Ellsworth American., 1908-09-23

Mr. Bryan, hermsticallycorked up
on the old issues OF free Niver. I'M
peria1ism, and guvernment 9snership
Of railways. u scrutinixtng therecord
Of Republican admintDtSAtion osring
the past twelve years with = micro
scope to And some peg on whi6 to
hanr an attack. II would not be al
together surprising X party whph
had done - much In this period to 3D.
vance the glory and economic prog
ress of the country has made Z casual
error here and there. These twelve
years have witnessed the war with
Spsin. which gave freedom to Cuba
ana Porto Rico and brought the Php-
ippines under American authority.
They have witnessed the emergenc@
Of the country from depression and
financial uncertainty upon the firm'
ground OF the gold standard. enacted
into Law BY . Republican Congress.
They have witnessed the creation OF
navy which u carrying our flag
with honor around the world. They
have witnessed the extension OF the
strong hand over the railways and
the great corporations In behalf OF
equality Of treatment for all citizens.
In sum and substance these twelve
wears have witnessed for the average
man . degree Of prosperity and COM
fort never before eQualled under any
nag In any country since the world
began.
In picking flaws in this record Mr.
Bryan has taken upon himself to crit
tcise the appropriations of the last
Congress and to make the declaration
that there was = deficit of some $780,
600, 1000 In the last fiscal year" II
Mr.. Bryan knows what he Is talking
about this reference to deficit is
amazingly disingenuous. Secretary
Cortelyou punctured this particular
Bryan gas bag effectively soon after
the fiscal year closed on June 30. He
issued a 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 deficit, but
. surplus. The appearance Of de-
iicit was only arrived ut by counting
all expenditures for the Panama Co
nal and other public works. and fail
ing to count ON the side of the receipts
the proceeds Of the bonds sold for the
CVUWtI uCAtO1 Va A00 NnAAAAs - - sA1
custom In nearly every other civilized
Government to issue bonds for all
public works. but 90 large have been
the receipts OF the Treasury of the
United States that II has been the
custom to pay for these permanent
investments Of capital out Of current
keeping. and Secretary Cortelyou has
- 49, tra rorFarf
II. II might have been pardonabie
for the man In the street" to be mis-
led by the present form of Treasury
statement. II p not pardonable on
the part Of Z man who pretends to be
student Of public questions. Mr..
Bryan must either confess himself a
stupid novice In regard to public
finance or q deliberately seeking to
mislead the people - to the facts.
The tremendous expansion OF mill
tary and economic activity through
out the world has undoubtedly led to
. volume of expenditures which calls
for serious consideration. In Ger
many Il became necessary last spring
to issue large loan to cover ordin-
ary 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 It had promised to pay
him In interest when he loaned his
capital. In Great Britain changes
In the rate Of the income tar aford
ready means of adjusting income 10
expenditure. butt the burden fails heav-
lily first upon the small shOpkeeper
and is shifted by him largely to the
masses whom he supplies with daily
necessities. In all these countries
substantially all public works oil
permanent character. whether great
or small. are charged to special ac-
counts.
Secretary cortelyou has already
announced that he ID having the sys-
tenn Of bookkeeping at the Treasury
overhauled and modernized. All ad-
ministrati0ns In the United States are
prevented from applying the pruning
knife resolutely to expenditures. pc
cause there u not the complete CON
troll Of the budget by. single Minister
which prevails In Europe. Some steps
in this direction should undoubtediy
be taken. but few voters are likely 70
be misled as'to the relative emciency
and intelligence IN taking such steps
which would be shown by
Bryan administration ON one nano
OF Republican administrators
headed by Mr.. Taft on the ON.
er. Mr.. Taft In his speech ..
acceptance requested the supporters
OF Mr.. Bryan to put their fingers On
the items whore expenditures couid ~
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