental agencies rather than upon
industry, intelligence and honorable
competition. Is it not possible that
eagerneSs for the money which men as
sumes comes to them only through the
government, may lead them to use an
ever growing proportion of their
gains to possess and influence the
supposed source of their wealth?
And will not the endeavOr to
make men rich soon become the chief
function of our government? Is not
this already the case? 1t these dangers
exist, if they are not OvereStimated-
%l,,x RI
Standardization can it be doubted that
the true welfare of our people calls for
the rescue of the governmnt from them
as speedily as may be? This can only
be done by severing government from
private business. Steps should at once
be taken in that direction, always, how
ever, let me repeat, bearing i'm mind the
interests which have become established
under present laws, to the end that they
may not suffer unduly while
BENEFICENT REFORMS ARE MADE"
On the subject of silver coinage the
secretary renews his recommendation
of last year: That of fixing the maxi
mum of silver which shall belong to the
government, and by providing that
when it was exceeded by $5,OO0O00 the
purchase of silver bullion should cease
until the amount owned by the govern
ment should again be reduced to such
maximum orby canceling United States
notes to the amount of the excess over
the maximum, provided the government
held the notes; if not. then by
ceasing the purchase of bullion. Such.
plan, if adopted, would provide a
safety valve which would be self-Opera-
tive. and would assure the country
against any possible danger from silver;
for as soon as it exceeded the amount
which could be absorbed in the business
of the country, it would. begin to flow
into the treasury in payment of taxes,
and would be there held until business
called for it, and when the govern
ment's ownership fell below the maxi
mum, the purchase of the bullion would
again begin. Thus the country's bust
ness demand would regulate the coun-
try's silver circulation, and there
would be
LITTLE DANGER OF DEPRECIATION
in the value of the silver dollar, as COM
pared with the gold dollar. Coin GER
tifcates the secretary considers costly
form of money. but whatever may be
thought about the wisdom of the GER
tifcate system, there can be no doubt
that with it the further coinage of gold
and silver, except subsidiary coin, is not
necessary or wise. Far more gold and
silver coins are now in the possession
of the government than probably ever
will be needed for the redemption
of certificates. Future accumulation
of the precious metals should
be ouly in the form of bullion,
which can be kept more safely and
counted more easily than coin. If this
suggestion were adopted, the secretary
thinks, all but one OF our minis might
be closed, and large useless expense
be saved annually. The secretary calls
attention to the evils and inequalities
of our customs system, and renews his
recommendations of last year looking