Evening star., 1915-11-14
CONGRESSFA ACES AN
ENORMOUS DEFICIT
Next Session May Have to
Make Up a Shortage of
$1OO,OOO,0OO.

Estimating upon the government re-
ceipts for the first four months of the
current fiscal year, a threatened deficit
of s100.00a,000 In the revenues by the
end of the year will engage the atten-
ton of Congress when it assemblies
Consideration of the figures is entirely
aside from the military preparedness
program and relates only to the or
dinary income and outgo of the govern
ment.
The Sixty-third Congress appropriated
in its two sessions for the two fiscal
years 1915 and 1916 total of s2.231.-
o55.l50. which was double the total ap-
propriations of the Fifty-frst Congress,
when Mr.. Reed of Maine answered the
criticism of a billion-dollar Congress
with the retort that this is billion
dollar country" and $500, 600. .000 more
than the total appropriations of the
Sixty-first Congress. the last controlled
by the republicans The appropriations
for this fiscal year total S1,114,937,0 ,012.
Of which s313.364.6s7 was for the postal
service leaving SSO1,572,345 to be met
by the revenues
Customs Receipts Fall Off.
year were only s209.0o0.OOO, the lowest
IN many years. and more than s1OO,Ooo,- :
600 less than for the last year of the
Payne-Aldrich law. For the first four
months of this fiscal year the customs
receipts are s11.500,0O0 less than for
the same period last year If this de-
crease holds throughout the year the
customs receipts will not total more than
, 3.tftt ha
from customs since the repeal of the
W1lson-Gorman tariff law
There has been an increase of about
s19,00O,OO0 in the ordinary internal
revenue receipts for these four months
over the receipts for the same period
last year, due to the emergency tax,
winch did not go into effect until the
first of November. 1914. There has also
been an Increase of about S4,00O,0 900 in
the receipts from the income tax. but
loss of s14,000,000 in miscellaneous
receipts, SO that the net gain from in
ternal revenue is about 100000, or
81, 100000 less than the loss from Gus
toms revenue.
The total receipts last year were
s696,o96. .130.42 and the total disburse-
ments. s760,762, ,147.20. leaving a deficit
of s64. .165, ,416.7s. The outlook for this
year, as indicated by the first four
months, is tnat the total receipts will
not exceed $500 100000 to meet dis
ing deficit of something more than
s10o, 100000. There also threatens to
be deficit in the postal revenues.
Deficit May Be Increased.
All this is on the assumption that
the emergency revenue act and the
sugar duties will be continued Should
either fail the deficit would be increas. d
by at least s50,O00,O0O. If Congress
follows the President and adds $780,
100000 year for the next five years
for national defense, the revenue di-
lsmma of the democrats will be in
creased. There are only S24O,000,000 of
the Panama bonds available, or not
enough to cover the proposed appro-
priations for national defense for the
first year.
The Secretary of the Treasury, it is
said, will have to secure the authority
of Congress to issue other bonds, fixing
the conditions, such as interest. premI-
um, etc. The administration, therefore,
has to consider the alternative of ask
ing Congress for authority to sell a
large block of bonds, and perhaps come
in competition with the allies in the
money market, or recommend new rev.
enue legislation. Free wool, free lum-
ber, free raw materials have been
democratic doctrine for many years
and it is said, it might be as dan
gerous for the President to wink at a
tariff on these products for him to
make a short cut into the protection
camp and recommend a restoration of
some of the old rates of the Dingiey
BILL which was the best revenue tar
if ever enacted
The situation is held to be quite as
embarrassing as it was when Presi-
dent Cleveland sadly admitted that the
democratic party was facing a condi-
ton and not a theory. Mr.. Cleve-
lapd sold S26S 900 900 of bonds TO meet
the condition, but with a continuing z
program for national defense which
will in the end, cost more than a bill
lion dollars, the necessity for another
revision of the revenue laws makes the
old free trade element in the demo-
rt1 Slailer a with the .r,1