Omaha daily bee., 1895-05-03
VERY LITTLE EIvpROVE1TENT


But two months remain of the gov
ernment fiscal year and it is possible
to make pretty close estimate of what
the treasury situation will be at the
close of the year, June 80. According to
the public debt statement for April the
deficit for that month was SS,742, $40
and for the ten months of the fiscal wear
it was $45,299,36 a monthly average of
little over $450O,000. 1t is not prob
able that this average will be reduced
for the remaining two months of the
year, so that it may be regarded as
reasonably certain that the addition to
the deficit for May and June will not
be less than S9,000000, and it is more
than likely to exceed this amount 1t
is entirely safe, therefore, to estimate
the deficit for the fiscal year at about
S0o,OOO,OOO. This is very much larger
deficit than was estimated by Secretary
Carlisle in his last annual report and
in his various communicate to con
gress, but there long ago ceased to be
any surprise at the wide discrepancy
between the secretary's estimates of
also shows what very poor calculators
those democrats We're who assured the
country that under the new tariff policy
there would be abundant revenue to
meet expenditures and something over.
The treasury statement for April
shows little improvement in receipts as
compared with the corresponding
nf thp IL,
preston was at its height. There was a
moderate gain in the revenue from Gus
toms. but a loss in receipts from inter
nal revenue. so that the treasury re-
ceived only $1,555, 900 more last month
than it did in April of 1894. The re-
ceiDts from customs. however, do not
indicate that there was reduction of
imports in the former month as COM
pared with the latter. On the contrary,
the importations of foreign merchan-
disc during April of this year were con-
siderably heavier than for the CORE
spending month of last year. We have
imported since January 1, 1895, at least
30 per cent more foreign goods than
came into the country during the first
four months of 1894, but have received
less revenue from this source this year
than last. This is not wholly due to
lower duties, but partly to undervalu-
ations, made possible by the ad valorem
system under which the treasury is
undoubtedly constantly defrauded of
revenue. A leading trade paper in re-
ferring to the practice of undervalu-
atiOns says that this enormous evil has
only just begun to be felt, because until
business revived the importations were
small. They have recently been rapidly
increasing, and not only is the Treas
ury department distressed over the I'M
expected smallness of revenue and the
undoubted frauds in the invoices, but it
is now an every day experience in all
the commercial cities that foreign fab
rics are offered at prices that could not
be met here, even with all profits sacri-
feed and wages cut % per cent below
the present average" Thus under the
ad yalorem system not only is the gov
ernment cheated of revenue, but most
unjustitiable advantage is given foreign
over American manufacturers
The treasury still has a safe cash bal
ance and good feature of the situa-
tion is the fact that the gold reserve is
being well maintained, showing n resto-
ration of confidence in the treasury.
The presentation of government paper
money for redemption in gold has been
comparatively small for several months
and the promise is that this will CON
tinue to be the case for some time, the