The sun., 1898-02-17

intsrnsl revenue had been S1O4, ,e75, ,te7.
From the two sources the total OF receipts
had been $685. ,912. To this the Treas
ury statement adds an item Of $71, ,13o, ,61e,
made up principally, not Of revenue proper,
but of receipts from the Pacific Railroad
payments. During the same period the
total Of expenditures by the Government
had been $2es, ,74e, $40; but part of this is
likewise due to the Pacific Railroad trans
actions. The apparent deficit for the eight
months and a half, as shown by the Treasury
statement, is $s,357,037. The real deficit
for the eight months and half Is almost
exactly $53, 100000.
With this deficit impending, two
courses were open to the statesmen respon-
sible for the Dingley act when Congress
met again in December. One was to ex-
plain the growing deficit as best they
could aud to treat 1t as o merely temporary
condition to ease things along by predict
ing and promising q greatly increased
revenue from customs duties In the
indefinite future, and to provide as
far as possible against second fiscal
year Of heavy deficit under the new tariff
by cutting down the appropriations for the
next fiscal year wherever they thought
that expenditure could be spared or post
poned. The other course was to meet the
deficit frankly; to admit that the reve-
nue. was not coming up to expectations,
and to supplement the act of last July by
simple and effective provisions yielding
"more revenue, without delay, hindrance,
or postponement."
Without criticising specifically the course
adopted by Mr.. DINGLEy and his fellow
statesmen in the House, and certainly
without questioning the conscientiousness
of their motives, we nevertheless regret that
the first plan, and not the second, seemed
to them the more judicious. The general
regimen Of economy which it involves in
the present years appropriations is no doubt
salutary, and where it affects such matters
as the dredging of Cheesequake Creek or the
erection Of the proposed 100000 Federal
building at Potemkin Plains, the result is
eminently satisfactory. But when 1t with.
holds the money that would otherwise have
been devoted to the increase Of our navy
and to the speedy completion Of our coast
defences, the broadcast and most urgent
national interests are made to suffer for
political reasons.
With the possibilities now confronting
us, parsimony in expenditures for either Of
these great purposes Is q folly scarcely less
than o crime. No consideration of per-
sonal pride of legislative authorship, no pic
ayune apprehensions of the political effect
of further revenue legislation, ought for
q moment to endanger the great cities Of
l1o -, ha
of power on which our country depends in
time of need. 1t is shameful that the
House should be hesitating between an ap-
preparation of $4, IA, ,912 and an appropri-
alton Of $5, 900, 900, when 1t may become
apparent any day that ten times the
greater sum would not have been too
much to pay out for the protection
of our harbors. 1t Is shameful that the
adequate enlargement Of our navy should
be arrested because the Dingley act is pro-
ducing q deficit and not a surplus. The
unforeseen may bring about in a month q
state Of affairs which would make new
navy seem cheap. If we could get it, at two
hundred millions.
If there were to-day a surplus instead Of
q deficit, a revenue equal to the absolute
needs Of Government instead of a revenue
falling far short Of our actual expenditures,
who doubts that every dollar needed to
complete the coast defences as fast as
money and energy can do the work would
be voted by a patriotic Congress7 Let
Gen. HAwLEY and Senator MCBRIDE and
Senator PROCTOR stick to their guns, or
rather to the guns which our flag needs and
does not yet possess. Let the Senate's
$9,O00,O00 for this urgent purpose be
doubled rather than diminished one
cent. And when the bill goes back to
the House. let the House act with regard
to this appropriation, of all appropriations,
precisely as If the Dingley act were pouring
more revenue than we can spend into an
already overlooking Treasury.
Such is wisdom.