Sad Statistics

Sad Statistics $629,889,093 Such was the Federal deficit for the first four months of fiscal 1933, announced last week by the Treasury. In spite of tax-upping the Treasury took in during this period only $566,358,376 compared with $714,918,740 for the same period last year. October receipts were a skimpy $129,400,000 of which $13,600,000 was in income taxes and $24,744,027 in customs receipts. The Hawley-Smoot tariff yielded $46,561,529 in October 1931. Miscellaneous taxes on which rates were increased accounted for $78,000,000 of the October revenue or $32,500,000 more than was collected from these sources the same month last year. The Treasury had hoped for about $100,000,000 per month from this tax source.

On Oct. 31 the public debt stood at $20,812,541,385 compared with $17,291,714,018 on the same date last year.

In charge of internal revenue now is Assistant Secretary James Henderson ("Jim") Douglas Jr., by far the best looking member of the Hoover sub-Cabinet, a product of Chicago and Princeton (1920) whose mind and manners are as accurate and pleasant to behold as his superb golf game. Before going into the banking business (Field, Glore & Co.) he was an attorney (Winston, Strawn & Shaw), never worked for Quaker Oats Co. of which his father was executive committee chairman. He was called to Washington last spring when his fellow Princetonian, Walter E. Hope of New York, resigned. Of late he has been giving most of his time to settling tax accounts with insolvent taxpayers. His purpose wherever possible has been to try to keep a taxpayer a taxpayer. It was the Treasury's expectation, according to Assistant Secretary Douglas, that revenue would lag for the first six months of fiscal 1933. Counted on to cut the growing bulk of the deficit are income tax payments next March under new and higher rates. But even here the Treasury's actual receipts remain highly conjectural.

As the deficit grew so did the prospect that more tax-upping will shortly be in order if the Budget is ever to be balanced. The 1932 Revenue Act, based on Treasury estimates and whipped through Congress amid great excitement, has so far failed to do the trick. Last week's best guess was that the Sales Tax would be resurrected in December.

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