Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1900-01-25
USING THE SURPLUS.
sound Business Policy of Secretary
Gage In His Use of Govern
ment Funds.

When Secretary Fairchild refused to
use the surplus revenue in buying bonds
and deposited it in certain banks, Will
liam Mckinley, February 20, 1888, at
tackled this treasury policy.
His speech then is having wide cur
ren0y now in democratic papers with
short memories and an insufficient
knowledge of the facts. 1t is quoted in
criticism of the present policy of the
treasury in increasing bank deposits by
$5,25O, 900 in December. Some papers
quote this speech of President McKin-
ley 12 years ago without knowing the
facts, and some because they know the
facts. Both are wrong, Willingly or
unwittingly, and both mislead, as the
facts show.
The surplus of treasury income over
expenditure in the past SIX months was
So 100000. This was the first surplus
of income over expenditure in six years.
Secretary Gage has bought $19,277,G00
of bonds, par, between October l and
December 81, and the premium on these
bonds and interest anticipated on the
January payments make the total out
go by the treasury considerably larger
than the surplus. Secretary Gage has,
in short, used all and more than all the
surplus of income over expenditure dur
ing the first half year in buying bonds,
and President McKinleys administra-
ton has for the first time in seven years
resumed payments on the sinking fund.
When Representative Mckinley, Feb
ruary, 1855, made his attack on Secre-
tary Fairchild the income of the treas
ury from July /, 1887, to March /, 1883,
was $253,00O,000 and the Outgo $1S3,-
600, 600, leaving a surplus of $70,OOO,0OO.
The reduction of the bonded debt was
$44, ,5j1, $40, par, between the same
dates. Instead of spending all the sur
plus and considerably more in redeem
ing the debt and easing the money mar
ket, as Secretary Gage has done, Secre-
tary Fairchild spent considerably less
than the surplus on the debt and de-
posted the balance. For the fiscal year
1SS7-S the surplus was $111,I00,cO and
the par of bonds bought was $40, ,169, $50.
For the eight months dealt with early
in 1883 by Mr.. Mckinley and for the
IScaI year dlldchcu III the IcpuDlltdIi
national platform of that year the treas
ury had refused to spend the surplus in
the redemption of the debt leaving the
balance on deposit in the banks.
Secretary Gage, instead, has used all
the surplus in buying bonds and then
disposed a floating balance so as to ease
trade and save public and private
credits. In other words. President Nc
Kinley's secretary of the treasury has
done exactly what Representative Nc
Kinley urged that Secretary Fairchild
should do. Having done Il :, additional
public needs of trade. commerce and eN-
change have been met by increasing the
treasury bank deposits. If Secretary
Fairchid had done this in 1855 and
1889 the treasury would not have rolled
up the great balance which Secretary
Window had to use ir 1890 to avert
panic during the Barring failure. The
one sound principle is to return treas
ury receipts to the channels of trade
first by bond purchases, and when this
is over by bank deposits. The business
community knows and understands
| this. and no business men are deceived
either by the attacks on Secretary
| Cages policy now or the quotation OF
| President McKinley's utterances when
a representative.-Phi Press.