Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1865-05-08

u u
Paynaent ofths National Debt In Thirty
Years-Also, IN Twenty Years.
On tho sist Of narch last he ohcial siaiemsnt
showed the public deb, 20 be. "a seI 90. 900.
Laws In operation provide for eeOo, 900 more.
via; the seven thirty loan. now being 30 rapidly
taken. This u believed to be suiheient with the
ordinary revenues Of the Government, 10 meet
ali expenses and aeeruing liabilities up 10 July l.,
1soe-making the debt at that timo, therefore.
eaps7, 100000 OF this amount t2.ooo, ,ooo. 900 is
Interest bearing debt, the remaining tl57 900 900
being legal tsgasra and fractional currency, not
bearing Interest or the interest bearing debt In
existence March sist, about shy millions Of Eve
per cent notes will undoubtedly be cancelled on
or before the lst Of July, 1855, and II IL further
believed that enough surplus funds will be dc.
rived from the seven thirty loan, and the sales Of
public property during the next year, TO absorb
over elo0 Oo0, 600 Of the temporary deposits and
certificates Of Indebtedness, reducing the debt by
that much, which will allow Of the funding Of
ti67 900 900 Of the fractional currency and green.
back currency, leaving on. Ut and and % Snredsened Of
bearing debt on the lst Of July, 1895.
A. the present rates Of interest paid, the aver
age rate Of interest for several years will be Q
per cent for there will be 800 900 900 Of 1905
and near seoo, ,OOo,ooo Of 6-SO's, and 1881 bonds,
besides the compound interest notes, &e., there.
fore the interest will be ai5O, 600 900 annually.
England, France, Austria, and other European
nations, simply content themselves with paying
the interest on their mammoth debts, and many
prophecy that we shall have 10 do the same; that
our National Debt will never be paid. We have,
heretofore, astoniahsd the, older nations Of the
msat, aud the ssse With which we paid % tks
debt Of two wars. We have latterly completely
dumb founded them by the terrible exhibitions
made during four years Of civil war Of our mex
has "A a.a
mains for rs 10 show them how easily it's 10 pay
OF an Immense National Debt like ours In 30
ycars--or even 20 year., N we choose TO do 80.
statistics TO show our resources, but will simply
state that England with population Of 80, OO0,Oo0
raises t35O, 900 for the support Of her Govern
No one will doubt our capacity To bear the taxa
ton necessary TO raise the same sum annually,
az too have 0,OOJ 600 81 people. After the lat
Of July, 1886, our revenue may be derived about
as follows, viz: From customs, 900 O00, 600, and
from internal revenue, s25O, ,0o0,OOo. The law
now In force was designed TO produce $500 900
Of Internal revenue; and " II does 40, Il should
be modified so n to raise no more than
$50 100000.
Il has been estimated that our expenses, when
reduced 10 q peace establishment with an army
Of 90, 900 men, would hgure mp somewhere about
tiOO 900, 900 annually-say civil service, t3O, ,OO0,
0OO; army, W, ,OO0,OOO navy, 42o, ,OOO, 600; pen
sion aud Indians, Sl5OOO, 600, and miscellaneous,
tIOOO,OO0. This, then, would leave t25O, ,O0O, 900
annually TO be applied to payments on principal
and interest OF the public debt
This II IL my opinion an underestimate. For
the nye years ending the lst Of July, 1890, our
governmental expenses, exclusive Of paymentI
public debts, averaged very nearly aBj, ,OOOt ,
annually, aud Il il more than probable that thcv
will now foot up Al2O 900 900 10 also coo OOO !.
nuAlly, aud TO this might be added enough 'or
extraordinAry expenses, such As war claims Of
loyal States and the claims Of individuals for
property destroyed, &c. 10 carry the expendi-
iurr up TO tl5O 0OO, 900 annually. THIS then will
pawn payment q principal sSa Interest ST the public
debt which will pay on the % 800, 900 900 In ex.
actly 20 years or should II be deemed advisable
10 anpIy ha5 600 900 annually 10 the Withdrawal
Of the s3OO 600 900 remaining In circu-
iation for IL years and then to the increasing ex
penses Of the govern ment, leaving Al75, ,OOO, 900
annually, which will wipe ont the debt in ok.
nctly thirty yenT,. -
Now, then, what IL the real amount Of the pub
lie debt IN this view. II we content ourselves
Win sinpiy paving the interest In thirty year,
Al slJO O1O oO1 n wear, We shall have paid The
sum OF a. 800 OO0.O 900 n we add 10 this only
A2J OOC, 900 annually for payments Of prIncipaiE
on eouIse usIng for the same nm rpcse IN. snIn.
saved Of the tlJO, 900, 900 by the reduction an.
nuhlIy IN the amount paid ns iptere.t--we have
the additional sum Of 47JO, 600 600 required in
thirty years for this purpose, aud really repre-
sents ali thai will have 10 bo drawn from the
people for the purpose Of paving OF The debt,
nv the addition II apothsr r ~. .OI0 ooO annually
making SjO, 900 900 10 be used In addition 10 the
$40 900 900 required for the interest, the debt
will be paid In lust twenty years This will re.
auire A5O0 600 900 more In the twenty years than
| would be required by the slower process, aud yet
| II would relieve the nation from taxation TO the
amount Of tl75OOO, 900 annually for the last ten
years, and would save the enormous sum Of
Al 80 900 900 10 be drawn from the people by
the thirty years process--thRt absorbing and
using sj.2JO,OOO,0OO, whereas the twenty years
process Will require only 1900 900 OOO-Sl ,OO0,-
600 900 really representing the debt, and tho in-
terest for twenty years under the no-pay system
being ", ,OOO, ,OOO,OOo.
II will thus be seen that Il Is an easy matter to
pay of our debt. All that we have to do In to set
apart irTeyoeably for that purpose n sum sum
Client to pay the interest and some Of the prinri-
pal using Rl that IL left after paying the interest
each year TO reduction Of principal; and let that
sum be as large rs the nation eau bear. We ror.
tAlhly bear 42j 900 900 more than II necessary
TO pay only the annual interest with reduction
| of debt, and no doubt can bear tjO,0OO,OOO
nually for that purpose.
II Is to be hoped that the expenses, ordinary
aud extraordinary, eau be kept below the $780,
1900 designated, and the taxes reduced that
| much, ny the year 1870 the nation VIII have 40
recovered from the effects oi the war that the
$3.50, ,0OO,OO required from Internal revenue eau
be raised BY the present tax on cotton, liquors,
tobacco, incomes, licenses aud stamps on legal
papers, freeing our manufacturing and agricul-
| tural Industry from It's direct Imposition, The
| per pound, would alone produce tSO, 100000.
Before 1870 passes BY emigration from foreign
lands Will have replaced all the loss Of populA-
viii be found that As 4 nation we will have Iost