The Indianapolis journal., 1896-11-24
THE IMPERATIVE DEMAND.

The Boston Herald. a supporter of the
present administration, has heard that
Secretary Carlisle has not yet decided TO
admit that the deficiency of the revenue
is responsible for the larger portion of the
sales of bonds during the present admins
tratfon." The Herald then proceeds as
follows:
Well. what difference can it make wheth-
er he admits the point or ignores IT? The
fact is there. all the same. and IL has be-
come plain that there is no possibility
of disputing its existence. Speaking round
w. one may say that two-thirdS OF the
money received through the bond sales has
been used by the treasury in meeting the
deficiencies of the revenue, and in redeem
ing the Pacific railway bonds as they fell
due.
The Boston paper closes its article by
saying to Secretary Carlisle that lit will
be far safer to acknowledge frankly the
grave condition of affairs (the continual
deficit in the revenues) than to shut his
eyes to il longer" The grave condition"
is due in no small degree to the course
which the administration pursued when
Congress assembled in December. 1893. At
that time the monthly deficit was at the
rate of $4,000. 600 a year. Most men famil-
worth anything. declared at that time that
the revenues were inadequate and that
they should be increased. Senator Cor
man and other leading Democrats made
such declarations and Senators Sherman
and Aidrich demonstrated by figures that
more revenues were needed to make the
receipts of the treasury equal to it's ex-
pendtures The President, in his message,
and Mr.. Carlisle. in his report made no
special mention of the large deficiency ex-
cept that the latter predicted that the
revenues which would come into the treas
ury when the law should be in full opera
ton would turn large deficiency into a
surplus. Instead of noting the deficiency
and suggesting a remedy. the President
and his Secretary presented recommen-
dation for the issue of gold bonds TO main
tain the reserve and to provide money for
the retirement of the greenbacks and a
banking scheme which many believed
would have caused the issues of State
banks to supplant those of the national
banks. Both these schemes failed in a
House having a large Democratic majority.
The result was that nothing was done.
The Democratic Congress- following the
President and Secretary Carlisle, ignored
the insufficiency of the revenues and re-
fused to support either of the administra-
tion's measures. AS the result bonds were
put upon the market, but for what pur-
pose? Ostensibly to maintain the gold re-
serve. but really to obtain funds with
which TO pay current expenditures If the
sixty or seventy millions of greenbacks
| used as "the endless chain" to draw gold
out of the treasury could have been held
| in the treasury instead of being paid
| out to meet current expenses not over $50,
| 100000 of bonds would have been needed
| to keep up the reserve.
/ These facts are now generally under
| stood. consequently If Mr.. Carlisle should
conclude to ignore the deficit in his re-
port in December, such an omission will
! detract from the weight which his sug-
| gestions on other topics would have More
! revenue is the first and most pressing need
| of the government. If this Congress will
not vote it, the President-elect will be
| forced to call an extra session of the next