The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-21
.yr ERA OF SURPLUS REVENUE

.,.intnined the level they han reached the week
s.,ore. and business was quite az active.
whether this revival is an omen and q prelude
.,a revival everywhere else, 1t 10 too soon to
.r hut, 20 far as It's influence goes, It IL highly
.s.onraoinR. Depression, and the recovery from
=, ,rs 90 much matters Of sentiment, that any
.Sino which inspires people with hope and In
',ss them TO effort Is mono the less useful bo-
-n,o Il Affects only the imagination. Evon
,,.,,scs of the body are, 90 we see, frequently
.nred by remedial agencies which act upon the
Ind alone, and faith In an approaching pros
..ri,y. Il is quite reasonable 10 believe, may. in
vrs manner, bring that prosperity to pass with
All help from material sources.
!, factor In promoting the revival Of business,
orhich less attention has been paid than IL de.
,,rres. Is tho recent improvement In the Govefn.
r,nt finances. On the list OF March last the de-
All, in the national revenues for the current
e.cL year had reached S4s.0o0 900. and the
Valance in the Treasury was only R2l2, SOC, 900.
Since March l the Governments receipts Of
s.v.nue have so far exceeded its expenditures
,s,t the deficit has been reduced to less than
Goa 900 900. and the Treasury balance has been
incre,sed to nearly S232. 600, 900. The Inn
rsdiate reason for the Improvement 10, to be
,ur,. the increase OF importations due to the ex-
,.ctation OF increased duties under the pro-
rosed new tariff. but these very importatious
have given life to trade, while the revenue the
o0vsrnment has derived from them has stopped
N, drain upon its resources which, two years
,ro caused 80 much alarm. A few
,nteachablo partisans Of bank circulation
,,ll keep up their cackle about the "end.
i.s chain OF Government note redemptions,
and the danger with which they threaten
our currency. but the fact that in spite Of such
rrdemptions-to the amount Of Sl1,O00,000
" - t.-t .t-t. lrA-tkA Traaa,r. rouw
holds OF the notes nearly $751; 600, 900 moro
than It did when tho ~redomptions began, has
convinced all sensible people that o SUFFICIENT
revenue is a sufficient protection against peril
from this source. Furthermore, the gold In the
treasury since September, 1896, has increased
without the help OF bond sales, and by the moro
dsposits OF gold in exchange for Government
mites, from the arbitrary minimum Of 800. 000,-
600 to upward Of Sl44, 600, 700, and has been at
times as much as Sl55. 100000. This result
has d~issipated all fear for the succossful main.
tepance OF gold payments, and has inspired q con.
sdence without alloy In the value OF tho Gov
eminent notes.
How important TO business Affairs generally
hthis faith in the solvency of the Government
,ppears from the course Of events after the re-
sumption OF specie payments In 1879 down to
Ii. panic of 1898. With resumption, the de-
ptSsluh NhlNh hau VNohS AoA - "N SS
following the panic of 1873 disappeared, and by
many the disappearance is attributed to resump-
ton itself, and nothing else. The truth 10 that
resumption was accompanied BY o Government
revenue which not only for the fourteen years
ending Jan. l. 1893, enabled US to export $780,
100000 in gold without diminishing, ana with
even increasing. the Treasury gold reserve, but
also enabled US to diminish BY purchases and by
assumptions the interest.ooaring government
debt 20 the amount OF Sl.37o,oOO,Ooo, or, on tho
average, nearly 500. 10000 every year. In fact,
the average was greater than this, because the
revenues began to diminish during the year 1891.
and tho redemptions Of the Understanding
debt ceased in August of that year. whether as
sresult Of the adoption Of the Wilson tariff or
for some other reason, 1t Is not necessary here to
discuss. The important point Is, that 30 long az
We had an abundant revenue, and for q consid-
cradle time after 1t ceased TO DO abundant, We
maintained gold payments without selling
bonds. Nor was there any abatement OF conf
dence in the Government currency for o year or
TWO aftert began 10 increase IN volume under the
etot'uIy 1881 Known rs the sherman silver
nrchase act. the purchasing section OF which
vas repeated IN november, lseo. what might
ave happened out Tor tnat repeal ID also lrreie
'nsno". Inc repeal was accomplished ano
"eMe reao!ng inc dement's OIL
u aupie revenues Vi oo'orhinehs oo"i
~lssi mad however, another ana Q moro I'M
poFnnt enect upon the countrys prosperity
ine sufpius IL ehaniea inc treasury 10 Apply te
uefooemption OF the hterest.pearing oeot wa,
'aa aoaition 70 inc hations capital ahe
.Ss" .aau y tno =. ,.pu. 0n.p~
- ~ 'NN
-" - -A"Ia
~. ~ - 90,
go 80
Az :" .an %oN"',
49, 90, - -
49, = 49,
,i.,.S .. p !. go 90
"a ~ = ss'.s"'S' =, 80 N"S
U,"h,a..no, i.s -" as, a..sss -
go ~
r.h..H
Y !. dsnr.sston ~ - :. a-a..Ot oona
nl.,0,ra 49," .nH~, ssn 80,
,,i,n, r. -.
EnouaS ,oas sas, H,1.SI.r.n aoSa,..- aaa
dr..S - sI.e po
w., !. app., ga aA- 80
which prevailed nrior 70 Isoa, and the ntead,