Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-11-21
REVENUE PRODUCING QUALITIES Of
HIS BILL DEMONSTRATED.
TREASURY BUREAU STATISTICS
CUSTOMS RECEIPTS ONE-HALF OF
GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES.
Excluding Extraordinary War Meas
ures, the Rates Fixed by the
Customs Law Yield One-haIf
Million Daily-Interest-
ing Figures.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20.-The discussion
as to the revenue producing qualities of
the present tariff law lends especial inter-
treasury bureay of statistics, showing the
receopts from various sources by months
during long term of years.
An examination of these figures shows
that the customs receipts OF the treasury
department now amount to one-half of the
ordinary expenditures of the government.
which is about the usual proportion al
lotted to that branch of the revenue pro-
ducing service. The ordinary expenditures
Of the government, aside from those of the
postoftice department, which is practically
self-sustaining. are usually calculated at
about 100000 per day. and averaged DUR
ing the years 1894 to 1887, $3.50. 5OO,O 600 per
annum, and at about the same rate in 1898,
emitting the Pacific railroad and extraor-
binary war expenditures. The general
plans Of those charged with the duty of
providing the revenues for the government
have contemplated the production of one
half of the necessary expenditures from
customs and the remaining half from in
terna1 revenue and miscellaneous sources,
or in other words, a half million dollars a
day from customs and half million dol
lars day from internal revenue and mis-
cellaneous.
1t Is interesting, therefore, to examine the
detailed figures of the receipts Of the gov
ernment during the time in which the pres
ent customs law has operated under normal
conditions, and to determine whether It is
supplying its assigned proportion, one-haIf
of the normal of the expenditures. The
daily statement of receipts and expendi-
lures issued by the treasury department
shows that On November II. the 14Otn day
Of the present fiscal year. the customs re-
ceipts had during these 40 days amounted
to Sl3, 3io, 429. OF this sum little over LOO,
60 was from the. duty placed upon tea by
the war revenue act. SO that fully 81, 900, ,0OO
of the S73, ,429 received in these 14o days
are the legitimate normal revenues from
the rates levied by the customs law enact
ed in July, 1897. or little more than the
promised rate of half million dollars a
day from customs under that act.
The receipts from customs during the
past ten years have averaged SIS, ,19O, ,00D
per month. This ten years term includes
the operations Of four tariff laws, and it
is, therefore. interesting to compare the
operations of the new law at its various
stages with this general average during a
ten years term which includes the opera
tions of four tariff acts.
AS it was not expected that the new law
would in its first few months operate nor
mally in its production of customs revenue,
owing to the excessive importations just
prior to its enactment, it is not improper
to show, first the average receipts during
the first four months of its operation in
cluded in the calendar year 1887, and also
to consider separately the last four months
of its operation dating from the beginning
of the present fiscal year.
Receipts from customs-monthly average:
Ten years. 1ss9-9S. s15.199OOO.
August to December. 1897. s9.2 900.
January l to November /, 1885, SIS, Oh, 900.
July to November l. 1898. 81. .9S3 OO0.