The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-02-06
Our Government
How IL Operates
THE TREASURY
By William Brucknre


usually are done that way over and
over again. allowing, of course, for
proven changes. One of the things
they do is celebrate New Years, and
they have done it with a lot of noise
and loss of sleep for many, many
years.
But their government started
new year recently. and as though
those who direct its affairs wanted
TO be the exception That proved the
rule, they did not start out for a
night Of It. 1t was the fiscal year,
the money year, so to speak, for the
government, and it constitutes the
basis upon which all government
functions are operated, predicated
or planned.
That new year started, as I have
said, without any ballyhoo.. and
without celebration. The ballyhoo
had taken place weeks before; the
officials had done their staying-up
many nights because instead of a
celebration program, they had the
difficult Job of laying out a program
for paying the expenses of the gov
eminent, determining what those ex-
penses should be and deciding where
the money could be obtained for
performing all Of the functions
which we know as government, In
other words, what those officials did
was prepare a budget of income
and outgo.
All of that was done prior to the
new year of which / have spoken.
The date of this new year came.
Circumstances that Immediately pre-
ceded it may be described some
thing as follows: the gigantic set
Of books used by the. treasury were
closed at A 80 p. m. June 80. They
balanced, OF course, but to make the
receipts equal the expenditures for
the twelve months preceding, there
had been borrowings. or money OBJ
tained from the sale of government
tificates of Indebtedness and treas
ury bills. The difference between
the expenses and the regular re-
ceipts of money that the govern
ment did not have to return-in
other words, the amount of the bor-
rowings the govern
ment deficit for the year.
Every agency of the government
having money to spend closed its
books at the same time the treas
ury did. for the next day started
new fiscal year and reckoning was
to start all over again. There were
new funtis available. appropriated
by congress, for operating in the
next twelve months or until June
SO, 1919.
Such was the circumstance of the
governments new year. Prior to
that time. as l have Indicated, tie
treasury, which Is the bank for all
the government. had told the Presi-
dent that it was going to need
lot more money than the tax laws
then in operation would produce.
So the President sent message
TO congress, saying in Substance that
new taxes must be levied so that the
income of the government would be
as great as the necessary expendi-
lures. The budget must be balanced,
or as we used to say. we must live
within our income.
Thus, stripped of bunk, verbiage
and Technology. cross currents of
political explanation and expostula-
ton, the treasury was forced to turn
back to the people for more money.
II may seem to the residents of
any particular township. county or
state. that they are many weary
miles from Washington; that the
government is some gigantic thing
about which they need not concern
themselves directly, but the point
of this article is to show the fall
ment at Washington Is just as near
to us as is the ministration of the
township trustee or the judges or
commissioners by whatever name
known. in the county seat town or
city.
None can deny, therefore, the IN:
fluence exerted upon every citizen
by the treasury for the simple rea-
son that 1t, more than any other
unit of the government, perhaps,
touches that well-known institution,
the pocketbook.
Obviously, OF course, the treas
ury does not get taxes wherever and
whenever 1t desires. The ConstItu.
ton fixed that matter in advance. II
said Congress should levy the taxes.
In truth, however. congress has
from time immemorial followed the
suggestions Of the treasury rather
closely, since the treasury Is better
acquainted with technical matters.
So we have new tax law which
will tax hundreds of different trans
actions Of business as well as In
comes that the government at WASH
ington and all its agencies from
the nearest to the farthest may keep
on operating In your interest and
mine. And IL Is said In the Con-
situation that the treasury shall
have power ito collect taxes" etc.
Yet there Is another function Of
the treasury about which 1t is much
more pleasant to think. II concerns
mnney. MoneT has q fascination