Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 148, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 January 1904 — UNCLE SAM A NABOB. [ARTICLE]

UNCLE SAM A NABOB.

Beats All Napoleons of Finance as a ■ Money-maker. That the cost of the government is daily increasing, and that, in spite of this increasing cost, the United States is able, after paying every bill, to put as i d ejn ior e ca sir. each.. nig h t at- th-e -close of business than it did on the corresponding “day last year or the year before that, are easily ■. demonstrated by an analysis of the daily balance sheet issued by the' Secretary of the Treasury. One of the clever statisticians of Washington took the statement of a reccut day, which was typicad of -tire w-hole series of the fall season, and made some interesting deductions. The dtaEement, which set forth the transactions of an ordinary day, shows that the total receipts of tlie from all sources for that day were $2,020,830.55, mid that the total expenses of that day were $1,830,000, thus leaving a balance of receipts over expenditures in the treasury of $190,836.55. In other words, the government collected nearly $200,000 more than it had any immediate need for. The source of greatest income on this particular day was from customs collections levied under the tariff act. They totaled for the day $1,131,878.59. This is at the. rate of $47.1G7.G0 an hour, or $786.01 a minute, or $-13.10 a second. While collecting tariff duties at the rate of $13.10 -a second, the government at the same time was collecting internal revenue taxes at the rate of $8.76 a second, the total- rqpeipts for the day from that source being $75'3,933.72. From miscellaneous sources there was collected duripg the day $132,024.24. On the corresponding day last year the receipts from all sources were $1,331,440.40, with expenses of Collections for the corresponding day last year were at the rate of $15.41 a second, the profits to the government on the day’s transactions/being only $1.99 a second, against $2.21 a second on Sept. IG, 1903. The item of greatest cost, as shown by the statement under review, was credited to “war” —merely a convenient term used by the treasury's bookkeepers to imjjcate the tofal expense of the War Department for that day. The exhibit shows that there was disbursed on account of “war” on Sept. IG, $720,000. and on the same day, the navy cost the nation $570,000. Tension payments for the day were $300,000, thus making Ute total expense of the government on account of war and the necessary equipment to carry it on's 1.590,000. While, of course, an cncrmoug amount of money is paid out every day in expenses, the' government, ns has been shown, is making a profit of $2,21* a second on its daily transactions.