Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-09
NATIONAL FINANCES.
Matthew Marshall Not at All Pleased
With the Lack of Money
In THE TREASURY AT PRESENT.
! A Novel Experience for Uncle Sam to Be
Short of Ready Cash.
: THE GREAT FALLING OFF IN CUSTOMS
-sprcrAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH. !

Our citizens have become so accustomed
TO an overflowing national Treasury that
they scarcely think AN opposite state of
r things as possible. The richest country in
Europe Great Britain-finds in surplus of
ELOOO,OOO or so of annual revenue over an
nual expenditure matter for exultant self
Il congratulation. Germany, Austria Prussia
u barely manage to make both ends meet,
awhile France, Spain, Portugal and Italy reg
Nlarly face deficits more or less considera ble
Italy, particularly, is just now in a financial
ttuatiOn in which her statesmen have to
tOnfess that heroic reductions must be made
In her military and naval establishments
from the absolute impossibility of raising
enough money to pay for them at their pres
ent footing.
Our Government on the contrary, has for
the past 20 years enjoyed the luxury of q
surplus income so large that it has been
difficult to dispose of it. We have paid all
our ordinary expenses, redeemed hundreds
of millions of our war debt in advance of its
maturity, and scattered other hundreds of
millions in river aud harbor improvements,
in the payment of pensions and arrears of
pensions, and in the liquidation of all sorts
of claims which. under other circumstances,
would not have been considered.
Too Oppressive Plethora.
So oppressive became this plethora of
national revenue that we were lately driven
TO deplete it by a revision of the tariff which
Topped off millions in duties in raw sugar.
and raised those on many manufactured
articles to a prohibitory point. The remedy
has been rather over efficient and during the
last ten months the customs have fallen to
$50 10000 against Sl95 000 900 for the cor
responding ten months OF the previous fiscal
year, so that Notwithstanding slight gain
in internal revenue, our total receipts have
been only s295. 900 against total expendi-
lures of $500 900 OO0 This deficiency of
- 800 600 to be lmnOrtant it.
self, and ii it showed the full extent of the
change in our natural financial condition it
might be viewed with equanimity. But the
fact Is that it conveys only a partial idea of
the real state of affairs.
Not only has the revenue decreased in the
ten months mentioned 81, $40, 000 but the ex-
Denditures have been kept down to meet the
decrease by a process of staving off the pay
ment Of claims against the Government
much larger deficiency must be acknowl- |
edged. The reduction of nayments to $780,
100000 against the SS42, 1000 which they |
we're year ago has been effected by dis |
regard OF pension and other appropriations, |
and even the requirements of the sinking |
fund act have not been complied with.
Fosters Manner of Figuring
The Secretary OF the Treasury, in his re- |
Prt presented to Congress last December, |
.fnated for the fiscal year ending with |
5!le end of next June, his ordinary require |
ments at S409,OO0O00, of which the prouor-
Itionare part for the ten months just passed |
Is S327, 7,O00O 900. 1nasmuch as nothing has
happened to diminish this amount legiti-
lnately, its reduction to $500, 600 900 in actual
fact could, as / said, only be effected by
putting of payments which will have to be
made sooner or later. Furthermore in the
same report, the Secretary acknowledged |
that the requirements of the sinking fund |
IOr the eXtinguishment of the principal of
the national debt would be, for the current
year. S4S 9lS G20. OF this amount about S25,-
600 coo has been met by the redemption of |
the A. per cent bonds which matured last |
ss7-as--seE, le&yinE,about S24, 600 0S9 vet to be
paid, with no means in sight Tor paylng it.
All the probabilities, therefore, that
we shall commence the next fiscal yea on
July not only without any surplus of all
nual income to carry forward, but with un- |
paid Obligations. to the sinking fund and |
Tor other purposes, of MANY millions of |
dollars. Evidently, we shall have either to
cut down our expenditures, increase our
revenue or borrow the money which the
revenue falls short of supplying. No politi-
cal party will be desirOus of resorting to
borrowing to meet current expenses, nor
can those expenses well be reduced below
their present figures. The most available
expedient will be to increase the receipts
but this measure involves difficulties of
very serious character.
An Apparent but Objectionable Way.
Apparently it would be easy, by merely
augmenting the duties on imported goods, |
TO augment the total revenue from that
source, but, in the first place, raising duties
means raising prices to the consumer, which |
tends to diminish consumption, and thus to
defeat the purpose aimed at. Besides, on
most manufactured goods the duties are
already so high to restrict importatons |
very considerably, and raising them still |
higher might prevent importations al
together.
An increase of duties upon raw materials
and the reimpOsition of those on sugar, teal
coffee, and similar articles now free, would |
IHFa HfFAF# THaN
Higher taxes on whisky and tobacco |
would, again, by stimulating ingenuity in
devisin" means for their evasion and by
making fraud more profitable, fail to have
the full effect desired.
The financial problem which will soon be ]
presented TO our statesmen for solution is,
therefore, one which will tax their abilities
t. the utmost. The depletion of the Treas
urv i, at this present juncture, also embar-
RAISING in its relation TO our national cur
lency. We resumed gold payments in 1879 |
and have ever since maintained them with |
so little effort that, in spite of all warnings |
very few people really believe there is any
likelihood of our not being able to maintain |
them forever. This sense of security has |
been confirmed by the absence Of any ill
effects from the great exports of gold which
we made a year a-O, so that the exports now |
going on have as yet excited no alarm.
Providence Helps Out Sometimes
Providence, which proverbially takes care
Of those who cannot take care of themselves
has thus far been on our side, its latest in
in our behalf having been the | l
sending OF good harvests to US and bad har-
vests to our fellowmen in Europe. But we
cannot count upon always being thus
favored. This very year, perhaps we may |
have to confront state of things in which |
our ability to maintain the gold standard
will be put to a test which l, for one, have
serious doubts OF our enduring successfully. ;
The surplus gold in the Treasury which
saved Us from a suspension of gold pay
ments year ago, has nearly disappeared.
md see nothing which will supply its loss.
Not to repeat what have so often said be-
fore, will only remind my readers that the
country is carrying a volume of 81 100 600 900 >
n silver and currency, with only, at tile
utmost, $500 100000 in gold available for its I
-edemptIon. j know that the Director OF :
ne Mint estimates our stock of gold at q
much greater amount, but he does it by as
'uming that all the gold coined since 1879,
md not otherwise accounted for, still re- =
mains in the country and is within reach. I
On the contrary, much of it has been melted
up or carried away in the pockets of travel | n
rs or boarded where it cannot be got at. At
III events, the only gold that Is safe to
'eckOn upon to maintain the rest of our
on a gold basis is that which is in =
he vaults of the Treasury and of the banks,
ince ii is only to those institutions that |
applications Tor payment in gold are ever e
made. Indeed, question whether we can
ely upon any gold except that in Treasury
nee so soon as the Treasury ceases to pa~
I'd. all the banks in the country will follow
- example.
Not Enough Gold to Work With.
Considering that the Treasury has now
MY SllSOJ9,UOO of gold of its own, and that it
S liable to be called on at any moment to re-
eem with it S3iG,0Jl00O of legal tenders and q
80 100000 of notes issued under the act of
MY. 1890 besides some s2s, 600 900 of retired