The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-03-16

! In February 1895, the sale netting
| 11,168,24s. and swelling the aggregate
of bonds issued within three years to
S262 400. For the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1895, the revenues of the gov
| ernment from all sources amounted to
S4O9, ATS, ,4eS.78, while its expenditures
were $434,678, ,654.48, or an excess Of ex-
pendttures over receipts of s25, ,203. .245,-
70. In other words, the total receipts
for the three fiscal years ending June
30, 1896, were insufficient by $137, ,S11,-
72946 to meet the total expenditures.
Nor has this condition since im-
proved. For the first half of the pres
ent fiscal year the receipts of the gov
ernment, exclusive of postal revenues.
were 57,507, ,603.76, and its expendi-
lures. exclusive of postal service, $780,
4l0, 0O022, or an excess of expenditures
over receipts of $37, ,902, ,39646. In jan
uary of this year the receipts, exclu-
sive of postal revenues, were $24, 4,316,-
994.05, and the expenditures. exclusive
Of postal service, $50, ,269, ,3S929. a deficit
of $685.. 1854 for the month. In Feb
ruary of this year the receipts, exclu-
sive of postal revenues were s24. 40O.-
997,3S, and expenditures. exclusive Of
$4,3S5, ,059.2S, or a total deficiency of
$1S6, ,O61 .5S044 for the three years and
eight months ending March 1, 1897. Not
only are we without a surplus in the
treasury, but with an increase in the
public debt there has been corre-
spending increase in the annual in
terest charge from $22. .S93, $500 in 1899,
the lowest Of any year since 1862. to
$34 1887 ,29760 in 1896, or an increase of
$1l, 493, ,414.4O.
1t may be urged that even If the rev.
enues of the government had been suf-
ficient to meet all its ordinary expenses
during the past three years the gold
reserve would still have been Insult
ficient to meet the demands upon it,
and that bonds would necessarily have
been issued for its repletion. Be this
as it may, 1t Is clearly manifest with
out denying or affirming the correct
ness of such a conclusion, that the
debt would have been decreased in at
least the amount of the deficiency and
business confidence immeasurably
strengthened throughout the country.
Congress should promtly correct the
existing condition. Ample revenues
must be supplied not only for the or
dinary expenses of the government
but for the prompt payment of liberal
pensions and the liquidation of the
principal and interest of the public
debt. In raising revenue duties should
be SO levied upon foreign products as
to preserve the home market so far as
possible, to our own producers: to re-
vive the manufactures: to relieve and
encourage agriculture; to increase our
domestic and foreign commerce; to aid
and develop mining and building, and
to render to labor in every field of use
fui occupation the liberal wages and
adequate rewards to which skill and
industry are justly entitled. The ne
cessity of the passage of tariff law
which snail provide ample revenue
need not be further urged. The i'm
perative demand of the hour is the
prompt enactment of such measure,
and to this object l earnestly recon-
mend that congress shall make every
endeavor. Before other business Is
transacted let us first provide sufficient
revenue to faithfully administer the
government without the contracting of
further debt or the continued disturb
anCe of our finances.