The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-01
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Gcvernme Makes Profit of $59,- ...> Oo,ooo in 1906.
National Treassrsr ssys TAat Cssstrx is New Il cessitiea V r.v s nsasa naturisE ssiv | iSsv cenprehe.siv. stsss-
 meat.

s " Wdshin8ton, Dec $1.--'TheFo as no occasion for alarm. Our only anxiety need bs lest we fall of facilities prop eyly to- garner. store. transport and market our multiplied blessings. Let every man bc of good cheer and try te @ pc cease. ynsive in everytItaE except
 Thus Secretary shaw ccnciudes . re- sume of the year's financial record which he says has been prepared in response to multipiied requests. Tn round numbers he piaces the receipts for the calendar year 1906 at $635. .000,- 600 and the expenditures at $5e6. 900 .o00. or an excess of receipts over expendi- lures of $59.000. 900 {. As thefe have been no change in the tarin laws or the laws relating to internatton8I rev- enue, Secretary Shaw says the 1Arke extraordinary trade activity. The to- tai expenditures. however. for 1908. as compared with 1905, he says, show al decrease of 15. 900. 900. sf
 Discussing the finances of the Gov ernments for the twelve months of the retary says that the books of the Treasury shows surplus receipts over expenditures Of $as.0oa,000 as compared with deficit Of $S.ooo,oo0 for the cor responding months of the previous fis- cal year. The cash in the Treasury is | &l3VsVVVsbuV A1 CofnpAEe0 Wltu 900 a year ago. an increase of $1s.ooo.- 900. The cash in national bank de-l positories is t15s.o0o.000 as compared with 365,000.000 q year ago, an in-, crease of $s4,00o, ,000. and the total cash in the general fund ia Ss46.o00.00o as this cash there afg liabilities at the present time .ot z ssuo0, 900 greater than at the same tf7f6 last year. The avail able cash balance has Increased during the year s1o1.ooo.ooox Bonds Can Be Fsfd.
 With the general fund starding at shst ss s'sHSsi shs Sonds mssusins July I, iso1, can be paid, if It t3aiI be deemed wise and stilI leeye ! working balance Of moro than. &1 17o. .ee f106. s5 v s IF sthe oxensss y.vutd accept tlie mon ey he says. the bonds could be paid now, but he doubts whether any con siderable number of the holders would accept payment at this time. because they are of the class who care for lit- tie less than certainty of securities and exemption from taxation. MT. Shaw says he has thought best, however. to leave to his successor. the discretion of paying these bonds at maturity, or of refunding such portion as he may deem appropriate During the last twelve months, the Secretary continues, the money in circulation, exclusive of the amount in the Treasury vaults. has increased more than $200, 100000. Of this increase, $145,000, 900 is available for bank reserve, and $60.o0o is in na- tionai bank circulation.
 This" he says, "seems to be a com plete answer to the oft repeated crit icism that the independent treasury system necessarily results in contrac- ton when money Is most needed"
 He maintains. therefore. that the ex- isting money stringency. worldwide in It's extent, is traceable in no respect to the independent treasury system of the United States. He says the manifest andadmitted shortage has been caus- ed by the unprecedented prosperity in this country, and reasonable prosper ity everywhere. The people of the Unit ed States. he declares. consume per capita, more food. more clothers, more of everything, than any other people in the world and when prosperous, they import very largely. This, he as- serts, naturally encourages industry everywhere and unusual business act ivity calls for an unusual amount of active money.
 Currency Reform Adequate.
 As to currency reform. Secretary Shaw says that in his judgment it per mits adequate expansion, but that it's weakness is it's failure to produce con traction. The volume of money. he con tends does not respond to the volume of our trade. The annual increase, he adds, may be sufficient, but there is no annual contraction during the summer months.
 "Only the minimizing and Had vised," he says. charge the stringency to stock and bond speculation
 Just now specl llation in real estate iS hioh tide dnd the ODiniOn n fe expressed that very likely as much money Is tied up In option and margins in real estate as in options and margins on stocks and bonds
 The effect of the present car short age on the money market also Is al- luded to. The secretary says:
 "A larger crop Of cotton than usual and unprecedented yield of cereals, fruits and every ether agricultural pro- duct has filled 'granaries and ware houses and congested every important railway A few years ago freight cars averaged forty miles per day, but now they average tut twenty-five miles per day.
 "This delayed fHeight is represented somewhere by borrowed money and the delayed shipments extends the loans"
 Co-operation between the commercial banks of the county, the secretary says, is impossible because the Sherman anti trust law forbids it.
 On Bank system.
 Instead" he sayA we have approx imately 10000 commercial banks each a law unto itself so long as 1t does not violate statutory requirements, with respect to investments and reserve. As a natural and unvacidable result no combined effort is made in mid summer to provide ample reserve for the strain inevitable upon the return of business activity in the fall and winter. Under our present system the only possible contraction during the supmer and the only possible provision fIr the fall IS accomplished by the Sec4etary of the Treasury withdrawing soNernment de- posits from the banks when these funds are not needed and restoring them as the needs of business require. By keeping a tight rein. wild speculation may be prevented and in most instances