The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-12-24

fund to insure the regular conduct Of the
ordinary fiscal operations OF g the govern
slnent. The fact that thio none was = MT ti
I collected by taxation, but was procured IN
Tue !, issue Of bonds, for a purpose other thar
3 ne payment OF ordinary expenses, does NOT
aHect8 the situation in the least 81 . II
sl nal Is. most needed at present is not
more taxes, but more economy in a nnynnrd-
d satlons and expenditures. The great increase
III the ordinary expenditures of the povern- ~
nent during the last seven years has haa,.ss
without y. precedent in our history in lime of
peace Gag. ,Hand presents a subject which impera-
afiveiE demands the most serious Considers.
ton of congress. 'c5-sS,..s
sS An examination of the expenditures ann
= OBJECTS f0rNWhlch they were made shows
that during the first period Of four wears
1856, 1887, 1888 and 1Ss9-the average an.
nGal payments on account Of civil and mis-
9cellancous items were SIS, $4,000: on no
count of the war department, $3S96O. 721:
gu account of the navy department, S16.-
Doc, OGS; on account sOf Indians sc 3oS,799:
on account of pensions, SIG .576, 813, and on
account acc OF interest on the public debt, $46,-
Coz, 5.'3, while the average amount Of ex-ss
5penditures for the same objects during the
succeeding period of seven years was: For
civil and miscellaneous items, SOC, $50 S65.
1.-THE War department. S49, 81, 677. for the
navy department., $27, 868, 1854; for Indians,
LII pcuSlOuSH ana
lor interest On the public debt, $31, 213, 341. K
- ne average annual excess Of expe cultures
curing the last period over the expenditures
Tor the same purposes during the first peri
Ga was: For civil and miscellane items
5Sis'olS' S45 for the war department, S1O,-s8
olo,9oo; Tor the navy department., O,O29,.
49S; for Indians, $3,945, 515, and for pen,
slons. SOB 1o1, 74S, the only decrease being il
the amount paid for interest on the public
debt, which was 14,796,211 less per annum
than during the first period.
& 1t does not appear that there has been
any such necessary extension or substantial
Improvement of our public service as ia Il
justify these enormous increases in experdi. X
lures, and. in my opinion, we have reacE--So5
a situation which not only forbids the fay1-l
able consideration of measures calculated -
augment our annual outlay, but which
vlously demands thorough revision Of our
permanent appropriation laws and the en- d
forcement of strict economy in future annual
legislation upon the subject.
But unless our annual receipts are in
creased by improved business conditions or
our annual expenditures are reduced a
time Will arrive when provision must be
made for additional revenue. and if the ex-
penditlre of the government shall be in
creased by acts Of congress the necessity
for such measure will arise earlier than s
tie present situation seems to indicate
Protection
vi lie SUBJECT OIL prOCeCClOn. IN This cOnS
nectiOn, the secretary says in part: So
long as the income of the government from
customs and internal taxes exceeded its
expenditures. the fact that protective du-
ties were destructive Of revenue, although
clearly apparent to all who OBJ >rvcd the
practical operation of the system, did not
attract the attention Of the public general
~, but the situation has been materially
changed since 1892, and hereafter it will
not be possible to sacrifice revenue to pro-
lection without seriously embarrassing the
fiscal affairs of the government, by de-
pr1ving 1T of an income sufficient to defray
Its necessary expenditures. If the usual an.
preparations of this income is hereafter to
be derived from taxes ON imported goods,
the protective idea must be abandoned al
the basis OF our legislation upon the cub
ject, and a well considered and consistent
revenue system must be substituted in It's
place; and in my opinion this can be done
without material injury to any trade or
Industry now existing in this country. The
danger of large foreign competition In
our home market, and the alleged injurious
effects of such competition upon the In
terests of domestic labor, have not only
been greatly exaggerated in the past, but
are less now than at any time heretofore.
and must continue to grow less hereafter.
The number of our people in gainfu1 occu-
pa1ions Increased from II, 3S2, o9o in 1880 to
., 735,661 in 1890, gain of 5,343, 562; and,
while the increase In all such occupations z
during the ten years was .f30.72 per cent,
the increase in manufacturing and mechan-
ical Industries, which are supposed TO be II
most subject to foreign competition, wal
40.13 per cent. further and most gratifTf
ing evidence of our growing industrial LoW4
er is to be found in the greatly incrcase6
exports of the products Of domestic manu-
facture, which now constitute, for the arst
time in our history. more than one-fourth
the total sales Of all our sales in foreikp
markets. If these products were not. at u
least equal inequality to similar products
of other parts of the world, and if the
prices at which they were sold were not as
low as the prices den1a nded by our foreign
competitors, they could not fnd market
outside the limits of our own country.
The expectation Of manufactured products Il
would not go on continuously year after
year at an increasing rate unless there was
a profit for our people in the operation, nor q
unless the markets in which they are sold
are in some manner benefited by giving =
preference to the American article over like
articles produced elsewhere. The annual
increases since 1882 in the quantities and
values Of exported manufactures. notWith-
standing the extremely low prices which
have prevailed In all the markets of the
world. are without a parallel in our COM
mercial history, and furnish such conclusive
evidence Of industrial power and capacity
to compete successfully with the outside Fl
world in production and trade as ought to
convince our people that protective duties
on imported goods cannot be hereafter jush-
fed or excused upon the plea that they arH
necessary for the encouragement of capital
or the security Of labor in this country.
With a Revival In Business
+ WhileAa revival OF business and return
to more prosperous. conditions would In
crease the income Of the government from
customs, under the existing rates of duty
on manufactured articles, it is reasonably
certain that the quantities and values Of
such articles hereafter imported will be
less than they were before the depression
began, and that they will not In the future
under any rate that may be established
reach the proportions Of ten or fifteen
years ago. s.
q II this view of the subject is correct, it 10
evident that new objects of taxation must
be Included In our tariff schedules, or tho
attempt to secure the usual proportion OF
revenue from customs must be abandoned
and some other method of raising means
to support the government must be adopt
ed; but, whether revenues shall be raised
by duties on imported goods or by the Inn
position OF taxes in some other form there
are certain fundamental rules and principles
applicable to the subject, which cannot be IS
dtsregarded without injustice to the people
from whom the exactions are to be made. s.
The first and most frnnorta