The Indianapolis daily herald. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1865-1868, 1865-12-11


initiating a thing. ] never knew 81 40 di-rell-
utable proposition made % creditors hv a Sal
vent debtor. u Won have money % invest in
TIE stocks Il the state. why not 20 into the
market and purchase them 10 their market
value. Ihis i, the course pursued by an states
WIN they propose % liquidate a portion Of
their public debt. II l. iist what the state. II
Indiana has been doing ever since she had
surplus in her state Debt sinking Fund. unfit
she has redeemed near <Ilyl.itD In i the
only legitimate way - 10. Take your money
and 20 into the market and purchase your
stocks al their market value. unless YOU intend
q pay OF the whole debt when il j due then
you redeem your stocks IT par.
But there i another feature OF tniS exceed
ingly curious, iinpracticable and defective Sec
ton. and to IL now call the careful attention
Of the House. Ii proposes 10 make Jdr pfO
rata payment on these storks. ~uppo-e one. Of
our creditors holds 500 stock. and IN ls67
his pro rata would b. Sl01, la lsGs sl0o, "a
lNoy SlVo, m 1870 SlOo and In ISL. 500.
Now. the whole Of these payments will be
made n par pro rata paymeut. and in the
I'VE year. YOU will have paid OIL the entire
stock held by this creditor at a par value.
eu " III have redeemed a 800 >tOck with lust
500 in money. whereas that stock all the time
could have been purchased on the market at
IT. market value. at from clghty-hVe cents TO
ninety cents on the dollar. Thus saving, with
this same 500, III YOU had purchased these
stocks at their market value. SO to the state
On the two aud one-hali per cents. by the same
method, and the proper method too, you would
save. perhaps. an average Of fifteen per cent
Now there are about 80 900 900 Of these stock
to be redeemed, and using the money as IL
Will necessarily come into this sinking fund
under this bill, according 10 the provisions
Of this bill, in the redemption Of This entire
81 900 000 the State lOoseS not one farthing les
SJOO,OoO. Is this not truef Look at il. Fig
ures will not lie. IL is as true as mathematics
j. true.
Do the members Of this House then wish to
fasten an adjustment" on the people of this
State which adjusts nothing, and by which.
in the course OF few years, they will loose
SG0O, 600, which might otherwise be saved.
and properly and legtimately saved, by a sys-
tenn possessing true financial ability
Mr.. Speaker, there is another objection 10
this bill-0ne that, If possible, surpasses all
others. Near twenty wears ago. sir. the good
men Of that day met in this very hall. Then,
as now, great financial question was under
, consideration. The State was then largely i'm
debt. Her taxable property was then only
about Sl26,0O0,000; her polls 10000, and heI
public debt reached almost Sli,O00,OO0 The
people could not pay that debt, nor the interest
upon IL, and they compromised with their
creditors. surrendering To them the Wabash
and Erie Canal, reserying the right to redeem
il. Upon that surrender these creditors gave
up one half Of the then existing debt. For the
other half, the state issued five per cent
I
and half per centum per annum for the inter
est which had then accrued. The State pledged
\ her solemn faith to pay the interest which haC
/ then accrued on this portion of the debt. and
also, TO pay the principal. The 81 1000. 00t
which was eXtlnguished by the creditors tax
ing the Wabash and Erie Canal has proven al
entire loss to them They might a. well hav,
/ thrown that much of their debt away Tha
canal has become almost useless. and it Is bu
throwing words away TO say that Indian,
never intends TO redeem il.
For the purpose of promptly paying the in
terest and principal on that portion Of the deb
TO which the faith of the State was most sol
emnly pledged, the men of that day. i'm 1916
agreed and made il an enactment Of the l.egis
lature Of the State, that there should be leyie,
a tax OF 10 cents on each poll of the State, anC
I a property tax of > cents on each one htindre,
dollars of the taXables of the State for the pur
pose Of securing 4 fund sufficient TO entirel,
liquidate this debt at maturity. In ls41, 70
the further security of this fund, and tn
objects for which il was created, the Legisla
ture of Indiana passed a law, the 18th section
OF which contains the following:
/ "And whereas, doubts have been suggeste,
on the part of some such last mentioned per
sons foreigners holding bonds, in respect o
the matters hereinafter mentioned or referre,
To. which doubts may operate periodically L
the operations contemplated by the said recite,
act, ana II IL therefore eNpedient that the sam
he removed. Now, to demonstrate the goo,
faith OF the state Of Indiana, and for the re
mOval of all such doubts a. aforesaid an,
with the view To create general confidence il
the arrangement made i'm the said rected &C
by the State for the liquidation of its debt:
- BE q enacted, That the tolls, revenues an,
profits Of the said Canal and its appurtenance.
present and future, and the MONEYS to arts
and be collected by and from the sales of tn
land and premises contiguous thereto, and il
the said act more particularly mentioned an,
sl.a .aN~fl.. Il 4
| toward the payment Of the said debt, as in th
said act also mentioned. and the receipt an,
application thereof for that purpose a. in tn
same act is also provided, shall remain and b
lnNiolate and in full force, and the payment O
the principal moneys and interest on the certi
ficates and stock intended TO be created pur
suant 10 the said act, and this act, and all Ger
niicates and evidences of the title thereof re
spectively, shall Toe and continue effectual an,
myiOlate by the means aforesaid until the oh
Jeets and purposes of the said act, and thi
present act shall be fully accomplished.
IL is true that the fund thus created was no
named Il state Debt Sinking Fund, but it was
fund for the payment Of the State debt. 7
was in fact 4 State Debt Sinking Fund and
the men Of that day had named it at ALL / hav
no doubt they would have given it that name
| Other and subsequent legislation, coming L
the aid Of this fund, a State Debt Sinking Fun,
was organized, the sole object and intent @
which was TO pay of a fast as possible tn
principle of this very debt. The subsequen
legislation in reference TO this fund was all il
accordance with the legislation Of lSi6-i1, an,
for the purpose of furthering the objects hope,
TO be obtained by that legislation. 1t was
most sacred fund and belonged of right to tn
creditors Of the State who had already los
one-half of their debt, and were anxiousl,
awaiting the payment of the other half witt
the monies created by this very fund.
The bill, sir, proposes TO violate the solemn
. legislation of 1916 and 1S47, and the agreemen
made with our creditors, which, by the yer,
terms of il, remains in full force until the deb
is extinguished, and to take from this verl
fund near one-half million of dollars on ~
first day Of May, next, and to pay il to som
new creditors Of the State who have only bee,
creditors about three years, and whose debt i
not yet due by seventeen years. Creditors too
who but three years AGO purchased the stock,
they now hold from eighty to eightv-fve cents
on the dollar, and have been receiving since tina
time six per eentum per annum payable semi
annually on their stocks. W hat Justice is there il
this to the men who have already lost one half @
their debt and have carried portion of the othe
half for twenty years at two and one half pc
centum per annum. 1t may be answered tina
il is the law, that these war loans shall be pais
out Of these moneys. | deny il. The Legisla
ture Of 1861. that created the War Loan, anC
authorized the issuing of War Bonds. did no
possess the power or authority to make thos
bonds payable out Of the State Debt SINKING
F una. mat Iunu was created Tor a specific
purpose, and il was s0lemny agreed between
the State and her creditors, solemnly enacte.
by the States LEGISLATURE. that that fund eoul,
not be diverted for any other purpose. Th,
Legislature that caused the issuing Of the Wa
Bonds and provided for the War Loan, shout,
have created fund TO pay il.
/ But, sir, that legislature failed 10 provide
/ that fund.- and To-day / see the honorable gen
tleman from Jefferson, on this, the proudes
day Of his life. coming forth with bin which
instead Of creating fund for the redemption
of the war loan bonds, proposes to take all o
the money belonging To the registered stocks
and take mp these war loan bonds which ar,
not Vet Of age. That gentleman j. not gener
Gus enough 10 lot the war bonds be llGuidatec
3 IN the same manner. and upon the same term
ne has provided for the registered stocks, bu
: declares that all If the principal Of said W al
bonds shall be first paid. and if after that Their.
should happen TO be any money left. then it /,
/ TO be divided pro rata among the holders Of re
gistered stocks. Am mistaken His bill
/ says that - the Auditor, Treasurer, and Agent
81 state. shall. I'm the first week Of January
. in the year one thousand eight hundred anu
: siNty-siN. and the first week i'm January in
every year thereafter, until the War Loar
( Bonds are redeemed, notify the holders of suci
! bonds that the Agent Of state will be ready L
pay the principal Of said Bonds on the frs
daV Of Nav succeeding such notice af their