The Cadiz sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1864-1911, 1866-01-17


twice as large as that made by Great Britain
in one hundred and ninety-eight yearsl-
That is, we more than pay twice as mucl
theirs. In our large cities there are band
Of organized incendiaries, who FIRE the cit,
in order that they may plunder it of it,
riches while good ciiizeus are engaged il
extinguishing the flames; and so was il on ;
larger scale, citizens, during the terrible wal
which drenchcd our land with fraterna
blood. While our soldiers were battling fol
the Union, men high in power were robbinl
Il e country Of countless millions; and BY
wanton wastes and plunder, debt has been
built up and system OF taxation has beer
put in force which, for injustice, favoritisn
and oppression, is without parallel in his
tory.
MAGNITUDE OF THE DEBT.
. Tho almost measurdlcss size Of our Ma
tionaf debt will become more apparent BY
comparing the expenditures during the re-
bellion with those incurred during Other
wars of vast proportions. From the be.
ginning to the conclusion of the gigantic
contest of twenty years, in which Great
Britain was engaged With the first Napo
leon, she kept ahoat the largest navy tn.
world had ever seen, and OIL more than one
occa, ion subsidized the armies of Russia
Prussia, Austria, Spain and Portugal, and
maintained anempirc so extended that 1.-THE
martial music Of her rereiWe met the glor.
ious sun in his coming. and keeping com.
pany with the hours, followed his course AZ
he circled around the glohe; and yet her
expenditures were but little greater than
th sc Of the United StaIes during only four
years Of war. And duriug her seven years
war against her colonies in America, Great
Britain only expended five hundred and
thirty-t two millions of dollars, or two thou.
sand four hundred and sixty. y.eight millions
less than we expended during the late re-
bellion, although England had to convey
her armies snd supplies across the Atlantic
Ocean.
But let us for moment glance at the f.
nsncial record of our own country The en-
tire expenditures Of the Government of the
United States, exclusive of payments on the
pubic debt and trust fund, from the incom'
ing Of Washington administration in 1893,
until the outgoing Of Buchanan's admins
tration ih lS6l-n pc,fod gf serenity t,co yc01t
was only one thousand three hundred and
ffty-one million, five hundred and twenty.
six thousand, six hundred and forty-thret
dollars Aud hence the administrations ol
Washington John Adams, Jefferson, Madi
son, Munioe. John Q. Adams, Jackson
Van. Buren,. Harrison and Tyler, Polk. Iay.
lor and Fillmore, pi,rc, and Blu 'hanan cost
the country sixtecll bundled and torty-eight
million, four hundred and Scventy-three
thousand, three hundred and fifty-sevcn dol.
lars leSs money than the liqnidated deb,
or, ated since the incoming If MIR. Lincoln
administrations; aud if President Lincoln
had the late rebellion to fight, so had tho
other residents to deal with Shay's rebel
lion and the whisky war, the war with the
Barbary States. and the three years wal
with Great Britain, the thirty years of In
dian wars the two years war with Mexico,
and the expedition against the Mormons.
Then, citizens, to rccapitulatc: Within {
period Of Ave years, the United States vii
have expended nearly as much money as il
cast Great Britain during an nee SAINT wal
oftwcnty years, in which all Europe was in
v>lved during the late rebellion the Uni.
teu States ,xpel ded two thousand four hun.
dr.. d and sixty, eight million dol ars more
money than it cost Great Britain to prose-
cute her seven years war against the colo
MES!
President Lincoln's administration expen.
ded more than sixteen hundred million.
more money than all the other Presidents
expended during their entire adminlstra-
tious Of scventy-two years!
THE STATE DEBTS
Nor is the National debt the only mort
gage which rest upon the lands, upon thu
enterprise and industry of the people. -
The debts ofthe individual States amoun
70 at least two hundred million dollars, cx
elusive Of the rcpud;ated war debt of the
SouthcrR States.
MEASURE or TIE nEBT.
But, citizens, the debt is so enormous
that the mind forms no conception of it.
magnitude by simply having the figures
named. Lat us, then, apply to it som'
census report for 1860 (see CMhrs Nation
al Almanac for 1864, page SO, the value Of
all the renl and personal property Of tn,
United States, Mt that date, amounted Il
fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty
three millions, two hundred and fittee,
thousand, six hundred and tWenty-eight dol
lars. Then, without making any deduction
for the ravaees and destruction of property
c.u.ed by the war, except the oblitcration %
slave property, which was valued at iou
thousand millions of dollars, and after tax
ing that amount from the aggregate value o
the real and personal property, it reduce
that value to ten thousand millions of dol
lars. Then, asking the liquidated debt a
the admitted figure Of three thousand mil
lions, we see that, since 1861, We nave ex.
pended the value of nearly onethird of al
the property, real and personal, in the cntir
country.
THE MISTAKE.
But, il may be asked whether our affair
could have been more economically conduct
ed? A tax should have been levied com
men~urate with tie emergency, and gol,
should and could have been borrowed in Eu
rope ut six or eight per cent. Could thi
have been done2 Yes. Nearly all the gol,
the Confederates used was borrowed in Flu
rope; and not only that, no inconsiderabl
portion of our own debt is now owned there
But, instead of pursuing course dictated
by sound economy, tho Admins ratio
adopted the plan of the money-lcnders @
Boston and New York, and the country wa
flooded with paper currency which depre
clhtCu my Ctuto tilC tAuS
loss Of one e-half ofthe whole amount to til
Government and the people. And Will
greenbacks were sold at that price, bond
we're issued to redeem them, calling for 81
per cent, in gold, payable semi-annually. :.
The money-dealer, with one hundred thous
and dollars in gold, bought double th
amount of greenbacks, and with these pun
chased two hundred thousand dollars wort
ofbonds, calling for the payment in gold
together with gold interest, and at onc
cleared one hundred thousand dollars :
And for every two hundred thousand dol
lars of bonds thus issued, the Government
and, consequently, the people, lost, and til
bond.buyers made. one 100000 dollars
and on the amount of his original invest
ment--that is, on one hundred thousan
dollars--hc secured twelve per cent. inter
est in gold, equivalent to twenty per cent. !
paper money. And as greenbacks fell !
| value, all commodities rose in correspond
| -. ,,ro,orf;on. and IN nurcho IN ono Yuillio