Evening star., 1915-05-26
Several Large Funds Available.

But there are several large funds that
remain in the general fund, practically
unchanged and available for any
purposes Of disbursement. although
charged off as liabilities. Such Is the
postal savings account $3,241,175.37
May %, more apt to steadily grow in
volume than to decrease. The redemp-
tion funds for national bank notes and
federal reserve notes. $1a.7S8.36e.60 and
date; tho national bank per cent
fund, $27.303.195.39. and the fund for
the retirement of additional circula-
tion, s95.0Ss.3s4.52. accounts moro or
less mutable. still represent immense
sums of cash remaining in the Treas
ury, although charged against the bal
ance of the general fund. Two other
items that might come into the same
category are the assets of failed banks,
$3.301 .2s935. and miscellaneous, $10.-
124.453.76.
The law provides that deposits made
by national banks to redeem circu-
lating notes shall be covered into the
United States Treasury as miscellane-
GUS receipts. therefore going to the
credit of the general fund. Tho Treas
ury is required to redeem from the
general cash the circulating notes
which come into Its possession subject
to redemption: In q method OF book
was decided to carry this redemption
fund also as a liability. charging it of
the general fund before payments for
redemption were made.
SIG 900. 900 cash in the Treasury at all
times, allowing for the variation in the
amount from time to time. There is
no reason why such money. should the
cash balance on the general fund ac-
count-which is merely method Of
bookkeepinK-be wiped out on paper,
should not be applied to the payment
Of public debt. In fact. any moneys
in the Treasury could be applied to
such purpose as fast as the warrants
might be issued by the proper officials
and presented for payment.
Deficit" Hard to Define.
The word deficit" as applied to the
public revenues. is one that seems to
have a malign Significance to the gen
eral public. In fact. the exact defini-
ton OF a deficit offers difficulty to many
expert financiers and to some officials
of the government. The popular idea
appears to be that when the govern
ment shows deficit it has not enough
money in hand to pay its current debts.
Such is far from the case.
The term deficit" appears specifl-
cally to mean that the revenues OF a
| fiscal year are not equal to the dis
bursements for the same period. 1t
does not mean that the balance in the
general fund is wiped out and that
there is no cash available that is a
contingency that appears to have re-
ceiyed no defining word title.
Should the revenue of the government
| for the fiscal year to tho close Of bust
| ness, June 80. reach. as has been esti-
mated on the present prospects, $685.
900, 900, and the disbursements aggre-
gate $4,000, 900. as officially estimated
| for the year, that would mean a deficit
for the year Of 3lz.o0O.000. But tho
| accumulation of preceding years. the
surplus in the Treasury represented by
the balance on July /, 1914, tho begin
ming of the fiscal year. would not have
| been taken into consideration in this
comparison of receipts and disburse-
ments. and the government would have
that entire amount, less the amount of
the deficit. as a working balance in the
| general fund.