In addition to this sum, under present laws the government will tax the people in the next fiscal year for some other purposes, to wit:

For the payment of bounties to sugar-planters and maple-tree tappers, about ten million dollars ($10,000,000) representing men's work for three hundred days at two dollars, to the number of. For the purchase of four million dollars' worth of silver bullion per month, to be stored in the vaults of the Treasury, forty-eight million dollars ($48,000,000)..

16,666

80,000

96,666

Adding these last items the facts will show about eight hundred and sixty thousand men now working for the support of the government and for the support of those to whom bounties are to be paid; or, what is nearer the truth, every one who is at work in every occupation is forced to continue the effort so much longer, or to work so much harder, as the cost of the government is in ratio to the total consumption of taxed articles by every one who does any work-mental, manual, or mechanical.

This cost represents nearly four per cent. of all the work that is done by all the people. The work done to support State and municipal governments is somewhat less. It may come to two or three per cent. When we get the full census figures we may secure a more adequate measure. In 1880 the writer computed the ratio of all taxation to product at about seven per cent. Since then the product has increased, but taxation has somewhat diminished, in ratio to the product. If the taxes were rightly framed and rightly spent we might not complain. Compared to other countries the burden is very light, although in many ways we do not get as much for our money, especially in cities,—but that subject is aside from my present purpose.

According to the Blue Book lately issued by the gov ernment, the total number of persons employed in its

service, omitting postmasters, was over 160,000, to whom must be added the men in the army and the navy, making a total of about 200,000. The number of mechanics and laborers who are employed upon public works cannot be computed.

In dealing with the cost of government in terms of work it will be observed that we may rightly compute the number occupied in the service itself and also the number occupied in making provision for their support. It is not held that the work of government is not necessary and conducive to production, but it represents so much energy diverted from actual production. If men actually governed themselves, then all who are now in the service would be producing something for personal use or exchange, and there would be no taxes to pay. The remis sion of work now exerted for and by the government would then be substantially that of a number of men considerably exceeding one million.

In other words, if there are now about 23,000,000 men, women, and children occupied for gain in all the arts of life, including the support of the government, we may very surely assume that very nearly if not quite five per cent. of the actual work or energy of the people is expended in the processes of the national government.

CHAPTER III.

TAXATION MEASURED IN MONEY.

WE may now deal with the public expenditures in the customary way in which a custodian of other people's money should render his account. In the vernacular a good many people desire to ask Uncle Sam what he has done with the product of their work. Uncle Sam replies in the following terms:

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
In account with THE TAX PAYERS.

EXPENDITURES.

The total expenditure of the government in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, including the postal service, amounted to..

Recovered from postal service in compensation for carrying mails.....

Remainder... . . ..

Customs revenue returned in Rebates, Drawbacks, etc....

Net expenditure...

Amount of extraordinary expenditures in the specific year ending June 30, 1891, which will not recur again : Refund to States of Direct Taxes levied

during the war..

Cost of Eleventh Census.

$421,304,470 46

65,931,785 72

$355,372,684 74

11,937,408 79

$343,435,275 95

Remainder representing the true cost of government for
fiscal year ending June 30th, 1891...
Expenditures in that year which will recur and for which
provision must be made from year to year, but which
are not a part of the normal or true cost of govern-
ment:

Pensions a little less than one-third for first payments
which once paid are final.

$325,970,801 90

124,415,951 40

ΙΟ

$201,554,850 50

The true pension roll or payments which are recurrent until death amounted to less than $80,000.000. It is probable that all claims under existing acts will have been audited before June 30, 1894, when all first payments will have been liquidated. The annual pension change will then fall off one-third or more.

True cost of government..

Expenses of a variable but continuous character, to be repeated year by year at the will of each Congress, according to the ability of the country to bear taxation : On Public Buildings..

On Rivers....

On Harbors.

On Naval Vessels.

$4,811,822 16

8,760,464 71

3,490,162 52

10,609,197 15

$27,671,646 54

$1,837,098 45

Sinking Fund Central Pacific R. R.

$79,663,740 43

Normal or true cost of government which is not subject to

any great variation and which is diminishing in ratio

to population.

Legislative Department.

Executive Department.

State Department..

Treasury Department.

Interior Department.

Agricultural Department..

174,897 20

2,170,047 47
29,216,319 86

15,271,705 34
1,797,147 16

143,682 50

Department of Labor..

It will be observed that the true cost of the government was $121,891,110.07, and that the expenditures of a constructive order which will be constant for many years, varying and lessening in amount at the will of each Congress, were $79,663,740.43. These two sums taken together give all the expenditures which are of a recurrent description and which may be called normal, to which pensions are to be added:

Normal...
Pensions..

Total..

$201,554,850 50 124,415,951 40 $325,970,801 90

Upon this analysis of the true expenditures of the fiscal years ending June 30, 1891, future expenditures may be predicated.

Having credited the government with these expenditures, we may now take up the debit side of the account.

Taxation and work are two names for the same thing. How much money's worth is to be charged to the government and what were the sources or subjects of taxation from which its revenue is derived are given below. The subjects of taxation and the revenue from each class are concisely given in the Annual Report of the Bureau of Statistics of the Treasury Department upon imports entered for consumption