Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-11-11
GOVERNMENT FINANCES.
United States Treasurer Huston's Re.
view of the Past Fiscal Year.

Uuited States Treasurer Illusions annual re-
port to the Secretary of the Treasury character
lies the past fiscal year as a remarkable one IN
the history Of the public finances, both the
revenues and the expenditures having been
exceeded but few times since the foundation of
the government Revenues amounted to
$685., 050, 05S and expenditures to S299. 2Ss g7S,
inclusive of 1892, 1862 paid in premiums on
bonds purchased. The surplus revenues were
ss7, 76l ESQ, o decrease of ga, $50, 1893 as COM
pared with the year before, counting premiums
on bonds as an ordinary expenditure. The re-
ceipts on account of the public debt amounted
to S245, Ill $50 and the expenditures to 1885,
2l4,775. The gold in the treasury in excess Of
certificates outstanding was $685. $40, liz July l.,
in 1888, and Else, 257, 49O on July /, 1889. Not
outstanding the loss of gold, both in the ag-
gregate and In the amount not covered by GER
tlhcates. amounting to nearly per cent, the
position OF the treasury was strengthened in
every respect save the amount of reserves.
The total assets OF the liabilities and the re-
serve all fell of about IA per cent. At the be-
ginning OF the year the free gold was S45, 600,
600 and at the close S5S 600 900 in excess OF the
demand liabilities
The changes that took place in the currency
during the year were an increase Of about
S34UOO,OO0 In the stock Of silver, q contraction
OF about "a, DOC, 900 in the national bank circu-
iatlon and loss of S25, $50, 900 in gold. The
total stock of gold, silver and circulating notes
was - OS3, 1874. ST. in 1888 and $1,000 $685. 7lS in
1889. These figures, Treasurer Huston says,
show that there had been an increase of the
circulating medium, but the certificates of de-
post, which are included are merely represent
atives OF moneys in the treasury and to count
them with the coin and notes to which they
give title would be duplication. If they be
set aside anu the actual moneys disposed ac-
cord1ng to ownership the foregoing figures
will be reduced to S1,69S, 904. GAG for 1888 and
l,666,O95, 42O for 1889, making apparent a con-
traction OF about S33 GOO the total currency
of the country. As the holdings of the currency
decreased in the interval in the sum OF S41,-
100000 the circulation increased about $780,
OOO,O The public lost S18, DOC, 900 in silver.
The increase of circulation of silver certificates
during the year was about S56, 000, 000 having
kept pace with the rate for the previous years.
vi this sum S33, DOC, 900 was in new issues and
the remainder was taken from the cash in the
treasury. The amount of public moneys
held by deposItary banks ran down from
s5S,712.511 to S47,259,714. The decrease of
S4l, 100000 in the national bank circulation
was the largest that has taken place within any
one year since this currency was first issued.
The report closes with some criticisms on the
lnferlorlty OF the provisions for the safety of
the public funds and the conveniences for the
transaction of business, and certain recon-
mendations for improvements in this respect
The Proposed Road to Mount Vernon.
1t would seem that Col. P. C. Hams, the
engineer in charge of the survey for the pro-
posed national road from the aqueduct bridge
to Mt Vernon, will be ready soon after the
opening of Congress to submit to that body a
large amount of: information relative to that
project, the various possible routes, the best
route and an estimate of the cost of building
the road. The field work has been completed
for some time and the Office work is now in
progress, including mapping and the prepa-
ration OF estimates. This work will be con-
tinued during November. but, according to the
report of operations for October, made to the
chief of engineers, it is now approaching COM
pletion. OF the $4,000 appropriated for the
the sum of S2,973.59 was still available at the
end of the month