The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1904-09-12


came into power they could not re-
iucc nur army below its present size
without greatly impairfng its cfficicn-
cy aud abandoning part Of .he nation
al duty. In short. in this matter. II
our opponents should come into pow
er they would either have to treat
this particular promise Of the year
1901 az they now treat the promises
they made in 1896 and 1900. that is
az possessing no binding force; OF
else they would have TO embark On
noliey which would be ludici ous at
the moment. and fraught With grave
danger to the national honor in the
future.
Deries Public EStravaaanee.
Our opponents contend that the gov
ernment Is now administered extrav-
agantly. and that whereas there was
"a surplus Of $4,000 600 In 1900"
there is "a deficit OF more than $40
OOj, 600" in the year that has just
closed
This deficit IS imaginary and is OBJ
tained ty including in the ordinary
current expenses the sum Of fifty mil.
lions, which was paid for the right Of
way Of the Panams canal out of the
accumulated surplus in the treasury.
Comparing the current or ordinary ex-
penditures for the two years there
was a surplus Of neaar cie'ty mill
ions Tor the year 1905 na 3 o7iy 4
little more than olga pldcns for
The year that has just closed. But this
dimirution of ths annual surplus was
brought about desisnedly by the aboli-
! tion Of he war taxes in the interval
between the two da'es. The acts of
] March 2, 1901, ard April 12, 1902, cut
/ down the internal revenue taxes &C.
an amornt estimated at one hundred
/ and FIVE millions a year In other
words. the reduction of taxation has
been considerably greater than the
reduction in the annual surplus. Since
the close Of the war with Spain there
has peen no substantial change in
the rate OF annual expenditures. Al
compared With the fiscal year ending
in June, 1901 Tor example, the fiscal
year that has just closed showed
relatively small increase in eypendi
ture Cexcluding the canal payment al
ready referred to) while the year
previous showed relatively small de
crease.
The prime reason why the expenses
Of the government have increased OF
recent wears is to be found in the
fact that the people sfter ma ure
thought, have deemed it wise 20 have
certain now forms OF work for the
public undertaken by the public. This
necessi. .ates such expenditures. for
instance as those for rural Tree de
livery. o, for the inspection OF meats
under the department Of agriculture
or for irrigation. But these new eN
penditurcs ave necessary; no one
would seriously propose 10 abandor
them: and yet It is IDLE to declair
against the increased expense Of thC
government unless il is intended tC
cut down the very expendi ures which
cause the increase. The pensions II
the veterans Of the Civil war are de
mgnded by every sentiment of regart
and gratitude The rural free delivery
is Of the creates. use and convenience
to the farmers. a body of men whC
live under conditions which mak'
them ordinarily receive little direc
return for what they pay toward III,
support Of 'hc government. The irri
cation policy in the arid and semi
arid regions of the west is one fraugh
with the most benehcent and fm
reaching good To the actual settlerl
and home makers. whose encourage
ment Is a traditional feature in Amer
ica's national policy
The Philippine Question
Our opponents promise independ
ence to The Philippine islands. Here
again we are confronted by the fac
that their irreooncilahle differences o
opinion among themselves their prov
ed inability to create a eonstruc iy,
policy waen IN power, and their read
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