The National tribune., 1903-04-30

Having sketched the history and opera
tons of the various systems for raising
the revenues with which the United States
Government has paid the expenses of lts
own maintenance, as we'll as the cost oi
the various wars in which 1t has been en-
gagged it now remains to consider the
methods by which the money Is dlSburSeu
through the various channels CHOSEN u!
the law-making power to control ITS eN-
penditures. Fortunately, we nave th e
money to spend: our National resources
are not cramped: even our ingrained pessl-
mists are deprived of their prerogatlve OF
pleasant anticipation that something I'M
pleasant is about to happen. We have the
fullest Treasury and the highest credit OF
any country, and it is notable clrcum-
stance that our sister Republic. France
follows Il close second. a comparatlVei!
brief while ago the English consols were
considered the best of all securltieS-aS
good as bank of England note. as
stable as the rock. and England could Dor
row money on easier terms than any othef
country Now, not only the United States.
but France. OutrunS her in the money
markets of the world. London dispatches
report the steadily-decreasinS price of
British consols. which bear two and three
fourths per cent. interest. and sell at about
so. On the same day French rentes. pay
ing three per cent. interest, sold for a
fraction below 100. and the two per cent.
bonds of the United States from l0I to
Jos. 1t is, consequently, not only in its
industries that the United States leads
all others, but in its finances also. If
: Lord Palmerston could rise now, his ghost
would be startled by this country s
strength in Government. in solidarity. IN
its supremacy in all material things. and
: would discover how false was the vicious
Sneer at what he was pleased to call the
dis United States" when armed rebellion
threatened the life of the Union.
LEGITIMATE PURPOSE OF EXPENDITURES.
In order that unassailable public credit
may be maintained it is necessary both
that the National revenues be ample and
that the objects and methods of eXpendi-
ture be carefully guarded. The purposes
for which expenditure is made in the mod
ern state may be classed under three
heads: /, for the executive and legisla-
tive departments; ,, for justice and de-
Tense; 3, for the general welfare. The
executive head must receive an allowance
(which will not only permit him to live,
but to maintain an establishment in some
degree of elegance if not of splendor. 1t
is necessary to connect a salary with the
office of Chief Executive in a Republic,
or it would limit the choice of the peO-
pie to wealthy men able and willing to I'M
dertake the expense. 1t is also usual in
free states to pay Il salary to the legisla-
tive bodies for the same reason. In mon
largely derived from private property,
though in modern states the Legislature.
considering that royal estates belonged to
the Government, has taken possession of
them and allowed The King a salary, so
to speak, instead.
Under the head of justice fall all ex-
penses for the courts, for prisons. and
penitentiaries; under defense, all outlay
for police, detective force, wOrk-houSe.
foreign representatives, and, most impor-
tant of all, for the army and the navy. In
most modern states armies and navieS are
a necessity, and the best way to provide
them is one of the most difficult questions
of finance. In peace prepare for war;"
is n direction which European states have
been following so thoroughly for the last
generation that some of them are already
on the verge of bankruptcy, and nearly all
are seriously impeded in their progress by
the enormous cost of their armies. The
militia system is exceedingly costly. be-
cause exceedingly inefficient. and can be
adopted only by those nations that are
reasonably free from war. The American
rebellion was the most costly war of mod
ern times, largely because vast army
had to be raised and an enormous fleet
built within Il short time by Nation prac
tcally unacquainted with either. But il
may well be doubted whether any great
saving would have been effected by having
spent large sums for 30 years preceding
III.
TO say nothing of the fact that one party
would have had as much advantage from
the preparation as the other But a
European nation, such as Germany, may
well find it cheaper to keep large stand
ing army and n still larger reserve (of
all able-bodied mem than to rely upon a
standing army and CONSUMPTION. or upon
militia system. The amount of expendi-
ture Il nation can apply TO its army and
navy is measured solely By the value it
sets on its national existence.
Expenditure for the general welfare in
cludes expenditure for internal administra-
ton, for economical OF patriotic purposes
and for education. Statistics, public health
and poor-lawS belong to The first; COMA ge
the post-oflice, pensions, aid to railways,
public highways, ETC., TO the second;
schools. art, and the various forms of CON
veying information. such as the Weather
Bureau, the Geological Survey. and per-
haps, the entire Agricultural Department
10 the third. Indeed it may be questioned
whether the postal establishment. posi-
bly, the most elaborate educational enter
prise of all, does not belong to the third
class.
Revenue and expenditure are ever-re-
curing subjects of legislative inquiry and
action. How to appropriate wisely for
the legitimate objects connected with GOV
ernmental duty and responsibility and how
10 take up from the people in Just and
equlElDle manner the means to provide for
necessary expenditure are problems which
challenge the best craftsmanship in their
solution.
ESTIMATES AND APPROPRIATIONS.
As the control of expenditures by the
law-making power is the browning at
tribute of freedom, well as Il guaranty
of purity of Government. modern nations
have, as rule, attempted to secure Il care
full supervision by adopting the system of
estimates or budgets" The executive
administration lays before the legislative
careful estimate of the sums which in its
opinion are necessary TO The proper per
Torrance of the functions OF the state in
each OF Its departments and subdivisions
The legislature, i'll voting or refusing to
vote the sums proposed, confirms or re
Jects the views Of the executive as to the
limits of state Interference. In this set
tlement the executive and the legislature
represent the two sides of business
transaction. The former represents the
supply of governmental interference which
in its view would be advanta geous: the lat
ter, the demand of he people for such
interfcrences.
Their views are likely TO be very diff
ferent. The administration is prone TO
oyer-estimate the advantages of the ser