Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-03-16
TREASURY REPORTS.

MAJ GRITTY and Minority Reports OF the " avs
and Meas Committee rs to the Condi-
tion of the T-easury-Dinerence of Views.
WASHINGTON. March 2-The majority and
minority reports of The committee on ways and
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 oy
Representative Springer. is a copy OF the state
meats sent to 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 OF the 3Oth day Of June next there
will be an estimated cash balance of 81. 1928
over and above the legal gold reserve 1t viii
appear from examination of Mr. Eos 8
verbal statement to the committee in explain
alton Of this estimated balance that 1t Is prob
ably too large The available balance will be
reduced by the payment of the Choctaw claims
SS.0000o0. It will also be redueed by any uneS-
tmated and extraordinary expenditures which
may be incurred and also by any failure of the
estimated receipts from customs and internal
revenue or other sources during the time 1ndi-
Gated The majority are of the opinion that at
the close of 1.-THE present fiscal year there viii be
available cash balance in the treasury, aside
from the gold reserve, OF not more than ST.
600 O0Q
AS to 1891, Mr.. Springer says that according
to the treasurer's statement the secretary estf-
mated available cash balance CT s47, So, 402,
not taking the 400 10000 gold reserve into con-
sidefatiOn. but a note at the bottom OF the
treasurer's statement shows that 'his balance
is chargeable with contract habin ties, already
appropriated for, amounting TO s40.OO0OlO. II
is impossible that all of this amount will be
called for during the fiscal year, but this is the
amount estimated by the department. and the
available cash balance would be reduced to
1850, COO
It also appears from this statement that of
the contract liabilities existing on December
81 1892, the item of s161l5,50 will be called for
in 1898 for rivers and harbors- or this amount
l4166, i5S has been appropriated for in the sun
dry civil bill for 1894 The charge upon the
treasury for that year must also be augmented
by whatever deficiency appropriations may be
required, which, including pension deficiencies,
have averaged during the last i've sessions,
So 100000 each year. To this deficiency must
be added the amount of miscellaneous appro-
priationS, which for the last five years have
averaged s., 900. 90 each session From these
estimates, however. ii is probable there may be
some saving on estimated expenditures in the
actual appropriations
s'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 a
deficiency amounting to from $50 900 900 to 3d.
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 &c
meet such requirements during the current ifs
cal year. The balance due the sinking fund in
1892 was S11.3O7. S25. The requirements for 1895
are estimated at SIS. 693,0o and at the end OF
the next fiscal year there Will be due the fund a
little more than 100000 000.''
The majority also DO not concede that the
secretary of the treasury is correct in charging
against the fund SIC 900 600 paid for the redemp
ton of national bank notes of banks which have
gone into liquidation II thinks that such pay
ments should be made out of current receipts in
the treasury. This would make estimated
amount due the sinking fund on June 81, 1894, OF
S116U00,0c0.
In conclusion, the majority cites Secretary
Fosters statement that, in his opinion, there
would be a deficit at the end OF the fiscal year
1894 and that the receipts of the government
should be increased by $50 00), 900 to meet treas
ury conditions, as set forth in his report, or &c
increase the gold reserve fund by as. 0O0,OOl
VIEWS OF THE MINORITY
The minority report, which was drafted By
Representative Payne, of New York. and Is
signed by all the republican members of the
committee, says the conclusion from the evi
dence presented with the report seem wholly
unwarranted and misleading
In fact" the report states, ''there seems Il
to be an utter lack of evidence to justify any OF
the criticisms of the majority upon The state
ment of the secretary, which showed a surplu:
in the treasury June 3d. 1924 The statements o
the secretary, supplemented by the evidence o
the treasury experts. evidently of the mos
conservative character. The estimated re
ceipts are placed at minimum, while tbs
estimated expenditures are placed at maxi
num-
Speaking of the deduction OF the ChoctaV
claim, the minority say that the majority art
very swift to charge this 50, 600 600 against TIT
| estimated balance of 1898, but nowhere deduc
it from the estimated payments for 1894. il
which year the secretary estimated it would bt
paid. Upon the deduction of this item the ma
jority say the balance of s21 900. 600 will prob
! ably be only $1,000 OOo thus deducting $1,000,
600 from the secretarys estimate, which is IN
warranted
The majority are correct in charging the con
tract liabilities for 1894 of $4,000 OOa against tn,
apparent balance of S47 600 900, which is State(
in foot note by the secretary. It Quitl
! evident, however, that the secretary does no
believe this $40 900, coo viii all be paid durint
1894, and he had no doubt but that the condition
| OF the treasury Will be relieved to a consider
| able extent by the reduction in payments OF
! these contract accounts The majority would
also charge in addition sl6 lis, 80 for rivers and
| harbors but this has already been charged
| once, and the sundry civil bill, moreover, car
ries only sli, 165. 153 for rivers and harbors
The minority next attack the mode Of aYerag
| ing deficiencies adopted by the majority a:
grossly misleading, for the reason that there ii
such great variation that there can be M
| average The large pension deficiencies which
| make up part of this average arise from tn,
| changes of law and from the impossible est
mate of the effect of such changes A more re
| liable way to pensions, it says, to take tht
| statement of the commissioner OF pensions
| which does not justify higher pension def
| cheney than s., 900, 0O0, which, with the average
| deficiency In other matters, SS7O,OOO, woulC
| make total deficiency of sl5, 700,0p
| The average of miscellaneous appropriation
| arrived at by the majority is also attacked
| The minority say the fact should not have es
| capped the maj ority that during IL past two o
three years new policy had been inaugurated
| and bills for public buildings, lighthouses. etc.
no longer receive direct appropriations, and ar
now largely carried in the sundry civil bill, s.
that the total of the last miscellaneous appro
| priatiOns amounted to about S3O00,O0J. NOR
| than half of which was for the worlds fair.
| On the basis of the statement Of the secre
| tary Of the treasury it would seem that tn
amount of either surplus deficiency in tn
| treasury June 30. 1894. would be very small
! The revenue from customs the basis O
| the percentage of increase each year ought Il
| be larger than estimated by s11 600 OOa Ger
| tainly there is no justification whatever for tn
maiority's deficiency estimate at the close o
| 1894 of 1900, 900 to $40. .OO0.
| In conclusion the minority
| I'VE cannot escape the conclusion that tn
| majority of the committee have, whether in
! territorial or not, put the worst possible phas
| upon the condition of the treasury, oFeriookin
the important point in the statement of the sec
rotary of the treasury and the experts exam
ined in arriving at their unwarrantable conelI