The record-union., 1895-12-27
Tariff Measures Prepared by the House
Ways and Means Committee.
A Material Increase in the Duties on
Imports Made.
A Rond Issue Also Provided for to
Meet the Present Strain on the
Treasury-Text of Law Which
Republican Members Send to Con-
gress as a Holiday Present.

WASHINGTON Cd. CO, Dec. 26.-In
the House of Representatives to-day
the full programme of the Committee on
Ways and Means so far as it referred to
an early presentation of measures Tor
revenue relief and for the issuance OF
bonds in aid of the exhausting condition
of the treasury reserve, was carried out
by Dingley, Chairman of the committee,
presenting both tariff and bond bills as
they have been agreed upon by the ma
1ority of the committee. The bills were
accompanied by the following reports:
The Committee on Ways and Means,
to whom was referred so much or the
Presidents annual message, and so
much Of the annual report of the Secre-
tary of the Treasury as relates to reVe-
nue. and the condition of the treasury,
and also the Presidents special mes
sage, presenting the urgency OF lmme-
diate action of Congress in direction
calculated to bring relief, report that
the committee appreciates the serious
ness of the situation and the import
ance of prompt remedies so far as Con-
gress can give them.
Your committee regards the chronic
deficiency of revenue for the past two
wears and a half as amoSt potent cause
of the difficulties which the treasury
has encountered, and an important fac
tor in the creation and promotion or
that serious distrust which has para
lived business and dangerously shaken
confidence even in the financial opera
tiCns of the Government. 1t is as i'm
possible for a Government to have
continuous deficiency of revenue for
two years and a half without affecting
its financial standing, as it is for an in
dividual 1t is impossible, also, for
Government to continue in this condl-
1ion without casting a shadow of doubt
and discoura cement over all business
operations within its borders.
The serious fact which we are called
upon to confront is that in the two and
a half years that have elapsed since
July l, 1898, this Government has had
an insufficiency of revenue to meet cur
rent expenditures amounting in the ag-
gregate to about $133, 100000. And
even in the first half of the present fiscal
year the deficiency will reach about
$4,000 000, and about So, 100000 in this
present month And up to the present
Dpining that this insufficiency of rev.
enue will not continue during the re-
mafnder of the fiscal year; and how
much longer no one can safely predict.
If the consequences of such a chronic
deficiency were only the necessity or
borrowing money to meet current ex-
penses in time of peace, even this would
afford abundant reason for increasing
- ~
more wide reaching than that. In
sufficiency of revenue has made it ne
cessary to use the redeemed United
States legal tender notes to pay cur
rent expenditures, and thus to supply
additional means to draw gold from the
greenback redemption fund. In short
to create the endless chain" Of which
the Secretary of the Treasury COM
plains, and which has made it neces-
sary to sell issue after issue of bonds to
replenish the reserve.
This will be clearly seen when it is
remembered that the Secretary of the
Treasury has issued and sold a littleover
S162, ,000,00 of > per cent. ten years,
and per cent. thirty-year bonds from
which he has realized about SlS2. .000,-
GOO. and after redeeming $1S2. 100000 of
United States legal tender notes with
the proceeds. he has been obliged to i'm
mediately pay out S133 100000 of these
demand notes TO meet current expendi-
lures and thus has furnished Sl33, O00,-
600 of Governmental demand notes TO
be again and again used to draw gold
from the treasury.
It is evident that so long as there is
insufficient revenue this performance
will go on, and bond sale after bond sale
will be required. 1t is also evident that
II there had, been a suficiency of revenue
these redeemed legal tender notes
would not have been paid out at once,
and there would have been so much less
opportunity to draw gold from the
treasury.
Indeed. there is good reason to be-
Ifeve that if in the first six months Of
the distrust which inaugurated the run
on the redemption fund, the treasury
had been receiving revenue more than
ADEQUATE TO meet expenditures, so as
to temporarily hold the redeemed Gov
ernment notes. the disposition to pre-
sent thse notes for redemption would
have soon been overcome, That would
have undoubtedly been the case if the
/
in the spring of 1893, and never allowed
TO fan below the S100,000.000 mini
mum and the necessity for more rev.
euue from the point Of view Of main
tenance of the redemption fund is not
taken away by the fact that we have
$4,000. 600 Of cash in the treasury in
addition to the 500 100000, part sold
required for the redemption fund, and
s-,A nc
working balance. This SOC, 900. 900 rep
resents $50,000,000 of redeemed United
States legal tender notes for whose
redemption we borrowed $4,000 0Ot
in sold. If we continue to pay them out
to meet a deficiency of revenue, then
presently they viii come back aSain &c
draw S50,000,000 more of bonds. The
suggestion, therefore, that we need nc
more because we have a cash balance
of S50,000,000 Of Government notes II
the treasury that can be used 20 pas
any deficiency for the next six or twelve
months, is in effect a proposition L
issue more bonds to meet a deficiency
which should be met at once by pro-
yiding that revenue.
In other words, those who oppose
raising that revenue in such situa
ton, in effect-whether they intsnd Sc
or not-favor borrowing in preference
to paying as we go along
Your committee believes that il is tn,
duty of the House of Representatives
90 which body the Constitution commit.
the inauguration of revenue bills, t
frame and pass a measure that vii
WELD not far from $40.000,000, suffi.
cient to put an end TO the deficiency