The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1864-07-13
s4,OoO,Goo,oOo.


The aggregate cost of this abolition
, war, up to the present time is estimated
at about four thossdRd millions of dol
lars. This enormous sum is needless
and damnable waste of public treasures
and must be paid not alone by the hard
earnings of the northern people, for the
earnings of the North will not be drop
in the bucket toward its payment.-bus
the debt this enormous outlay creates, us
a mortgage upon every mans property,
for the amount, and the authorities have
it in their power to compel the sale OF
such property to satisfy the demands of
the nations creditors. 1t is almost i'm
possible to contemplate the vastness of
su ch a sum,-and the masses will not be-
gin to know how important thing is
economy in public expenditures, until
! they feel the hand of heartless tax gath
erers thrust into their pockets for all they
have got, and see their property going
under the sheriff's hammer TO foot the
bills for the criminal extravaganza of this
administration. Our Democratic cotem-
porary, the New York Neaos, has figured
up, and in recent issue publishes many
things of good that might have been done
with this sum of money, and still left the
people free and happy, and when we are
forced to look the evil in the face that
has created this expense, we are startle d
at its enermity.
Fonr thousand millions, at Govern
mont price, would buy and pay for each
man, woman and child in the States yet
remaining in the Federal Union, one hun
dred acres of good land. AT $500 apiece,
high price before the war, this huge
sum would not only have bought, paid for
and set free each slave. in the South
men, women and children-but it would
also have bought for each one of the en-
tire number, eighty acres of good land.
Four thousand millions of dollars, at
one hundred thousand dollars a mile,
would have built forty thousand miles of
railroad-more than ten complete lines
across the continent, from the Atlatic to
the Pacific. At fifty thousand dollars a
mile-the usual cost-it would have con-
structed eighty thousand miles of rail-
road. At million mile it would have
constructed four Thousand miles of ship
canal At half million a mile, eight
thousand miles-more than enough to
have connected the lakes with the Allan
Gle and the Mississippi.
At million each, it would have en-
dowed four thousand universities-more
complete and thorough than either IIar
ward, Yale or Nassau Hall. Enough to
endoH eight thousand at half million
each. Enough to establish twenty thou
sand high schools and colleges at two
hundred thousand dollars each. Forty
thousand free schools at one hundred
thousand dollars each,
Four thousand million would have sufi
ced to look and dam the chief tributaries
of all the navigable streams in the Uni
ted States To have made the Ohio,
Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Cumber-
land, Wabash, Monongahela, Allegheny,
Susquehanna, Upper Mississippi, and Ar
kansas rivers navigable all the year around.
But it is almost impossible to conceive of
the amount of practical good that might
have been accomplished with such sum.
Itwould have sent commissionaries and
Bibles to every part of the world-have
placed the Gospel truths of peace and
love in the hands of every heathen house
hold and being on the face of Gods
earth, and illuminated the world with the
benign light of Saviour's love. To
what vile, murderous and wicked purpo-
ses it has been applied, our readers, alas
know too we'll.
This New England job of destroying
States rights, doctrines of cur fore
fathers, jefferson and Madison, is
now costing the North at the rate of three
millions of dollars day. This is mod
crate estimate, which no honest or intelli-
gent man will deny. Three millions a
day Six hundred and twenty five thou
sand dollars an hour Two thousand
and eighty three dollars minute Do
these figures startle our readers? They
are founded on facts-indisputable- :.
deniable facts. We should, if possible,
try and make ourselves familiar with
| them, because they cannot be Stunned.
Add to this the annual interest upon
the 81, 900, 900 already spent, and for
which the country is bound-S24O,0 900, )
600 land see what the debt each man,
woman and child of the Free North stands.
100000 peeple-nen, women and
children A debt of S4,00O,000 900
makes the share of each in the principal
deLt So, 600, and each is liable, to the full
extent of all the property of the nation,
for this and an annual intereat OF Sl2O.-
Just think of it. Every man, woman
and child in the fnce free States of the
North liable, in proportion to his property
and income, for debt of not less than
1000 each, and an annual charge of
SI2O. And this, too, exclusively for a
Federal debt. State debts, State taxes,
county debts, county taxes, individual ex-
penses, house rent, food, clothing for
wives and children, doctors bills and all
other liabilitiee to be added. What a
picture! And yet all, all true: This is
our condition now, and every day of this
war adds $4,000. 900 to the principal debt.
and $4,000 to the interest. Every hour
adds s625, 600 principal and s37 500 in
terest; and every minute S2,Os3 princi-
pal and S125 interest Yet the underta-
kers of the job of destroying estate
rights"-Lincoin, Chase, Seward, Gree
ley, Stanton & Co.-say it is reasonable
to pray for peace and criminal to oppose