The President has sent his first message to Congress. In it he says that he is very sorry to call an extra session of Congress, but he feels it his duty to do so, because he finds the money affairs of the country in a very bad condition, and thinks it is necessary for Congress to take some immediate steps to find a remedy.

It would seem that since June, 1893, the yearly, and even the monthly, expenses of the country have been greater than the receipts.

We all know what a statement of that sort means in our own homes and families. It means that bankruptcy is coming, unless something be done to prevent it. If a man spends more than he earns, he is obliged to borrow to make up the difference; and when he can no longer borrow, he has to fail and turn all he owns over to his creditors.

This means that the people to whom he owes the money—his creditors, as they are called—will take his home and his furniture, and everything he possesses away from him, and divide it all up between them, and that he must begin life again as best he can.

Sometimes when a man has a good business that will enable him in time to pay everything he owes, the creditors will allow him to keep his business going taking the greater part of his earnings for his debts until he has paid them all off. But whichever way his affairs are settled, the man who owes money is the unhappy slave of his creditors until his last debts are paid.

The affairs of a country are precisely the same as those of an individual, and President McKinley, understanding well what must happen unless some change is made, is doing his best to save us from the unhappy position of a poor debtor.

He is prudently trying to stop the trouble before it gets the mastery of us.

A country is different from an individual in the fact that there are certain expenses that are not exactly necessary, and yet which must be provided for, for the honor of the country. A man who is in money difficulties can cut down his expenses to the mere cost of food, house, and clothes. In this way a man is better off than a country. But, on the other hand, a man can only earn just so much money; he cannot force people to buy his goods, or pay him better prices; he has to do the best he can with what he can earn; while a country can, by taxes, force people to give it the money it needs, and so it is better off than an individual.

Some of the expenses of a country that must be met are the salaries of all the officers who preserve law and order, the judges, soldiers, sailors, and the police; the pensions of the old soldiers, and of their families; the building of forts and warships, and of the guns to arm them; the making and issuing of money, and the handling and delivering of letters.

Enormous sums of money are necessary to meet these expenses, and they are raised by taxes. A country has no right to spend more than it earns, any more than a man has, but there may come times in the history of a country when extra expenses are necessary, and then the Government taxes the people to meet them.

This is what President McKinley proposes to do now.

The new tax proposed is to be a revenue tariff on all articles of foreign manufacture that are brought into this country.

The extra session of Congress is to consider, and, if possible, pass the Tariff Bill, which it is desired shall go into effect May 1st of this year.

The bill is being introduced by Congressman Nelson Dingley of Maine, who is Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives. It is known as the Dingley Bill, and, it is said, will increase the income of the Government over one hundred millions.

It is said by people who are against the bill, that, if it passes, the cost of living will become much greater. People who are in favor of it say that by preventing goods of foreign manufacture from being brought into the country, our own industries will greatly increase and our trade be much benefited.

There is one section of the bill which will make it very unpopular to many of our citizens.

This paragraph states that tourists and people visiting foreign countries shall only be allowed to bring one hundred dollars' worth of wearing apparel into the country free of duty.

When you think that you can get little more than a whole change of costume, hat, boots, and gloves complete, for a hundred dollars, and that people who are rich enough to travel in foreign countries give three and four times that sum for a single outfit, you can understand just how much that paragraph is going to be liked.

It is true that the law says that people may bring back with them the articles they take away, provided they can prove that they took them out of the country. But think of the worry and annoyance of arguing with the Custom House officers as to where and when each garment in your trunk was bought.

If it goes into effect, this law will certainly prevent a great many people from travelling, for the hours of heated argument with the officials on the dock, on the traveller's return, would undo all the good of their trip.

The present Custom House system is about as trying to a person's nerves as anything can be, and not a little of the trouble comes from the fact that you must not show the slightest annoyance when the officer dives into your trunk, and punches at the corner which contains your best hat, or feels in the folds of a delicate silk skirt, leaving marks of dusty fingers behind him. The least show of temper from you will result in the officer's claiming his right to have the whole contents of your various trunks dumped out on the wharf and repacked under his eye.

It is to be hoped that the $100 paragraph may be changed; but with or without it, it seems as if the passage of the Dingley Bill may be the best thing for the country.

The bill is called "An Act to provide revenue for the Government, and encourage the industries of the United States."

The Powers have not sent any further word to Greece.

They have been waiting to hear what France has to say.

As we told you last week, the people of France were not willing to take part in any severe measures against Greece; the Government was quite willing, but dared not make any promises without the consent of the Chamber of Deputies (the French Congress).

The Powers decided to wait until the Prime Minister had had time to ask the Chamber of Deputies if it was willing to support the Government.

At the last meeting the Minister put the question to the Chamber—saying that the Government had decided that the proper course for France would be to remain in the concert of the Powers, and insist that Greece withdraw her troops from Crete.

Much discussion followed the Minister's speech. It had been expected that the Chamber of Deputies would refuse, and insist upon a change in the Government. To the surprise of everybody, a vote was passed, approving the policy of the Government, and agreeing to uphold it.

So France joins her voice with those of the other Powers, and calls on Greece to give in.

After the Chamber of Deputies adjourned, orders were sent to Toulon, a seaport on the Mediterranean Sea, at the south of France, ordering soldiers at once to Crete.

The Admirals of the allied fleets have received orders to