| Show THE TREASURY RECORD th that at secretary melon continues to be a good vesser or perhaps a good estimator would be better is evidenced by the report recently submitted by the treasury department in the condition of the united states treasury for the he end of the fiscal year june 30 the surplus in the treasury for the oe year amounted to which expressed in percentage was just one and three fourths per cent les than the estimated surplus abich was given out by the secretary of the treasury treadun months ago when the tax bill was in process of formation and mr mellons estimate of the income tax receipts was even closer the actual receipts of the treasury from income taxes for the year amounted t to 2 while mr mellons estimate had been a difference nce of less than one half of one per cent evidently the treasury head knew what he was talking about when he made his estimates early in the year and it is well that congress followed pretty closely the he advice of the treasury in fixing the e about of reduction instead of listening to the advocates of a still greater reduction who declared that the surplus would be much larger than secretary mellons iel I el ons prediction and that it would all come out right anyhow the further r rord record ord of the treasury is one which bespeaks bespeak economy and careful handling of the nations finance during the fiscal year ju jut just t closed the total payment on the public debt was and during the same time it will be remembered that were reduced nearly the total debt of the government by the latest reduction has been brought down to a quite different figure than the one w which stared the nation in the face when mr mellon took charge of our financial housekeeping and during this same year refunding operations by the treasury so brought it about that there is now a reduction of interest on five billion dollars dollar s worth of liberty bonds it has always been the policy of mr mellon and in this of cour course he lie has been backed up by the administration tra tion that the public debt should be reduced as rapidly as possible without interfering wi with ith the regular financial processes of the government there has been and still is a considerable sid erable school of financiers who have taken issue with secretary mellon melon on on this point and who have maintained that the debt should only be retired by the normal funding operations which would be a much slower program than the one followed by the secretary of the treasury that mr mellon is right is evidenced by the fact pointed out by the washington post coq that if the v ashes of this other 1 school of finance had prevailed and only the normal funding operation had been carried out the people of the united states would now be paying pa ying more in the wily way of interest on the debt than they are now compelled to pay quite a saving this and one due to the policy carried out by the treasury department As the post well concludes the mellon policy haa has been to operate the govern government ment on a safe margin and a apply p any surplus to reduction of the national debt this has resulted in a saving just as actual to the taxpayer as any reduction in taxes but has not always suited those who considered their own 0 n desires before those of the nation as aa a whole the best proof of the soundness and efficiency of the fiscal policy of the secretary of the treasury is that it works |
