The Saint Paul globe., 1897-09-07
THE PAYING TELLER.

The treasury statement for August
naturally attracts attention. This IS
mainly because two political parties
disagree on fiscal policies, and the ex-
pertinent of one of them is again on
trial. August was it's first full month
of trial, and it shows deficit of near
ly $4,000 00O-of $1S,943, POS, to be pre-
else. Those who support the expert
ment are engaged in finding excuses
for the deficit; those opposed declare it
to be the inevitable result Of the pol
icy They point to the similar result
Of a like policy adopted seven years
ago and insist that like causes produce
like effects. They argue with all the
force Of precedent, and they bring to
their aid the prediction of the leading
financier of the senate, himself an emf
nent Republican. 1t may be conceded,
as contended by the experimenters,
that the fOrestalling of the markets hy
imports anticipatory of rising rates Of
taxation is one cause of this unprom-
ising beginning, but that will not suf-
ficiently account for the condition.
Were a business house to center all
its attention upon its income and pay
no attention to it's outgo, IL would un-
questionably be confronted with def
cits and, ultimately, a receivership.
And this is precisely the attitude of
the Republican party towards the
treasury. We hear much of income
and nothing of outgo. Deficiencies are
accounted for by insufficiency of re-
ceipts, while surplusage of expenditure
is ignored. Evidently. the conception
of government and taxa ton is the use
of means to provide for expenditures,
with spur applied to the former and
a loose rein given the latter. To be
sure we had some fine words from the
president in his inaugural about ecCn-
omy, but he signalized his insincerity
by approving the sundry civil bill, car
rying fifty-odd millions, mostly jobs.
And it is true we had the assurance
of Mr. Cannon in presenting the ap-
preparation bills to the last congress-,
by any public necessity. But preterse
and protest were regarded as mere
conventionalities and the bills went
through unpruned.
When the July statement was put
out showing a deficit of some $11,000-
0O0 we We're told that this was because
of the extraordinary disbursements
made in that month on account Of ar
preparations for the new fiscal year
then becoming available. But the pay
ing teller was merely meeting bills au-
thorized by congress. Had the 6is-
bursements for that month averaged
with those of the same month befare
the spending proclivities of the Fifty
first congress were adopted there
would have been no deficit. It has al
ways been the heaviest disburs;ng
month of the year, but il never saw
such an outrush of money as Gid this
latest one of them all. From 1884 to
1890 the July disbursements avera ged
$34, 700, 900; for 1922 the average was
$37 900. 900; for 1S93-95, under the CON
tinuing appropriation policy adopted
in 1890 the average was $3S, 800, 600 For
July 1896, the disbursements were S42,-
100000, and for July. 1897, they mount
ed to over $50 900, avera ging s46ooO,-
600 for the two years Of the "lestora-
ton"
Had the appropriations been kept
down to the average prior to $780, the
income for July, 1897, $39, ,Jc7, 1854, would
have exceeded outgo by ever $4,000, 600;
had the average of 1882 been main
tanned, the surplus would have been
SO, 900, 900, while it would have about
evened in 1S93-95 While it has been
repeatedly shown that the fault all
these years lay, not with the income
account, but with the expense account,
the whole effort has been to increase
income, while all efforts to diminish
outgo have been met With contempt
and failure. Until attention is given
to the department of the paying teller,
and his work is materially decreased,
we may expect these monthly and an
nuaily recurring deficits.