Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-03-19
HIS FIRST.
President McKinley's Message to
Congress Is Brief
REFERS TO DEFICIT EXCLUSIVELY,
He Urges the Enactment of a Tarin
Bill to Increase the Revenue
Declare This the Imperative
Demand of the Hour.
Washington, March 16.-The p1esi-
dent Monday sent the following mes


dent Monday sent the following mes
sage to congress:
ITO the Congress of the United States:
"Regretting the necessity which has re-
CURED me to call you together, feel that
your assembling in extraordinary session
is Indispensable because Of the condition
in which we find the revenues of the gov
eminent. 1t is conceded that its current
expenditures are greater than its receipts,
! now more than three years. With unlimit-
ed means at our command. we are pre-
senting the remarkable spectacle of In.
creasing our public debt by borrowing
money to meet the ordinary OUTLAWS Incl
dent upon even an economical and pru-
dent administration Of the government.
An examination OF the subject discloses
this fact In every detail and leads in
evitably to the conclusion that the con-
dition of the revenue which allows It 10
| unjustifiable and should be corrected.
I'VE find by the reports of the secretary
of the treasury that the revenues for the
fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, from all
sources. were s425, s6S, 26o.22, and the ex-
penditures for all purposes were $415.953.-
6.56. leaving an excess of receipts over ex-
penditures of 50, 81. 1885, During that fiscal
year SAC, $40. 467 9S were paid upon the, public
debt, which had been reduced since March
l, 1889. s259. $50. and the annual interest
charge decreased $l1 1874 ,B76.6O. The receipts
Of the government from all sources DUR
ing the fiscal year ending June 80, 1893.
amounted to 1851. ZIG 561 81, and It's expend-
lures to $45s, 374, S57.65. showing an excess OF
| receipts over expenditures of s2.34l .674.29.
"Since that time the receipts Of no fiscal
year, and with but few exceptions Of no
| month of any fiscal year, have exceeded
the expenditures. The receipts Of the gov
eminent. from all sources. during the fis-
cal year ending. June 3d. 1894. were s372..
nd ffa -
81, leaving a deficit. the first since the re-
sumption of specie payments, Of $69 500, 240.6 2.
Notwithstanding there was a decrease OF
$16. 7G9. l2s.7S in the ordinary expenses Of the
government, as compared with the previ-
GUS fiscal year. its income was still not
sufficient to provide for Its daily necess!-
ties, and the gold reserve in the treasury for
the redemption of greenbacks was drawn
upon to meet them. But this did not suffice,
| and the government then resorted TO loans
| to replenish the reserve.
"In February. 1894, $50,00o,0O0 in bonds
were issued, and In November following q
second issue OF $50, 900. 400 was deemed neces-
sary. The sum of $1l7. ,7s5 was realized
by the sale of these bonds, but the reserve
was steadily decreased until, on February
$65. .244 was announced to congress.
The Yearly Deficits.
1.-The receipts of the government for the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1895. were $780,
373, 203.30. and the expenditures 1888 IFS.
426.4S, showing deficit Of AZ, 8O5. 223.18. A
further loan of $100. 900, 600 was negotiated,
by the government In February, 1896, the
sale netting Sill .166.240. and swelling the
aggregate of bonds issued within three
years to s262, 400. For the fiscal year
ending June 80, 1896. the revenues of the
government from all sources amounted to
$409, AIS. 408.7S. while its expenditures were
s4S4. SIS. 4.4s. or an excess Of expenditures
ntntc Nf
words, the total receipts for the three
fiscal years ending June 30. 1896, were In
sufficient by s137. 81. 1886 to meet the total
expenditures.
Nor has this condition since improved.
For the first half of the present fiscal year
the receipts of. the government, exclusive
of postal revenues, were 1851. 5o7 ,603.76. and
its expenditures. exclusive of postal serv-
ice, $780,, 410, 000.22, or an excess of expendi-
| lures over receipts Of ss7, sO2 39G.46. In jan
uary of this year the receipts exclusive Of
postal revenues were s24,sl6. 99405, and the
expenditures exclusive of postal service
$50, 2es 3S9.29, deficit OF s5952, 1854 for the
month
The Total Dencit.
| In February of this year the receipts, ex-
elusive Of postal revenue, were AGO.
.3S, and expenditures exclusive, OF pos
tai service SIS, 7s6. 05666. deficit of 1885,
059.28; or total deficiency of $lS6, 061, 5S0.44
! for the three years and eight months end
ing March /, 1897. Not only are we with
out a surplus in the treasury, but with an
increase in the public debt there has been
q corresponding increase In the annual in
terest charge from s22,S $500 in 1892, the
lowest of any year since 1862, to $34,3s7,
2S7.60 In 1895. or an increase Of $11, 493 40
| ut may be urged that even II the rev.
| enues of the government had been suffl-
cient to meet all Its ordinary expenses dur
| ing the past three years, the gold reserve
| 20
the demands upon it, and that bonds would
necessarily have been Issued for its reple-
ton. Be this as 1t may, 1t is clearly mani
fest, without denying or affirming the
correctness of such conclusion. that the
| debt would have been decreased in at least
the amount of the deficiency. and business
confidence immeasurably strengthened
throughout the country.
Should BE Promptly Corrected.
Congress should promptly correct the
existing. condition. Ample revenues must
be supplied not only for the ordinary ex-
prompt payment. Of liberal pensions and
the liquidation Of the principal and inter-
duties pshoud oS BE- SO eyed s npen feF
eign products as to preserve the home mar
ket, SO far as possible, to our own pro-
| lures; to relieve and encourage agricul-
ture; to increase our domestic and for
eign commerce; to aid and develop mining
| and building, and to render to labor in
every field Of useful occupation the nh.
eral wages and adequate rewards to which
skill and industry are justly entitled The
| necessity Of the passage OF tariff law
not be further urged The imperative de-
mand Of the hour is the prompt enactment
of such measure, and to this object
earnestly recommend that congress shall
make every endeavor Before other BUSH
| ness is transacted, let lis first provide suf-
[ ficient revenue to faithfully administer the
government without the contracting Of
! further debt, or the continued disturbance
| of our finances. (Signed)
| civilian M'KINLEY."
Executive Mansion. March Is, 1897.