The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-10-15
DEFICIT UNDER MCKINLEY ACT.

Graham, N. c., Oct. 10.
To the Editor: Senator Pribchard
and other Republican speakers are tell
ing the people that the Mckinley law
Welded ample revenue and that the
whole trouble to-day is caused by the
deficiency of the Wilson tariff law. Is
it not true that the Wilson tariff pro-
duces more revenue than the Mckinley
act?
Under the Mckinley act the Gus
tom collections fell off from 1925, 100000
in 1890 to $177OoO,oOO in 1892. In its
second year the Mckinley tariff yielded
only s131 ,o0O,O and $177,oOO,OoO in its
last year, whereas the Wilson tariff
yielded $4,000, 600 in 1894, and $685.
100000 in the last fiscal year. The
Commissioner of Internal Revenue is
authority for the statement that If
the Republican Supreme Court had
not declared the income tax unconsti-
tutional, the revenue from that source
would probably have reached $50,OoO,-
600 annually-enough to put a surplus
in the Treasury every year.
1t was the Mckinley tariff that pro-
duced a deficiency. The Wilson tariff,
including income tax, would have
given an abundance of revenue.
The following extract from re-
cent speech by Senator Vest throws
light upon the operations of the Treas
ury under Harrison:
I'm the first year of Cleveland's first
administration the surplus was S17,-
59,755; in the next year $40, 405, 546;
the next year $55, 567 ,645, and the last
year S67 sos, 725.
''In the first year of HarrisOn's adj
ADMINISTRATION the surplus was $48,694,-
000 in the next year $45,192000; the
next year ST., 1000, and the next
year SO ,914,983; and the last two years
were under the Mckinley law.
During the four years of Cleveland
the receipts were 81, 457, $50, 346, and the
expenditures $1,063, ,202.
''Under Harrison's administration
the receipts were 81, 539, 1880, and the
expenditures were 81, $3.50, So, 780, the
excess of expenditures under Harri-
son over those under Cleveland being
$267 III, 577.
Besides this, Cleveland paid off
bonds to the amount of $3.50, ,053,
while Harrison paid off 1922 1868, 436.
In addition, the Reed Congress left to
the Fifty-second Congress continuing
appropriations amounting to $154,000,
600, and then bequeathed to. Cleve-
lands second term liabilities amount
ing to $96,051,3 1856.
'tCleveland's administered ton handed
over to Harrison a surplus of S83,G27,
100, while Harrison turned over to
Cleveland's second administration sea-
1857, the larger portion in subsid
airy coin. unavailable for the ordinary
e4 renses of the government.
''On September I, 1891, Harrison's
administration extended the payment
of bonds then maturing, to the amount
of S25, 1854, 500 and also misappropriated
$54 ,207,8 75 pledged to the redemption
of National bank notes.
CAS- matter of fact if the demands
upon the Treasury had been honestly
met, there would have been nothing
in it when the Democrats took posses
sion.
There would have been no deficit I'M
der the present administration if it had
not received a legacy of debt from its
Republican predecessor, and the SUI
preme Court had not reversed its de-
cisions for a hundred years and de-
clared the income tax void, which
would have furnished at least $40,0 00,-
600 annual taxes. 1t is unnecessary to
say more as to this decision than to
quote the opinions of the two Repub-
lican Justices Harlan and Brown, the
former of whom declared that it re-
volutionized the government, and the
latter of whom denounced it as estab-
fishing 'the sOrdid despotism of
wealth
'fNo words from any supporter of
Bryan can add to this denunciation."