Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-09-25
GOVERNMENT EXPENSES, AND
.,,, .a,f,l' ,9y54F ,92y,5Ii4aFINANCES.l sisa
4A,nothef. Important Paper,
~ Nv 'I'UUUTH ITTT ~ T|. TITOT IN
nd yTlnuoo aPREPARED BY. on .ral..
HoN.dyoHMa n. JAM E ST..
URB44NA, ONO, Sept. 20, 1885,

| LrG sty.qU URBANA, ONO, Sept, 70, 1866 F.
John g, Th0mpsO1r. Esq, CbaIplda ,0J 4 Me
lDesRoCrati0p state Central GOmaittes-of OHIO:
| SiR-Ati the close Of the letter which
Addressed lyOt on the 18th Septembar, /
said that 4 would address you agalDGIand
say. something of Government eN penses
| and lfi1ahcesyht bgujLIgZ9 H9iJ II M
In 1850, the people of the Emitted States
had a sound currency, andGa prosperous
commerce. TheImeTe ChtTeneyroi bank
notes leftin the peoples hands as the Te-
sulting balance Of trade was 5 lS0, ,000, 900
and this was everywhere equal to coin at
| the place OF iss1e.si.GJ 9al -EW yiggN uHg
| The imports 1ofqcbmmerce amounted to,
$400, 900, ,000y including supplies brought
hither TO be exported again The export of
our products at the esametime amounted to
1896, 100000, and this difference between
the imports and the exports, which seemed
TO be balance against us, was the measure
Of our profits in buying and selling be-
tween our own country and other COun-
tries. This $400,000000 of imports was for
| the whole body of our people In oil the
St6tes1 More than 'tWo-thirds of all our
exports were pTOducedl by, cher Southern
| States; (; the articles thus sent abroad were
the exclusive products tof Southern labor,
under the direction Of American skill and
capital but at the same time these pro-
ducts were made in behdlf of adj other skill
| and eapita, and by their aid. The West
had furnished food, and animals, and ma
| chines-the North had1ifnrnished foreign
| imports and their own man ufaetures; and
When the Southern prodlIDts had reached
the. port Of shipmenb1they represented so
| IiiuohIof our united capitaE and skill, and
labor. We were thensa united people, not
n,1ry hry,, ,,n1sffaoI hnf fh. lattr
of trade and Of political eeon6niy.0ss
q Ihcontrast with this,1 two,thirds of the
same States which made the above result
now have q paper circulation Of $500 000.-
900, Wlhchis not redeemed anywhere nor
intended to be redeemed, until the volume
of It shall be greatly reduced in amount,
and the residue madelmoTe valuable. This
reduction i'm amount is TO- be achieved by
collecting from the people an amounG of
taxes equal to the proposed reduction, and
then paying an equal amount of debt and
destroying so many OF the public prOmis-
sorry notes whiehnow pass as money. The
expense of the reduction is to be paid by
the people Of one year for the benefit of
the people Of next yeari1whO hold the
remaining money. .yEI ay.t bus 1rHrIl-
Our imports from abroad are measured
III gold-our exports aremeaSured in paper
nioney--the paper dollar being worth Ordi-
narily about tw6-thirdsof a gold dollar, aud
with this disparity in values it Is not easy
to tell the present balance Ot our trade with
In 1880 thepeople of the United States
were at peace among themselves, SO far as
it was measured by the absence of arms,
but they were drawing to aclOse of that
long series Of disturbances, which were not
byiany means on one shle only, and which
finally ended in war. We then had 10000
600 people, and the expenditures of the
Government in that year were $63,000000,
including the interest of the public debt,
iu III 1861 the people found themselves in
the midst of war Gas 1t Is cenvenient-to call
it) between the States The Secretary, Of
State told us, in his foreign correspondence,
that this war would be of short duration
and that the seats of members then absent
from Congress by secession would soon be
filed again. VRi-'Gr"H rII nu. a-H
The Secretary of the Treasury also told
us, tlfat according to the sound principle of
finan6e, agood part of our large,expendi-
ture should be paid by taxes, but as the
war woaldfbe of hortduration, the whole
charge could be betrayed with borrowed
money, and the taxation deferred to anOth-
ef day! iogn iI'1l Hp.rsl9i boa .rirna
' 81 These taxes have not been forgotten in
the Interval, and during the last fiscal year
they ahHve amounted to 60,00Q000 but
az 81 50.000,00O' of this sum was collected in
gold, that $4,000, 900 must be incTeased,by
one4half To- meet the ordinary premium on
gold, and we have in effect attOtaDof $625,-
100000 collected from 3A000,000 of people,
If VIE count the whole Uniony or only 2O,-
100000 if we count the people of the States
which chiefly paid the tax I'M the first
case it makes an average of S2l, and in the
latter of $3i, to each inhabitant, of every
age, condition and color alike.i ,'u ~ o.
No matter where these taxes seem to be
collected, whether in the great cities at
which eehters our foreign commerce. or in
misunderstanding districts which make the
articles needed by our people, they are all
assessed as. charges upon, the articles con-
sumed, and the whole amount oflthem,
with profit on the outlay, is paid by the
whole body of the people, in whatever dis
tficbthey mayllive. anajo4 i.u.J .gjr]- ,
57 The)peopleo of 0hiopay one tenth Of these
taxes Z for their ability to Gonsume,r and
their disposition to consume, the products
of commerce and of labor will denote them
las aiproper average of thenatiOu at bhis
rate; sayifor theiFgportion in round num-
bers sixty.milliens of, f,dollars q year. d
The people 9fUhio.a also pay, ,ip State tax
es, county taxes andother taxes, Sl0,000,000
q, year, thus making q total of $70Q00,000
annually, for two and a half-millions of
people. If oiie.fifth of the whole number.
of inhabitants be rated as producers, and as
charged with the support Of the remaining
four-ffths,, the proporti6hate charge 0ns
each will beSl40 altyear in ta3es direct,
and I'M personab1e0penses increased by
Tha oanaroi form and nrnse,,ra ot tbosa