New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-07-03
THE NEW DEBT STATEMENT.


The statement of public debt in the new form
has been issued for July 1, and great efforts to
discredt it and to cause misunderstanding OF 1t
are made already and will continue. Yet the
statement is altogether simpler and more easy
10 understand than the two more complicated
statements of which it is a condensation For
mery the debt statement proper and the state
ment of assets and liabilities of the Treasury
were separately issued each month, and there
was necessary for proper understanding of either
a laboriOuS comparison Of both The new state
ment presents the essential items in one sheet,
making comparisons which have hitherto been
left I'm some cases TO the student. The changes
of Importance are calculated to give a more
correct idea of the actual situation. The gold
reserve of 100000, 900 is separately stated,
as well as the remaining or net cash balance
and there is a precise statement OF the kind
and location of each form of cash held by the
Treasury, so that at a glance ii can be deter
mined what part of the entire amount is in
the Treasury itself, what part in National bank
repositories, and what part in the form of sub
sidiary coin, trade-dollar bullion, or minor coin.
Thus there is no room for deception about the
amount of money on hand.
The principal change in the statement Of
public debt is the omission of the item of in
terest accrued but not yet due. There never
has been any good reason for including this
item as part of the demand obligations against
the Treasury, and yet its omission is now made
pretext for the claim that the Treasury is
seeking TO misrepresent its position The
amount of this and similar items omitted was
Co 4lot
no important difference in the result is made
by correction which must after all be regard
ed as an improvement The amount of cash
balance in the Treasury in excess of all demand
labiiie, Is now S153, sos SO, against
SIS. S96.717 81 a month ago showing a de-
crease of nearly So. 900 600 during the month,
due to the large payments for pensions near
the close of the fiscal year The decrease in
the net public debt during the fiscal year APP
ppars from the statement to have been S22,-
900 600. but the decrease in the amount OF
public debt has been much greater, the cash
on hand having been considerably reduced by
large disbursements.
The statements of July 1 meet much inten-
tionai misrepresentation regarding the state Of
the revenue and the expenditures for the last
HSCd year. DulHb tlt IHOHtil VI oulIO bHN
receipts were about S5,S00,000 less than in
the same month last year, but only 1900 00
less than in the same month of the year pre-
ceding. when the revenue was not unnaturally
sweIled by imports designed to anticipate the
new tariff The customs receipts during the
entire fiscal year were only S10,000,000 les;
than during the year preceding, while there
was an increase OF nearly $4,000 900 in the
internal revenue and an increase of abOu
SC, 600 900 in receipts from miscellaneou
sources The expenditures during the yea
were sass, 696,s 24. or S70,OO0,0 900 more thai
during the year preceding, and it is importan
to take note Of the causes Of this increase
There is first an increase of $1,000, 900 il
pensions payments, which amounted for th'
wear to S124,4I5,1lO, and as there has beer
great exaggeration in the statement of pension
, charges the figures are important to be noticed
The new navy has added - 100000 to tn
expenditures and larger appropriations for In
! dians S2.O0O.OOO. But more importan
+ change results from the transfer of the Ma
D. tional bank note redemption to the Treasur
! proper, so that payments on that score com
under the head Of disbursements from the gen
5 eral fund Of the Treasury, and these hay
g amounted during the year to about S23, 900,
600. The premium on bonds purchased ais
adds a large sum to tho expenditures.
( The two great facts which these statement