The San Francisco call., 1897-07-03
OUR FINANCIAL
STATUS REVIEWED.
The Treasury Day
as Compared With
a Year Ago.
Abnormal Receipts a Result
of the Unprecedented
Imports.
An Apparently Healthy Condition
That In Reality Does Not
Exist.

WASHINGTON, D. c.. July AL
though the present treasury balance, as
disclosed by Yesterdays treasury state
ment, is $27, 900, 900 below that OF year
ago. the free gold now in the treasury is
$50 900 0)0 greater. The receipts for the
last three months are greatly in excess of
expenditures, but the increase comes from
customs alone, which shows that the i'm
porters have been active in anticipation of
the tariff legislation. Concerning the
treasury conditions Major John NJ.
Capron, correspondent of the Philadelphia
Public Ledger and recognized authority,
writes tonight:
''The deficit for the year was SIS, 623, 107.
In his annual report made to Congress IN
December last Secretary Carlisle esti-
mated that the deficit would be SCI, 500 600.
this estimate having been based upon
laws and conditions then existing.
at is highly probable that this estimate
would have been fully realized had there
not been a marked change in the condi-
tions, growing out of a threatened change
of the revenue laws. AT the close OF De-
cember the deficit was $50, 295. .731, and at
the close of February, two months later,
it had grown to $4S. 107, III.
''The great gulf between the receipts
aud expenditures began to grow less when
it became known that Congress, which
was convened for the special purpose, was
likely to pass tariff bill largely increas-
ing duties on imports and imposing duties
| on sugar and wool, both OF which COM
modities are now given free admission.
In consequence OF this popular belief the
customs receipts in the latter part Of
March jumped from an average of about
$500 600 per day to upward of 81, 600, 00C
per day, some days running up to
| Sc. 900. .OOO
The resu 1t of this large increase in the
| customs revenue was to reduce the deficit
by the close of March to 500. 391 S2S, and
! this increase of revenue steadily pro-
gressed until the current business of the
| Treasury showed daily surplus. The
| excess of receipts in March was nearly
| $9, COO. .000, in April over S. 000, 900. in May
| over 500 600 and in June over $l3 600 600.
| AN examination of the tables giving the
receipts by quarters will show that Tor
| the first six months of the fiscal year
| closed yesterday the receipts were nearly
| SC, 600, 900 below those from the same
| source Tor the corresponding months of
| the preceding year.
''The effect of tariff agitation is mani
| tested in the receipts Tor the third quarter,
| which rose to over $4S,000,000. being
| S., 900 900 above those for the same quarter
OF 1896. 1t was i'll the last quarter, how
ever-the months of April, May and
June-that the customs receipts poured a
steadily increasing stream into the Treas
ury and filled up the gap between the
receipts and the expenditures to the ex-
tent of over $200OO.000. The aggregate
receipts from customs during the last
three months was $50, 499, 516-an increase
over the correspondent three months oi
the preceding year OF So, ,000,00
"These abnormal receipts from custo M