The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1865-06-09
Paying Off the Nations Debt.

The scheme preached in the New York
Herald of paying off the nationsl debt. at
once by the contributions of the benevolent
and patriotic capitalists is, no dou BIT, good
idea in itself, though we must take care not
to be too sanguIne as 10 it's realization. 1t
must be understood that the scheme falls to
the ground and no subscription is valid, I'M
til the entire sum (say three thousand mil
lions of dollars) has been subscribed. What
probability is there that such a sum oan be
made up within a short period?
Some journals, which treat the prospect as
not encouraging, point to the fact that per-
sons who have already subscribed do not
propose to pay the proportion which the
value of their whole property bears to the
estimated value of all the property in the
country. Thus they tell us that, the estimat-
ed value being sixteen thousand millions,
and Commodore Vanderbilt's property being
worth twenty millions, his subscription
$4,000 is too small. For, Mr.. Wander.
bits property being an eight hundredth
part of all the property in the country, he
hundredth part of the debt, which sum would
be So, 100000.
Such reasoning evidently proceeds upon
the ground that you can at once convert the
estimated value of the whole wealth of the
country into cash. L pom such a fallacy 1t is
unnecessary to enlarge. To discharge the
whole debt at once would require @ cash
payment of nearly one third of this Value
How could the cash be got Suppose the
whole property of the country were set up at
auction on given day, where would it find
purchasers?
The fund out of which the proposed pay
ment must be made must be the income or
net products of the industry of the country.
T,1 rst.o h,o, II. A.
1860, the gross income of the country may
at this time be assumed TO be not over four
thousand millions of dollars. Out of this
sum must first come the support of thirty
millions OF persons and eighty millions OF
animals. Whatever is left net may be ap.
Piled to the payment OF the public debt
Ingenious minds may employ or amuse
themselves with calculations rs to how much
this residue elay amount TO. Evidently 1t Is
very far from being three Thousand millions OF
dollars.
There is graduated mode of taxation, the
principle OF which has beeu already admit. d
into our internal tax system that would rap
Idly lessen the debt. This principle is that
which entirely exempts from tax all incomes
OF 5000 and under; and which doubles the
tax on all incomes over SIS 900. This princi-
pie assumes that men should pay according
to their ability and that this ability is to be
measured by the amount of income left them
after certain percentage is subtracted from
their net incomes. 1t assumes that upon
some net incomes tax of 20, 80, so or 60
per cent. is no more onerons than would
tax of or 10 per cent. on other incomes
For even when the largest percentage is de
Quoted, there still remains a sum adequate
to the comfortable support of a family.
A graduated scheme, which should fix the
lowest percentage at three per cent. lover
5000, and the highest at GO, would in a very
few years discharge the debt. Such scheme
is presented in the annexed table, which
shows the incJ after all deductions (saye
the S6OO) are made, the percentage on the
income (save the $1,000 and the minimum
and maximum left in each instance for the
support of Q family: