Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1902 — A REMARKABLE SITUATION. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A REMARKABLE SITUATION.

Uncle Sam's Overflowing Treasury Too Much for Mr. Gage. As with private individuals, most governments are chiefly concerned with devising ways and means to make the income of their treasuries sufficiently great to meet the outgo. Italy is practically bankrupt and her people are driven to the verge of desperation and rebellion by the pressure of taxes. The German Emperor is at his wits’ ends to devise means for raising the money necessary for the carrying out of his pet schemes. Even rich old John Bull is finding difficulty in raising the wherewithal to meet his current expenses, so great is the expenditure caused by the South African war. With Uncle Sam the anxiety arises from an exactly opposite cause. His income is so much greater than his ex-

penses that his strong box is overflowing, and he is perplexed as to how to dispose of an enormous and constantly increasing surplus. Tlie growth in the United States treasury fund is unprecedented, and Secretary Lyman J. Gage confessed himself overwhelmed, and is only too glad to surrender the shovel to Leslie M. Shaw of lowa. Never before in the history of the United States has a Secretary of the Treasury been confronted with such a problem as Mr. Shaw must face. At a time when the other great countries of the world find themselves at the end of their intellectual resources to devise means for stopping the tremendous and constantly growing deficits, the United States actually is at a loss how to dispose of its enormous surplus, a quantity which is increasing in leaps and bounds. The available cagh balance is now about $175,009,090, exclusive of the $150,000,000 in the reserve fund. Tho excess of receipts over expenditures for the past six months has been nearly $45,000,000, more than double the excess for the corresponding six mouths of last year; and this despite the reduction 'or abolishing of the internal revenue taxes. The amount of gold, free of all demands | outstanding, and held in the treasury amounts id $71,000,000 in coin. Besides this there is $58,000,000 in gold certifi cates. The ofily way the Secretary may hold down this surplus is by the roduction of the national debt. This debt Is in the form of bonds. Secretary Gage bought back $43,000,000 worth of these bonds, but neither he nor hie successor dares go much farther. He cannot buy them except at a premium, and ft would be considered bad policy for tbe Secretary to bld against himself by raising the market for bonds.

EX-SECRETARY OF TREASURY GAGE.