The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-09-30

he left a great surplus in the treasury,
| which has been squandered by the
Democratic administration 1t would
| seem from the applause which this
reckless statement is said to receive,
that Republican audiences are made
expressly glad, by being informed that
the higher than war taxes wrung from
them by the notorious Mckinley bill, to
| their manifest distress and oppres-
sion, have not been put to good uses,
! but have been wasted by the Democ-
racy One would think that they like
that kind of thing.
Occasionally, some of their speakers
not having the fear of the Lord before
| their eyes, but who seem to be insti-
! gated by the prince of darkness, in
! their oratorical meanderings into the
realms of untruth, are called to ac-
count by some skeptical nearer and met
aphorcally laid across the red barrel Of
truth, while they are spanked into con-
! fusion. l remember an instance of the
kind. 1t occurred recently. The Re
publican campaign prima donna, who
has been paving the way for the i'm
ported Californian candidate for the
United States Senate, was the hero
He was down in the south country
where they raise Dixie wine and canal
gre root. He had been the John the
Baptist of this fight and had cried out
long and Justify the gospel of our
American Tories. He is the gentleman
who recently announced to the officers
of our territorial fair that he could not
! loan them his buffalo, as he was fatten-
ing it upon his campaign arguments
in order to feed the disgruntled and de-
feated Republican hosts after the cleo
ton. 1t has since been learned that
the buffalo has the tuberculosis.
Well, 1 remember that it was stated
underneath great head lines, in the
leading Republican paper in Utah, that
this. iron-tongued distorter of history
was asked by some searcher after light
what Harrison did with the surplus
which Cleveland left in the national
treasury. The report in the paper
stated, in substance that the speaker
in three jerks of lambs tail, COM
pletely hoored his interrogation by an
swering that Harrison had been obliged
to pay it out in order to cancel the debts
which Cleveland left. And thereat there
was great applause" And thereat
all the Republican speakers, from the
Oldest in the faith TO the rawest recruit
who had, Hessian-like, left the Demo-
cratic party for the Democratic party's
good, responded, Selah! and proceeded
to reiterate the allega ton. For,
had not the prince of all their orators
spoken, and were not his words good?
All! great indeed is Allah.
WHERE THE SURPLUS WENT.
But, let us examine the facts. Let
us get down to the grass roots and
leave the blue empyrean, where this
kingly bird of speech delights to cavort
in his dizzy flights. Secretary Fair
child, of Clevelands first cabinet, esti-
mated the surplus revenue for 1889 at
VI
dom, of Harrison's cabinet, admitted
that the surplus revenue of that year
as sos, 1000, 600 There was turned over
to the Republican administration an
available cash balance of 1885,, 900, 900.
Was this surplus disposed of in paying
Democratic debts? No, Mr.. Wilson, of
West Virginia, states that it was mostly
gotten rid Of by the purchase of bonds
not yet due, at premiums ranging from
5 to per cent on the bonds of 1891, and
from q to 20 per cent. on
the bonds falling due in 1907.
This was to the detriment of the
people and to the advantage of the
money lOaners. Secretary Window, in
his report of $780, said that the total
amount of and Az per cent bonds re-
deemed from the commencement of
Harrison's reign on March 4, 1889. to
the date of the report in 1890, was SILL
S246, $40, 741, a loss to the people of $34,-
7SS, 291. But, this was not all OF the
direct taxes of 1891, S14,00000O were re-
funded to the states. This was a
scheme which Cleveland had vetoed
BounueS were given to- steamships;
bounties were given to sugar growers;
taxes were reduced on tobacco, and all
license for its sale was abolished. Raw
sugar, one of the articles producing the
q
carrying into the treasury the largest
proportion of what the people actually
paid in taxes upon it, was made free
While more taxes We're placed on cloth
ing, knives, forks and plates and many
other common articles. The receipts
from the sugar tax were $55 900, 900 an
nually. There were RENTED from the
tobacco tax $17.OOO,OOO annually. From
these two articles the revenues were
Mckinley bill went into effect
up to June 80, 1894, about $780,
100000. There had also been
sl7, 100000 per annum paid in sugar
bounties, and the pension appropriation
has been increased $50, 100000 annually.
So that the treasury receipts had been
reduced some $2O,000,000 per annum~and
the expenses of the government had. at
the same time. been increased 5000, 000,-
300.
THE FINANCES JUGGLED WITH.
The finances were juggled with to
prevent an impending crisis There was
passed to the treasury $54, 000.0 900 of
trust funds that had been deposited fn
the treasury by the national banks for
the redemption of their notes. There
was passed to that balance S2O,0OO,0O of
tokens and subsidiary coins, not before
treated as treasury assets. In order to
cover the real facts and to lull the
with fancied security, twice,
turing Harrison's administration was
the form of the treasury statement
It was done first by Mr. Win
dom, and later by Secretary Foster. 1t
wis zone TO conceal the truth regard
ng the condition of the treasury Mat
-ers got into such shape and the nation
approached so near to bankruptcy that
Secretary Foster, of the Harrison adj
ninistra ton, declared that an addition
Al income was required by the govern
nent of $50,00o000 per year in order to
meet expenses.
These facts, which I state upon the
of the chairman of the Ways
and Means committee Of the last Con-
gress, cannot be gainsa1d. They show
he athletic inaccuracy of the gentle |
nan from Weber county. They prove
hat the ship of state had run into
shoal water and upon the rocks before |
he Democrats took the helm. They |
ire gradually floating it into deeper
waters and the breakers are far less |
numerous today than they We're on the |
ourth of March. 1898. Secretary Hoke !
smith, in a recent speech, called atten- /
ion to the fact, that with the exception |
" the first year the administration of |
Harrison was one of falling revenues, |
expenditures, and heavy ex- |
of gold. But these facts do |
lot discourage our Republican friends |
They continue their misrepresentation !
md vary the monotony of their intel !