The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-11-04
THE N4rroNAL TREASURY,
Au Interesting Annual Report h!
 Treasurer Roberts.


 Washineton, Nov. 3.-The treasurer of the United States, Ellis H. Roberts, has submitted to the secretary of the treasury the annual report on the transactions and condition of the treas ury for the past fiscal year. The net ordinary revenues of the government | were $450,921, 1885, an increase of $57 ,5g7,- 630 over those of the previous year, | while the net ordinary expenditures were $44S,36S, ,582, an increase of $I7, SOL i 42S. The resulting deficiency of $53,- l 05i, PAT exceeds that of the preceding
 yearby $19 994, 793.
 ! In the receipts are included S6+, 75i, ,293 paid into the tredsury on account of the sale of the Union Pacific and Kan
 sas Pacific roads. Out of this was paid 1 $29, ,S5O952 of the bonds issued for the construction of the Pacific railroads, | which went to increase the expendit-
 ures. Up to the close of the fiscal year l the increase of expenditures on account Of war with Spain was $43 041, ,732 for the
 war department and SPA, ,262,438 for the
 navy department. For the four 1 months, July, August, September and l October, lS9S the expenditures of the
 war departemnt were $107 .520, ,36S, being
 Sl,613,131 greater than for the same
 months in 1S97 For the same months | this year the navy department expend- ed $27,459,577, which was $16,014,926 more than it spent in the like period
 in 1897. Up to October 31 the war with
 Spain added to the disbursements of
 these two departments the sum of SEA-
 9S2, ,22S
 | The report reviews the history of the
 net gold balance in the treasury, show | ing how it was brought up four times 1 by sales of bonds, which remedy in
 each instance proved effectual for only
 short period. By July p, 1S96 the | gold balance had fallen again to $S9,- 669,975. Since that month the reserve
 of S100,000,000 has not been trenched
 upon.
 The report states that the increasing
 product of the war revenue act, coupled
 with the proceeds of the war loan, gave
 rise to an apprehension that the drain I upon the currency of the country
 might create a stringency which would
 be harmful to business. To prevent such a result arrangements were made
 to prepay interest on government bonds
 and to redeem Pacific railroad bonds
 before they fell due. When 1t became 1 obvious by the sudden close of hostili-
 ties that the demands upon the treas
 ury would not reach the magnitude for
 which provision had been made, the 1 secretary deposited large share of the
 proceeds of the national loan in banks. 1 The only change of importance in the
 public debt was the payment of $29 : ] 850952 of the Pacific road bonds The
 remainder of this loan outstanding on l June 30 was $14 133,560, all of which will l be payable after January 1, 1899. The
 gradual increase in the circulation of | the subsidiary silver coins which has
 drawn down the treasury holdings of l them in the last fifteen years from $29,-
 100000 to a little over $9,000 00O the
 treasurer says will soon make it neees-
 sary to provide a further supply of this 1 class of currency. A noticeable inn proven7ent in the chief circulating me ! dium, indicated by the diminished num-
 Der of counterfeit notes and silver coins | presented at the treasury offices IS 1 counterbalanced in part by the large | increase in the spurious copper and
 nickel coins in circulation. principally 1 in the cities of New York, Boston and | Philadelphia No less than 69 625 l pieces of this character were detected
 at the treasury offices during the fiscal
 year as against 19 999 in the year before.
 The receipts of national bank notes for
 redemption for the year amounted to 1 $19.122. GOO as compared with s11, GOO 1 for the year preceding.