Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-11-12
:, o,-n nnpnEN AND STRENGTH"


of the nation have made great political
handle of "the enormous expenses OF the
war" Believing, apparently, that the
patriotism of the American people was
measured by dollars and cents, they have
persistently endeavored to create the I'M
preston that national bankruptcy and do
nestle poverty were the inevitable results
of prosecution of the war for the sup
preston of the rebellion. The political
struggle is now over, and the people have
shown at the ballot-box that, whether or
not they believed the croakings of these
political ravens of ill-omen, they were not
to be sweryed thereby from their PLAIN
duty to their country. All objects for de-
ception or assimilation having ceased to
exist, it is well enough now for the peo-
pie to look to the dollars and cents part
of the question, and see whether it is
fact that they have purchased the Union
at any great sacrifice of national wealth
or personal finances. The national debt
of the country was, on the first day OF
October last, in round numbers, $780,
600, 900. At the close of the war, which
cannot be far in the future, from present
indications, that debt will probably reach
the sum of $4,000 100000. That is only
about half the debt of Great Britain; yet
it is decidedly large sum of money, alb
stractly considered. \ debt is large or
small, easy to be borne or impossible, rel
atively with the resources from which the
payment is to be made. When one sits
down with the figures before him (as the
writer has them at the momen) and sees
the official statistics of the enormous re-
sources of the United States spread upon
the broad pages; and when he sees the
tremendous decennial accumulation and
increase of those resources, the sum of two
thousand millions of dollars, which seems
so huge in the abstract, sinks into inSig-
nificance. 4 work recently issued in the
East by Mr.. Wells, entitled "Our Burden
and our Strength" (aud which is a mass
of strictly official statistical tables. COM
piled at great labor,) exhibits in plain and
unmistakable figures, the almost incredi-
bic growth of this nation in wealth and
population. We wish that every consid-
crate, reading citizen, had copy of those
tables before him. 1t would astonish any
man who had not the figures before his
ewes, to hear the statement of the real
magnitude of the nation which we, as a
people, have just declared "must and shall
be preserved" We will make one brief
extract from the work in question. Hav-
ing just presented table of the growth
in wealth and population, the author says:
It thus appears from the statistics Of the
above table, that while the population Of the
United States increased from 1850 to 1860
to the large ratio Of 35.5 per cent, the wealth
OF the nation increased during the same Pc
l26.45 per cent or from 81, 1875, $4,000 in
1850 to Sl6,l59,6l6, 900 in 1860; or at the
rate of more than nine hundred millions
1902, 1888, 5S4) per anuum. During the same
period, Great Britain experienced an increase
Of less than one per cent. in population, ond
an estimated increase Of national wealth
amounting to about thirty-three per cent.
But startling and unprecedented as has been
this extraordinary increase Of our national
wealth, one needs but cursory glance at the
details to feel satisfied that the exhibit IS
everyway reliable and correct.
Omitting the new States of the west:
Connecticut increased her wealth from
Sl55, T07 900 in 1850 to Si44, pa 600 in 1860,
or in the ratio Of lS5 per cent; while Ohio
added to her wealth the value of $3.50, 900, 900,
or 1873 per cent; and Pennsylvania 1904,
900, 900, or about SO per cent. New York,
though adding not quite Il per cent. TO her
wealth of 1850, yet absolutely augmented it
BY S763, 900, 900; sum more than S20,OOO.-
900 in excess of times the value of the wealth
of Iowa; S2000, 000, 900 more than has been
ACQUIRED bv South Carolina since her exist
ence as State; and exceeding in amount
the entire wealth Of any other State in 1850,
with the exception Of Massachusetts,, Ohio,
PENNSYLVANIA, Illinois and Virginia.
The two States which increased their valu-
alton the least during the decade in queS-
ton, were Vermont and Massachusetts, yet
the former added to her wealth SO per cent,
and the latter ~ per cent; the absolute in
crease in Vermont being more than $50, OoO,-
900 and the absolute increase in MasSachu-
sets S242 100000. We have, therefore, in
these detailed statements, elements which
show precisely how and where this enormous
increase of l26.45 per cent. IN the wealth OF
the nation from 1850 to 1860 was effected.
Supposing the war TO close at or before
the end Of 1865, with restoration of the do
minion of the old Union supposing also
the wealth of the loyal States to have In
creased since 1860 at the decennial ratio OF
100 per cent, ian under rather than an over
estimate); and the valuation Of the dlsIoyai
States at that period to be one thousand
millions less than in 1860 then the reunited
nation will start anew on its era of peace,
with a capital of twenty thousand millions,
and an annual increase Of wealth which
certainly cannot be estimated at less than
1000, 900, 900.
The foregoing brief extract, giving,
though it does but faint idea of our i'm
mense and daily increasing wealth and
resources is still sufficient to dissipate
any auttering of alarm about National
Bankruptcy and private poverty. We
shall take occasion to recur to this SUBJ
ject again.
TAHOE JoHN.-This old political bum
mer and apostate to his country, was in
the East at last accounts, making speeches
for the grave-digger of the Chickahominy.
As he was charged with akali and sulphur
from the plains of the Humboldt, his
speeches must have smelt spicy. Here is
what he said about Pennsylvania and
California: ....
"On late occasion he maintained, in the
face Of the strong proof to the contrary, that
the Democrats Of "my native State" have
not only overcome the Republican majority