Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-12-27
FOR REVENUE ONLY.
Report of Ways and Means Committee
With the Relief Bill.
Large Addition 10 the Revenues ans Provisions
for Future Emergencies.

| DtC GO. III tnc mouse OIL
Representatives today, the full pro-
gramme of the committee on ways and
means, so far as it refers to an carly pres
| entation OF measures for revenue relief
and for the issuance Of bonds i'm aid of the
exhausting condition OF the treasury re-
serve, was carried out by the presentation
by Mr. Dineley, chairman of the commit
| tee, of both the tariff and bond bills as
| they have been agreed upon by the ma
| jority of the committee.
Mr.. Dingley reports for the committee
as follows.
THE committee on ways and means, to
which was referred so much of the Presi-
dents annual message and so much Of
the annual report of the secretary OF tho
treasury as related to revenue and the
| condition of the treasury and the Presi
dents special message presenting the ur
geDcy OF immediate action by Congress In
direction calculated to bring relief, re-
ports that the committee appreciates the
seriousness of the situation aud the i'm
portance Of prompt remedies go far as
Congress can give them.
"Your committee regards the chronic
deficiency of revenue for the past two
years and a half as a most potent cause of
the difficulties which the treasury has en-
countered, and an important factor in the
creation and promotion of that serious
distrust which has paralyzed business and
dangerously shaken confidence even in
the financial operations of the govern
ment.
ut is as impossible for a government
to have n continuous deficiency of revenue
for two years and half without affecting
its financial standing, as 1t is fer an in
dividual. 1t is impossible also for a gov
ernmcnt to continue in this condition
without casting IA shadow of doubt and
Encouragement over all business opera
tions within its borders.
"Thc serious fact which we are called
upon to confront is that in the two and a
half years that have elapsed since July /,
1898, this government has had an INSULT
cheney of revenue to meet current expen-
ditures amounting in the aggregate to
about $133, 600, 600.
And even in the first of the pr, sent
fiscal year the deficiency will reach about
$40, 600, 600, and about So, 000 600 / 3, the
present month. And up to the present
time there is no sufficient ground for
opining that this deficiency Of revenue
will not continue during the remainder Of
the fiscal year, how much longer no ore
can safely predict.
"If the consequences uf such a chronic
deficiency were only the necessity OF bor
rowing money to get current expenses in
time of peace, even this would afford
abundant reasons for increasing the rcve-
nue.. But the consequences are more wide
reaching than that Insufficiepcy of
revenue has made it necessary TO use the
redeemed United States legal notes to pay
current expenditures. and thus TO supply
additional means TO draw gold from the
greenback redemption fund, in short 10
create the endless chain of which the
secretary of the treasury complains and
which has made it necessary to sell issue
after issue of bonds to replenish the re-
serve.
This will be clearly seen when it is re-
membered that the secretary of the treas
ury has issued and sold a little over Sl62,
900, 600 of per cent. 10-years and per
cent. 30-ycars' bonds, from which be has
realized about SlS2 900, 600, and after re
deemipg SlS2, 600 600 of United States
legal tender notes with the proceeds, has
been obligned to Immediately pay out
1898, 600, 600 OF these demand notes 90
uleGO tEus ut
nished 1913, 600, 900 of governmental de
mand notes to be again aud again used to
draw gold from the treasury.
ID is evident that SO long as there is
Insufficient revenue this performance will
20 on, and bond sale after bond sale VIII
be required. IL is also evident that if
here had been q suflicicncy OF revenue
these redcfmed legal tender notes wonEd
uo6 have been paid out,at once and there
gould have been SO much tie less oppor-
tnnity TO draw gold from the treasury.
Indeed, there is good reason to believe
that if in the first six months of the dis
trust which inaugurated the run on the
redemption fund, the treasury had been re
ceiving revenue more than adequate to
meet expenditures, so as to temporarily
hnld the redeemed government notes, the
disposition to present these notes for re-
dcmption would have soon been overcome.
That would undoubtedly have been the
case If the redemption fund had bscn in
creased 10 the spring of 1898, and never
failed to fall below the 500, coo, 600
minimum.
and the necessity for more revenue
from the point Of view Of the maintenance
of the redemption fund IS not taken away
by the fact that we have $50 600, coo of
cash in the treasury, in addition to the
$780, 10000, part gold, required for the re-
demption fund and the 90 odd millions
required as working balance.
This $50, 900, 600 represents, $50, 000-
600 of redeemed United States legal ten
der notes, for whose redemption We Dor
rowed $50, 600, 600 in gold. If we CON
tinue to pay them out to meet dc
fciency Of revenue, then presently they
will come back again to draw $50, 900, 600
more from the treasury, which we must
supply by selling $4,000. 900 more CT
bonds.
"The suggestion, therefore, that we
need no more revenue because we have
cash balance of 500, 900. 600 of government
notes in the treasury that can be used to
pay any deficiency for the next six or IL
months is in effect proposition to issue
more bonds to meet a deficiency which
shoul be met at once by providing more
revenue.
"In other words, those who oppose
raising more revenue in such situation,
in effect, whether they intend to do so or