Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1864-02-11
A,&sssSs lssp sTlpslow weed to sena.
.zfliIW Ut aa1brsdn.L 40 CT
ALBssY, Jan. 20, 1904.

80, ~ oblirs,ione. ana demands from ouf
rulers and representatives he thoughtful
exercise Of absir best facultsss.E Thel
time approaches. II, indeed, it has not
arrived. when the duties Of statesmen,
iu importance and difficulty, will siss4
even above those Of Generals. II the
rebelIien, on the one hand, has been the
most vjckcd aod destructise the worl.
aver Witnessed, Il has, on The other hand
Be 70 met met BY the soysl people with
. spirit and dissemination, aud by sacri-
fices OF treasure aud blood, wholly nm
parallel in the history Of wars Of ma
iion.. The people, great ~ the emer-
pency, aud terrible Is the ordeal, have
proved themselves equal 10 both. Three
years Il eventiul experience AMI obsef-
vation has taught u one priceless and
precious truth, viz: that this rebellion
is sare to result in lis own overthrow;
in the vindloation Of our government,
and In the restoration o. our UNfoN.
And the penalty for rebel ion will bs the
inevitable subversion of the power which
caused 1.-THE only retr'bution proper
toned to the ma -nituie Of the crime.
Assuming that We are, no matter at
what further cost, and IN defiance OF al
obstacles, to preserve our government
aud Union, is behooves statesmen 10 di.
vide Their timc and thou ghts between
the present and the future. We shall,
when the war terminates, Il nd that j, has
COST a. least FoUs THOUSAND MILLIONS
OF DOLLARS. three fourths of which
amount W il remain as a NATIONAL DEBT.
Even this formidable debt, required to
preserve our nationality, exceeds not
that na,ionality's intrinsic value. But
is It cot time to grid up our fiscai loins
and 20 gather strength TO bear this
heavy burden? Should we not cast a
Financia, Anchor that will enable the
Treasury to ride safely through crisis
equal if not greater than England ever
encountered
When the Federal government was es
tablished the old States coded their re-
spectiye rights 10 the territory wrested
from Great Britain to the United States.
BY the purchase of Louisiana from
France, in 1903, and cession of Florida
by Spain, in 1919, we became possessed
Of domain almost boundless and fab
ulous in extent and value. This do.
main was encumbered by the Indian
right OF possession. But it soon, though
at immense cost, worked Itself free,
leaving its proceeds applicable to the
support of the government and the pay.
m"nt, first of he Revolt ionary war
debt, and next of the war debt OF 1872.
Though ever prodigal with the pub
lie lands, the government found, in the
revenue they yielded, an unfail,ng re-
cource. In various forms OF bouuties.
endorsements aud benefactons, Congress
has parted with hundreds of millions of
acres ; and yet the aggregate revenue.
derived from the public domain cannot
be less than ono hundred and fifty mil
lions of dollars.
An early Congress, with a wisdom
and foresight which Hope did not die
with II, anticipated the value OF the pub.
lie domain, established . uniform price
for the lands, aud turned the proceed.
into the Treasury. That Congress IS
ceroed in the vast wilderness Of chat day
. gsAdually increasing deposit, ample for
the past and present exigencies. The
most sanguine, however, failed to com.
pute lie value. And, though impaired
nay, even fr'ttered away by subse-
quent legislation, charges, and each
fresh demand upon that Re .erve. failed
to exhaust the fund. Tne Indian wars
and the war of 1912, only created debt.
to afford the government the luxury OF
ext'nguishiog them with the proceeds of
the publ c domsin. And when. under
the administration Of Gen. jackson. we
had nothing more to pay, the fund PC.
cumalated SO rapidly thatits distribution
among the States was ordered. lest so
much surplus money in the Treasury
would exert a baleiul influence upon the
action OF Congress-. mn
After years OF discussion and debale.
the popular'idea of "voiing yourself a
farm obtained, and in 1861 the ssHome
stead Law" was enacted. This, in eife t.
rendered the public domain vaIueless to
the government. The argument in ia
vor OF the homestead measure that the
government did not need the proceeds
OF the public lands, was tn n conclusive
But is It SO n3U ! Shall We not. when
the "din OF war" ceases, need eyerv
available resource to maintain the ma
tionsl credit? The war 8 been pros
ecuted by the iodomi,able energies OF
the people. We are the creditors of the
government. securities are our oniy
assets. Nor, as ia other countries. or
even IN our own, on former occasions,
are the creditors Of the government con-
fined to bankers and capitalists. The
farmer, the mechanic, and even the Ia
borer has loaned his earnings and bis
savingsto the government.
With the public domain immensalv
augmented by valuable acquisitions, sa-
credly devoted to the payment Of the
natioaal debt, the national credit will
be placed upon an inpregnabls basis
10 the proceeds Of that domain we
should have fund annually increas;no
lnsAmoant aad % enduring as time
The war ended, No oil know with what
90 elassiclspirit our psoplc will return to
their ordinary pursuits, and with wha,
giant strides our couptry will resume its
march Of improvement The iron wsy,
aiscsdy pointing to the Pacific will be
presently pushed to their destination a,
rendering the whole public domain