The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-04-17
|ctIcaIly Every Dollar Received
from Customs Except From SUI
gar Goes to Support the
Army and Navy.
)sT OF MAINTENANCE
Time Of Peace it is Costing This
Country More Than Half
Million Dollars a Day
Some Statistics.

[Gate City Special Service.]
WASHINGTON, April 16.-While
|e country is SO much concerned over
ke Payne tariff bill which has Just
bssed the house, the dual purpose of
mich is to raise revenue and protect
merican industries, few persons re-
lie that practically every dollar
hitch the government receives from
lstoms, with the exception of the
uty or sugar, goes for the mainten-
nee of the army and navy. In other
lords the entire revenue which vii,
derived from the Payne bill. with
be single exception of that received
or the sugar schedule, which is the
frgest revenue producer in the tariff
bw, will, at the present rate of ex-
|ense, be swallowed up by the mill
|hry establishment of the government.
Every dollar paid to Uncle Sam in
customs upon steel, iron, chemicals.
kocd, tobacco, agricultural products,
Vines, and liquors. cotton and wooden
hoods, silks. paper, sundries, and hun
breds of unenumerated articles. he
kil expend to keep the uniform upon
The boys in blue. All other expenses
bf the government including the mil
lions for pensions annually must be
met with the sugar revenue and the
Internal revenue tax.
The amount of money which is be-
+ expended to keep up our military
hnd naval establishments would stag
ger the average citizen if he ever
Stopped to think about it. Probably
not one person in ten thousand real
bzes that We are spending daily upoa
The army and navy more than half
million dollars, or to be more exact
E652,41S This too, is in time of peace.
Pt is easy to figure this cost The
amount appropriated by the last con
gress for the army was Sol. 197.470,
and for the navy $136,935, 1879. Add
these two amounts together and divide
by S65 and it will be seen that we are
spending more than $3.50, 900 a day for
our military establishment. The cost
Of the army and navy has grown
enormously.
During the first year of President
McKinley's administration, we expend-
ID for the army s23.129 900 and were
hen well enough prepared to fight the
'panish-American war, while during
: first year Of President Taft's adj
r'nistration the cost of the army will
'e S101,197000, more than four times
S much. During McKinleys first
ear SS3,0o0,0 600 was spent upon our
avy and during Taft's first year
here will be expended upon the same
establishment s136.935,000, asain more
nan four times as much as was eX-
ended twelve years ago. The first
ickinley year was an average year
90. The average actual appropria-
ions for the army for the eight years
preceding the Spanish
'ar We're s23,S25,ooo, while for the
asst eight years the average has been
sS'Ol4,O00 annually. For the eight
ears Immediately preceding the
panish war the average annual APP
ropriations for the navy were ST.
1900, while for the past eight years
lie average annual expenditure has
cen slo2,4os.ooo.
But these figures do not begin to
III the whole story of what it is cost
g the United States in payment for
ars which have been fought and in
for wars which may come.
he last session of the Goth congress
'propriated s1,o44,ot4,29S, and of
us amount little more than one
VI, or S525,742,301 went to the army
~ navy, for pensions, for fortifica-
,ns. for the military academy. for
liltla, and for the payment of inter-
u on the war debt, all chargeable