Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1908-09-26

"A SURPLUS, not 4 DEFICIT
Tho Democratic Candidate Must
Either Confess Himself q Stupid
Novice in Regard to Public Fl
nance or Else Appear as One
Deliberately Seeking to
Mislead the American
People as to Facts.

Mr.. Bryan, hermetlcaliy cuIkeu ~
on the old issues OF free silver, im-
periaiism, and government ownership
Of railways, is scrutinizing the record
Of Republican administration during
the past twelve years with q micro
scope to ind some peg on which 10
hang an attack. 1t would not pc az
together surprising II q party whicn
had done so much in this period 70 al
vance the glory and prog,
ress OF the country a mad q casual
error here and there. These tWeive
years have witnessed the wal Wild
Spain, which gave reedom 70 Guns
and Porto Rico and brought the Fnil-
ippines under American autnorlty.
They have witnessed the emergencs
of the country from depression and
financial uncertainty upon the nfm
cro,;nd OF the gold standard, enacted
into law BY q Republican Congress.
They have witnessed the creation OF
q navy which is carrying our nag
with honor around the world. Iney
have witnessed the extension OF tne
O hand over the railways ana
the great corporations In behalf o.
equality OF treatment for all citizens,
In sum and substance these Twelve
years have witnessed for the average
man q degree OF prosperity and COM
fort never before equalled under
flag in any country since the wori0
began.
In picking flaws In this record MT.
Bryan has taken upon himself 70 CRIT
icise the appropriations OF p last
Congress and to make the declaration
that there was a deficit OF some $b0,-
q 5000 In the last fiscal year. IL
Mr.. Bryan knows what he is taking
about this reference to a dencit ID
amazingly d~isingenuOus. Secretary
C~ortelyOu punctured this particular
Bryan gas bag effectively soon after
the fiscal year closed on June 80. he
issued q statement showing that when
the proceeds Of bonds sold were add
ed to the receipts from taxation and
miscellaneous sOurces, and allowance
was made for the reduction OF the
public debt, there was no deflctt, but
q surplus. The appearance OF q de-
hcit was only arrived at by counting
all expenditures for the Panama Ca
nal and other public works, and fall
ing to count on the side Of the receipts
the proceeds of the bonds sold for tho
construction of the canal. 1t Is the
custom in nearly every other civilized
Government to issue bonds for all
public works, but so large have been
the receipts of the Treasury OF the
United States that 1t has been h
custom to- pay for these permanent
investments OF capital out Of current
receipts. 1t Is a bad system OF book
keeping, and Secretary COrtely0u has
announced that he proposes to correct
1t. 1t might have been pardonable
e. tsxho = T. The cfroofn IN ho nnfo-
led by the present form of Treasury
statement. 1t is not pardonable on
the part OF a man who pretends to be
a student of public questions. MIR.
Bryan must either confess himself q
stupid novice In regard to public
finance or-as deliberately seeking to
mislead the people as to the facts. :
The tremendous expansion Of mill
tary and economic activity through
out the world has undoubtedly led to
q volume of expenditures which calls
for serious consideration. In Ger
many it became necessary last spring
to issue a large loan to cover 0rdln-
airy expenditures and to consider every
possible means of increasing taxation.
In France the ministry even pressed
through the Chambers the proposition
to tax the coupons of the public debt,
thereby taking back from the citizen
in taxes what 1t had promised to pay
him in interest when he loaned his
capital. In Great Britain changes
In the rate of the income tax afford Q
ready means Of adjusting income to
expenditure, butthe burden falls heav-
lily first upon the small s~hopkeeper
and is shifted by him largely to the
masses whom he supplies with daily
necessities. In all these countries
substantially all public works OF a
permanent character, whether great
or small, are charged to special ac-
counts.
Secretary Cortelyou has already
announced that he is having the sys-
tenn of bookkeeping at the Treasury
overhauled and modernized. All ad-
m~inistrations in the United States are
prevented from applying the pruning
knife ~resolutely to expenditures, be-
cause there is not the complete con-
troll of the budget by a single Minister
which prevails in Europe. Some steps
in this direction should undoubtedly
be taken, but few voters are likely to
be misled as to the relative efficiency
and intelligence in taking such steps
which would be shown by a
Bryan administration on one hand
or a Republican administration
headed by Mr.. Taft on the 9TH
er. Mr.. Taft in his speech OF
acceptance requested the supporters
of Mr.. Bryan to put their fingers on
the items where expenditures could be
legitimately reduced. He pointed out
that the increase was due chiefly to
the enlargement of the navy, the con-
structiOn of the Panama Canal. the
extension of rural free delivery. the
enforcement of the pure food and
meat laws, which have probably saved
hundreds of lives, the rigid s%upervis-
ion of the railways, which has been
demanded by public opinion, the rec
lamation of the arid lands and the
preservation of our national forests.
If Mr.. Bryan knows anything about
finance let him put his finger on those
items In this list which he would wipe
- $780,. A. 1.,lonf ~ vAnndfturnE