| Expenditures as published. | Expenditures as corrected. | |
| 1907 | $190,238,288.34 | $190,758,907.43 |
| 1908 | 208,351,886.15 | 208,114,626.20 |
| 1909 | 221,004,102.89 | 227,204,092.31 |
| 1910 | 229,977,224.50 | 230,322,942.62 |
| 1911 | 237,648,926.68 | 230,516,814.45 |
From the foregoing it will be seen that the corrected figures show a range of variance from the published figures, of over $6,400,000. That is, the corrected figures are some $230,000 below for the year 1908 and more than $6,200,000 above for the year 1910, the showing in the departments published reports.
A similar correction for the year 1911 cannot be made until the department chooses to enlighten the public as to the amount of 1910-11 unpaid bills it has carried forward to become a charge against the receipts of the year 1911-12.
As the account for the year stands above, the surplus for the year 1910-11 is $7,363,009.15—not the comparatively trifling amount of $219,118.12, as published. Of course, if the report shows that 1912 pays $7,363,009.15 of 1911 expenditures, then the paltry surplus for the last-named year may stand as given in the report. But if the 1912 report should show that so much as one dollar more of 1911’s unpaid bills were shunted onto 1912 than 1911 paid on account of 1910’s shunted bills ($7,132,112.23), then Mr. Hitchcock’s joy-producing “surplus” will vanish as an actuality in correct accounting.
Following is the showing of the deficits or balances as published, as compared with the actual deficits or balances, as corrected according to previous explanation:
| Deficits as published. | Deficits as corrected. | ||
| 1907 | $ 6,653,282.77 | $ 7,173,901.84 | |
| 1908 | 16,873,222.74 | 16,635,962.79 | |
| 1909 | 17,441,719.82 | 23,641,709.24 | |
| 1910 | 5,848,566.88 | 6,194,285.00 | |
| 1911 | 219,118.12 | (Surplus) | 7,363,009.15 |
There, again, is shown a range of more than $6,400,000 between the published and the very near actual deficits of the several years, not including 1911, for the showing on which, for reasons stated, I and the rest of the “dear people,” who are just now being “worked” for votes, will have to wait until the 1912 report is published.
Why, nothing but a government treasury—the treasury of our easily “bubbled” people—could survive that sort of bookkeeping for the time covered in the above tabulated statement of published and actual yearly shortages and of one alleged surplus.
AN EXECUTIVE OVERSIGHT—POSSIBLY.
We will now detach ourselves from these wearisome figures and more wearisome figuring, using figures only as a sort of garnishment to chief courses served to us by the President and our Postmaster General.