The San Francisco call., 1896-07-03
THE COST OF IT.

The exhibit of the operations of the
! National treasury for the three fiscal years
of the Cleveland administration show ex-
penditures to have been $137, 900, 900 in ex-
cess of income. In addition to that large
sum, there must be added 1852, 600 600 of
Government bonds that have been sold to
maintain the gold reserve. The revenue
deficit for the first month of the fourth
year, July, is estimated at $40 600, 600, but
it will not average more than one-third of
that sum per month during the coming
year. Probably the deficit for the whole
four years of the present administration
will reach $175, 600, 600, which the people
can make up their minds to pay as the
price of the operation of the Wilson
German tariff law. In addition to the
enormous deficit. there must be added
Government bonds and interest thereon
issued already, aggregating about $780,
100000. This Is on the supposition that
no more bonds will be issued, but the way
the treasury gold is shrinking, another is
sue of at least 100000, 600 will have to be
made.
That would make the total bond issue,
including interest, fully 500, 900, 900, which,
when added to $175, 100000 representing
the deficit in the income account, will give
the people a pretty correct IDEA of what
the Cleveland administration has cost
them directly. Indirectly the cost has
been enormous, but there is no way of
even approximating the amounts. If one
could figure up the losses to trade. COM
merce and industry that the panic which
came upon the country soon after Cleve-
land was inaugurated forced the people
to bear, the sum total of the cost of elect
ing Democratic President in 1892 could
be ascertained, but it cannot be done; be-
sides, money would not compensate for
the hunger and other kinds of distress
which tens OF thousands of the people have
been afflicted with during the last three
years.
No one supposes that Cleveland or any
member of his official family has enriched
himself to the extent of farthing during g
all these years of trial and trouble. The
difficulty has been gross incapacity. The
substitution of the Wilson-Gorman tariff
law for the Mckinley act was a blunder
that will cost the country by the time it
can be repealed nearly 81, ,090, ,0O0, 600. That
Is to say, the Government will be in debt
81, 900, 000, 600 more when Mr.. Cleveland
moved in. The people thought they would
give the Democracy a fair trial, and they
did; but the bill of cost for the experiment
IS yet TO be paid. nor is there any way of
avoiding the payment of it. In view of
the fact that all this trouble has come
upon the country as the result of a tariff
monstrosity, which is still playing havoc
In all lines of business, it would seem that
the reasonable thing to do would be its
repeal at the earliest moment possible. 1t
would seem, indeed, that every business
man and wageman in the country should
ignore all other public issues until that
heavy weight had been re moved. Itneeds
no argument to prove that had the tariff
act OF 1890 been left as it was there would
have been no occasion for issuing bonds,
nor would a revenue deficit have been
possible. The reports of the income ac-
count of the Government while the Nc
kinley law was in force show that the
peoples financial troubles have come as
the direct consequence of the present
tariff law.