Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1893-03-11
TREASURY REPORTS.
Mejority and Minority Reports
With Different Conclusions.
A HEAVY DEFICIENCY. ALLEGED.
So the Majority Report Says The Minor
ity Report Says tho Next Fiscal Year
Will Come Out About
Even.

WASHINGTON March Q.--Thc majority and
minority reports OF the committee on ways ana
means on the investigation into the condition
OF the treasury made by the committee were
to-day completed and sent TO the public printer.
Appended To the majority report, prepared by
Representative Springer is copy OF the state
ments sent 10 the committee by the treasury
department and OF the testimony taken on the
subject.
Mr.. Springer In his report says assuming
that the statement made BY Secretary Foster
is correct on the 3Dth day OF June next there
will he an estimated cash balance OF s2o992.3I
over and above the legal gold reserve IL VIII
appear from an examination OF MIR. Fosters
verbal statement TO the committee IN explain
alton OF this estimated balance that II Is prob
ably too large. The available balance viii he
reduced by the payment OF the ChoctGw claims
S3.O000JJ II will also be reduced by any unes'
timuted ana extraordinary expenditures which
may be incurred. and also by any failure oil the
estimated receipts from s'oms ana internal
revenue or other sources during the time lnul-
Gated. The majority are OF the opinion that NJ
the close OF the present fiscal year there will DO
IN available cash balance in the treasury. aside
from the gold reserve, OF not more than sl1,.
000OJl
As 10 1891. Mr. Springer saws that according
10 the trcasurer's statement the secretary csii'
mated an available cash balance OF HI,s57,i",
not taking the ;i0O 90 gold reserve into con-
sideration. but note ut tho bottom OF the
treasurer's statement shows that this balance
IS chargcable with contract liabilities, already
appropriated for, amounting 10 .loOW,OD IL
Is impossible that all of this amount will be
called for during the fiscal year. bu! this Is The
amount estimated by the department. and the
available cash balance would be reduced TO
s7.sj0O00
1t also appears from this statement that OF
the contract liabilities existing on December
81, 1892, the item OF 'l6 1850 will be called for
in 1901 for rivers and harbors or this amount
siii66. l53 has been appropriated for In the sun
dry civil bill for 1901 The charge upon the
treasury for that year must also be augmented
by whatever deficiency appropriations mly be
required, which, including pension deficiencies,
have averaged during the last five sessions,
SIS 900 600 each year. To this deficiency must
be added the amount Of miscellaneous appro-
priations, which for the last five years have
averaged s., 0J000) each session. From these
estimates, however, II is probable there may be
some saving on estimated expenditures In the
actual appropriations
Under the most careful estimates that can
now be made It Is apparent" says the report
'that In the ensuing fiscal year there Will be u
deficiency amounting 10 from sSOOOlUOO TO ei.'
100000. In these calculations no account has
been taken OF the requirements OF the sinking
fund These requirements were not met during
the last fiscal year: no effort has been made to
meet such requirements during the current fis.
cal wear The balance due the sinking fund In
1892 was sli.3O7. SIS. The requirements for 1898
are estimated ut Sis, 69j,0U, and ut the end OF
the next fiscal year there will be due the fund
little more than 1N0,OWOol."
The majority also do not concede that the
secretary OF the treasury is correct In charging
against the fund si6 700. 100 paid for the redemp
ton OF national bank notes Of banks which have
gone into liquidation. 1t thinks that such pay
ments should be made out OF current receipts in
the treasury. This would make an estimated
amount due the sinking fund on June 81, 1891, OF
sll6,tO0,00
In conclusion, the majority cites Secretary
Fosters statement that. in his opinion, there
would be deficit ut the end OF the fiscal year
1894. and that the receipts OF the government
should be increased by 5000 mo to meet treas
ury conditions US set forth In his report, or TO
increase the gold reserve fund by s2iOOo,0ol
VIEWS OF THE MINORITY
The minority report which was drafted by
Representative Payne OF New York. and IL
signed by all the republican members OF the
committee says the conclusion from the evi'
aence presented with the report seem wholly
unwarranted and misleading.
In fact" the report states. there seems &c
10 be IN utter lack OF evidence TO justify any oil
the criticisms Of the majority upon the state
ment OF the secretary, which showed surplus
I'm the treasury June 30, 1894 The statements Of
the secretary supplemented By the evidence OF
the treasury experts. IRE evidently OF the most
conservative character. The estimated re-
ceipis are placed ut u minimum while the
estimated expenditures are placed ut u maxi
mum"
Speaking OF the deduction OF the Choctaw
claim. the minority saw that the majority are
very swift to charge this s3,00J,OOO against the
estimated balance OF 1898, but nowhere deduct
IL from tho estimated payments for 1891 In
which year the secretary estimated II would be
paid. Upon the deduction OF this item the ma
iority say the balance OF III ,0OO0aJ will prob
ably be only tl7,0jl0J, thus deducting SL0)0,'
100 from the secretary's estimate, which is ur.
warranted.
The majority are correct in charging the con-
tract liabilities for 1894 OF s4000l U0O against the
apparent balance OF i47.0O0,000 which is stated
in u foot note by the secretary. 1t was quite
evident. however, that the secretary does not
believe this coo will all be paid during
1891. and he had no doubt but that the condition
Of the treasury will be relieved TO consider
able extent by the reduction in payments on
these contract accounts. The majority would
also charge in addition $40, $50 for rivers and
harbors but this has already been charge
cnce, and the sundry civil bill. moreover. CO
ries only Ell, 1875, 1888 for rivers and harbors
The minority next attack the mode OF averag
ing deficiencies adopted by the majority as
grossly misleading. for the reason that there In
such q great variation that there can be no
average The large pension deficiencies which
make up part OF this average arise from the
changes OF law and from the impossible est.
mate OF the effect OF such changes A more re-
liable way rs to pensions, It says is to take the
statement OF the commissioner OF PENSIONS
which does not justify higher pension det'
cheney than q. 100000. which. with the average
deficiency in other matters, ta 70O,OOo, would
make total deficiency Of slS,700.0OJ.
The average OF miscellaneous appropriations
arrived at by the majority Is also attacked
The minority say the fact should not have es-
capped the majority that during the past two or
three years a new policy had been inaugurated
and bills for public buildings lighthouses, etc,
no longer receive direct appropriations, and are