, 1865-09-19
s-iTE TAXATION OF NATIONAL
BONDS.

Tue Coppcrhead press opened their polit-
lea. campaign with Simultaneous clanoz for
Statc aud municipal taxation Of national Sc
ycntions added plank to their platforms i'd
vocating such irnpositions on the bonds ot
tie Government. The Ohio Coppcrhcads,
under the leadership Of Valland;gha1n, word
cd their assault on the bonds as follows:
IL. Rtfo!rfL. Tint We most explicitly condemn
tandt Of millions ol dollars of Goyesnms,ii deb..
aid attempting 10 c1oncs1te the holders thereof
from al ohsganons to Pay th:ar jrst proportion or
side: ant1 thereby creating m odlous and pnvi-
fEed Elonycd aristocracs, aud ne declare II to be
tie lmncciite duty Of Con"1esa and the State Leg
ieuiur 10 usc all 1he legal and power
they po>tess. to Iuh'ect money 70 invested 10
bIIutn OF tnaa,tor equal to that imposed upon
other property ior Federal, State, and municipal
pEsptses.
Ms to tic bonds creating m odious and
privileged moneycd aristocracy, ,''1t is sufficient
rrlly TINT any Coppcrlead Who thinks that
the bondholdern have too good thing Of 1t,
cau have a1l the 7-c;0'e he wants at 99I4 cents
on the dollar. Ills politics will lie no bur to
Ills getting all Ills money will purchase. lie
can lave them Of any size lom $50 upwards.
If lie prefers 1040's he can purchase them at
&c; und even the favorite 5.29's can be OBJ.
teincd ut small premium. There Is no
monopoly in the ownership Of those
bonds. Hundreds Of thousands Of Door
men and men in moderate circumstances own
moro or less Of those securities. Large num-
bcfs OF discharged soldiers invested their sur-
plus wa9ges In them. They arc owned by all
classes, from the day laborer to the retired
millionaire, and everybody else cnn have them
who desires them. In New Yoriz, so large q
portion Of the CoppeThcads hold Government
securities that The S.atc Convention OF that
party passed resolutions denying the constI.
tutional power Of States to Tax them, and de.
nouhciue the attempt as IN net Of bad falth
to tlc lender Of the money THIS action oi
tile "party" in the Empire State will proba.
by have res. raining intiucncc On the dcma-
gt.gucs Vi the other States
TLc provision Of the Law Is:
+.Au stocks, bood+, and othcr securities OF the
United States, shal be exempt isom taxation, by or
uAdcr Statc authority"
This il part Of the contrac. between tho
government md every man who 1oaned IL Ills
money to help put down the rebellion, aud
any attempt Of the statcs 10 tax these bonds IL
palpaLlc violation Of the contrack, aud would
be held void By any cour. In the land. Tic
Supreme Court Aus declared that IL could not
},c done, even Il no such conLltiou had been
inserted In the law. 4 State has not the con.
stitutioual authority to impair tho credit of
the National Government by lovying Imposts
on It's eccuriucs-neitler can State annul q
law Of Congress. The General Government
Inns tho constitutional right to borrow money.
The Supreme Court las declared that for a
S,utc or city to 10y a tar on that borrowed
money would be to rcturd, impede, burden and
control the nets of Congress, and might
result in nn1llfying them and destroying the
power Of the Government to procure money.
On this subject Chief Justice Marshall said
No power has been conferred by The American
people on this Government, the Nuc and unbns-
oenea exercise Of which nosc deeply nN.c:s every
member o5 our Iscpahhc. . Can anything
tx moFe dangerous q mote injurious thau the ad-
mission Of ptthGp'e which authorizes eyesy State
and every corporation in the Uu,nn wf,rh ma.
sesses The right OF tAxAtion 10 burden the e.erIsc
Dl this power ii dtsursionS II tue rirht In ino..
tax exists, 1t IL right which in lis uature a..
kno.nied6es no liesiks."
TIE question came ugnin before tbe sn.
preme Court in 164o, when the same dccIsion
was given, that q State can Lay no such tny
The Court was then presided over by Ju1rc
Tancy, aud as Scnator Sherman saya, II wns a
Democratic machine" The Court then dc.
clarcd: "That any tax upon my agent In
tic employment oIthe United States, or any
security Of the United States by any State
was unconstitutional md void"
Tie n. 7. World, the leading organ Of thai