NATIONAL BUDGETS.
In this sense the United States has no budget system owing to the division between the legis lative and executive branches of the govern ment. In England the Chancellor of the Exchequer reports to Parliament the estimated receipts and expenditures and makes proposals whereby they may be met; he is responsible for all financial legislation in the House of Commons. In the United States the Secretary of the Treasury, while submitting the estimates to the House of Representatives, has no voice in formulating the plans for revenues and ex penditures which are framed and elaborated by Congress. He transmits without revision the estimates of the other Cabinet officers which usually form the basis for the Congressional appropriation bills, but these estimates are purely formal since Congress rarely heeds ex ecutive recommendations regarding appropria tions if it be in a temper to disregard them. Hence there cannot be that accurate adjust ment of expenditures to receipts which char acterizes the European budgetary practice. In submitting his estimates one Secretary of the Treasury said: "I regret the necessity of sub mitting them, for they are for the most part problematical. I have no means of knowing what will be the amount of the appropriation at the coming session, what will be the effect of the proposed revision of the tariff upon the revenue tariff from imports, nor what will be the ultimate effect upon the internal revenue of certain moral and economic movements which seriously affect these sources of revenue. It is little more than guess-work to give esti mates of this kind?" This explains in a few words the difficulties besetting one in attempt ing to make an estimate, for not only do the revenues and expenditures fluctuate violently at times through the workings of outside in fluences and other causes beyond the ken or control of the authorities, but Congress is so prodigal at times in its appropriations and so penurious at others, due to many known or hidden reasons, that the executive departments cannot make orderly computations in advance See APPROPRIATIONS, AMERICAN SYSTEMS OF.
The fluctuations in customs duties by dec ades have been great. During the period from 1871-80 the minimum receipts in round figures were $130,170,000 and the maximum 000, a difference of $86,200,000; during 1::1 90 the minimum was $181,471,000 and the maxi mum $229,668,000, a difference of $48,197,000; during 1891-1900 the minimum was $131,818,003 and the maximum was $233,165,000, a difference of $102,347,000; during 1901-10 the minimum was$238,535,000 and the maximum $333,683,000, a difference of $95,148,000; during 1911-15 the minimum was $209,786,000 and the maximum $318,891,000, a difference of $109,105,000. The
internal revenue receipts are more stable, the range during the past four decades being as follows: 1871-80, minimum $102,410,000, maxi mum $143,098,000, difference $40,688,000; 1::1 90, minimum $112,499,000, maximum $146,490, 000, difference $33,991,000; 1891-1900, minimum $143,422,000, maximum $295,328,000 (including War ar taxes), difference $151,906,000; 1901-10, minimum, $230,810,000, maximum $307, 181,000, difference $76,371,000; 1911-15, mini mum $321,612,000, maximum $415,669,000, differ ence $94,057,000. The expenditures do not fluc tuate with such wide variations as receipts, and omitting disbursements on account of the postal service have been as follows: 1871-80, minimum U36,964,000, maximum $301,239,000 difference $64,275,000; 1881-90, minimum $242,483,000, maximum $297,736,000, difference $55,253,000; 1891-1900„ minimum $345,023,000, maximum $605,072,000, difference $260,049,000; 1901-10, minimum $471,191,000, maximum T662,324,000, difference $191,133,000; 1911-15, minimum $654, 137,000, maximum $731,399,000, .difference $77, 262,000. Hence, as it is impossible to make an orderly budget in advance, the operations of the government have resulted in a series of surpluses and deficits. In severalyears there has been a surplus of more than $100,000,000 and in three successive years the deficit has amounted to more than $50,000,000. In 1905 the difference between the estimated and actual deficits was only $6,000,000; in 1908 it was $38,000,000, due to the fact that the actual receipts exceeded the estimates by $19,000,000 and the actual expenditures were $19,000,000 less than had been estimated.
Therefore the need of improving the Fed eral budgetary practice has been the subject of much earnest discussion, but so far Con gress has refused to surrender any of its privileges, though in 1909 a law was passed that if, on comparison, the Secretary of the Treasury should find the estimated expendi tures to exceed the estimated revenues, he should submit them to the President so that the latter might recommend the raising of revenues from new sources or the authorization of loans. During his entire term of office President Taft pressed upon Congress the necessity for new legislation and in 1912 even directed that two separate estimates be made by each. department, one as prescribed by law and one according to his own ideas, but a spirit of antagonism to any new device developed in Congress and on 24 Aug. 1912 that body pro hibited any change in the form in which the estimates should be transmitted. On 26 Feb. 1913 President Taft again recommended budget ary reform but no action was taken and Presi dent Wilson, though an advocate of the budget system, was silent upon the subject.