Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-12
COST Of GOVERNMENT
Gradual Increase in Expense
Since 1873.
LAST YEAR $578, 903,74
Decrease in Pensions and Interest on
Public Debt.
STAMPING THE PAPER MONEY
Checks on Dishonesty Employed in
the Treasury-only Two
Thefts.
BY WILLIAM F.. CURTIS

BY WILLIAM r. CURTIS.
Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
In answer to an inquiry would say that
the total expense of maintaining the gov
eminent Of the United States last year, in
Guiding the pension list and the interest on
the public debt was 1918 9O3. 747.75. This
does not include the postal service. which,
excepting a small annual deficit. is self
supporting. and costs nearly 500 100000
year. The revenues from the sale of post
age stamps are not included in the pub
lished receipts of the government, and the
SalaTtes of pOstmasterS, the cost of trans
porting the malls, the rent of buildings for
post Offices and other items in the dis
bursements of the postal authorities are
not included In the regular statement Of
though it seems that they properly
should be.
The most expensive year for Uncle Sam
was 1865. when 1t cost him 81 .2b5, S37,-
that amount $1.O31 1923 .36O. 70 was paid for
the defense of the Union. 1922. 612, 945. %
for the support of the navy and SIT ,397, 712
for interest on the public debt, leaving
balance of about $73,OOOOOO for all the
rest of the expenses of the government,
including the pension roll In the follow
ing year. 1866. the total expenditures fell
to $500. $50 $40. and in 1867 they came down
to $34G 10. 325.
From that time they continued to grow
smaller and smaller annually, until they
reached low-water mark in 1878. which
was the cheapest year for the government
since 1851, and the total disbursements
were $236 964 ,326.SO. OF this $1O2, JOO.S74
was interest on the public debt. which.
being deducted, left about 1884 500 600 as
the ordinary expense bill of the govern
ment.
Before the civil war for ten or twelve
years the annual disbursements of the
Treasury were in the neighborhood of
sixty-five or seventy million dollars, and
they continued SO until 1862. when the
war expenses jumped to nearly $45O.OOO,-
coo. and continued to increase enormously,
until high tide was reached in 1865, as l
have already explained.
The Increase Since 1878.
Since low tide in 1873 there has been .
gradual increase. until the. $3OO.O0O.OOO
mark was passed in 1891. the $40O.OO0. 900
mark in 1897 and the $500, 600 900 mark in
1901. There has been considerable varia-
ton caused by the Spanish war and other
reasons. like the increase of the navy
and the increase of the army but since
the Spanish war, when the total expendi-
expenses have gradually increased also
until they reached $57S. 0N3 TAT in 1907.
Before the Spanish war the army never
cost more than fifty millions year. The
Dill FOR 1879 was $ZZ9 ,S4l ,2)4, Wnen IL
dropped to $134.774 ,767. and then con-
tinued to go down until we paid 1922 .576.-
49, for the support of the army last year.
Low tide in the cost of the navy was
reached in 1880. when the total expendi-
lures for that branch of the service
amounted to only $13. $1,000. Then the
total began to rise gradually, with some
variation as the program for the con-
struction Of new fleets was carried out.
until 1893. the year Of the Spanish war.
the total was $5s.S23.0S4 And it con-
tinued to grow until 1905, when Sill $780,
3OS was expended for new battleships and
for the support of the navy-the largest
sum for any year since the civil war,
when 1922 ,612945 was disbursed in 1855.
In no other year of the civil war was so
much money paid out for building ships
and naval expenses as in 1907.
The pension list reached its highest fig
ures in 1893, when the enormous sum OF
$159. 1857 ,557 was paid out as gratuities to
the old soldiers and their widows and or
phans. Since then the total has been
gradually decreasing because of the death
Of the veterans, until the pension bill last
year was $139, 800 514.
The interest on the public debt reached
it's highest figure in 1868. when the total
was $14O 424,O45-more than one-third of
the entire expenses of the government
BY the redemption OF the bonds and by
refunding them at lower rate the in
terest charge has gradually been reduced
until 1907 when it was only $24, 4S1. 15S.