The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-06-23
SECRETARY rosTEBs DILEMMA.

The statement of the United States Treas
urer issued last Friday shows that the surplus
of over 81. 900. 900 left in the Treasury vaults
bv Mr.. Cleveland's administration has ell dis
appeared, and that in place of it there IS de-
felt of s797. JOS. To prevent this from being
known in its simple truth the Secretary and
his assistants are kept constantly busy exert
ing all the ingenuity of which they are capa-
bic. Still with all the sophistry, both in argu-
ment and in figures which they can use, and
though counting everything as available cash
which can possibly be counted, they can only
make out net cash balance Of Sl,235,OOO.
This is the lowest figure ever reached, aud
still there are unpaid several large appropria-
tons made by the last Congress.
Under these circumstances Secretary Eos
ter's life can scarcely be called happy one.
The billoh-dollar Congress made the annual
expenses of the Government 50 much greater
than the annual revenue that the large in
crease in duties on imports will not yield
enough to make up the deficit, and 1t is stated
that even the arrangements which have been
made for the extension of the A. per cent.
Now what is Secretary Foster to do' Greater
fnanciers than he would find themselves IN
an extremity under such conditions. The.
billion-dollar Congress seems either to have
imagined that tue surplus was ineI-
haustible. or to have contented It
self. with Characteristic reckessness with
voting away large sums Of money without
making any provision for their being raised.
Then the Secretary Of the Treasury Is left
with the hopeless task on hi, hands of devils
ing ways and means wherewith to make cne
dollar pay the obligations Of two, while
at the same time scheming TO deceive the
public by ingeniously concealing the true con-
dition of the Treasury.
The New York Tribune knew what it was
talking about when it said, when the late rob-
Der Congress adjourned. that the next Demo
cratic House would find itself confronted with
the dilemma of either materially reducing ex-
penses or largely increasing taxation, since if
with the aid of the late surplus there would
not be money enough to meet the demands Of
Republican extravaganza. there would ne
cessarily have 10 be a considerable addition to
the popular burdens in order to meet those
demands after the surplus had been dissipa-
ted. 1t did not know what it was talking about.
however. when it SAID that the Democracy
would not be able TO extricate itself from this
dilemma since if it repealed the reckless APP
preparations of the billion-dolar Congress it
would offend the benefciaries of those appro-
priatons. while if it increased taxation it
would incur the displeasure of the taxpayers.
The Democracy need fear nothing when the
motive power of its action is the welfare of
the people, and it viii have no difficulty in
deciding upon which horn of the dilemma to
seize.
But in the meantime, before the next Demo
cratic House can come TO the relief of both
the country and Mr.. Foster, what will the
Secretary do? The laws passed by the Fifty
first Congress and approved by the President
must be obeyed, and the appropriations made
therein must be paid. lie will find it exceed
ingly difficult to devise any satisfactory plan
for carrying out the hard duty imposed on
him by his party and the public will be
greatly interested in knowing what financial
policy he Will DO willing to undertake.