6o 4 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



No. 2. 

 Peace Expenditures : 



Civil service ' $66,000,000 



Army and fortifications 37,000,000 



Navy 25,000,000 



Indians 6,000,000 



Postal deficiency 7,000,000 



Miscellaneous , 21,000,000 



Rivers and harbors 10,000,000 



Total $173,000,000 



Peace Revenue on Present Basis : 



Brought forward from the war taxes $20,000,000 



Miscellaneous permanent receipts, omitting so-called profit on silver 



coinage 30,000,000 



Customs revenue on basis of calendar year ending December 



31, 1889 $230,000,000 



Less sugar assigned to war expenses 60,000,000 



170,000,000 



Total $220,000,000 



Surplus available for reduction of taxation 47,000,000 



On reference to the table of the revenue derived from imports, 

 sorted according to their kind, given in the first part of this trea- 

 tise, it will be found that — 



Aside from sugar, necessary articles of food have been taxed annually be- 

 tween $10,000,000 and $12,000,000 



Articles in a crude condition necessary in the processes of domestic industry. 



$13,000,000 to 14,000,000 

 Articles partly manufactured which are necessary in the pro- 

 cesses of domestic industry $23,000,000 



Less some duties which are imposed in order to adjust other 



duties to the internal taxes, etc 3,000,000 



■ 20,000,000 



Total $46,000,000 



All this revenue can be spared. All these taxes are a useless 

 burden upon domestic industry. This relief can be given within 

 the surplus proved to exist, if this Congress does not waste the 

 substance of the people in order to prevent a reduction of taxa- 

 tion.* 



Of course, one can not enter into details in a magazine article. 

 Judgment would be required in abating the duties upon crude 

 and partly manufactured materials. Under these headings there 

 may be a very few articles which it may be necessary to move 



* Since this treatise was first prepared for submission to a private club, the dependent 

 pension bill has been passed, which may increase the current annual obligation to $100,- 

 000,000 a year. If common sense ruled in fiscal legislation, a duty on tea and coffee would 

 have been imposed to meet this increased obligation. But even this new burden will not 

 prevent the application of this budget within two or three years by the next Congress — 

 such is the elasticity of our revenue, in spite of all the stupidities of partisan legislation. 



