The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1866-01-31
OUR PUBLIC DEBT.

| - VusHCW Out HcT DcOt-ILOW 10 W'
fused Ne,O Life and Ygor-The Brit
ish Debt-Pauper,sm an Great Brit
ain-Ony 10000 LandhOlders among
| 10000 Of People One Fauper to eu
cry Fifteen Persons Three Hundred
~ Persons yearly die of Starvation in ii,
| City Of London-'Our Own Country
Doomed Palaces and Hovels in III,
Fature-Me Debt Cannot be Paid i,
Three Hundred Kears-We BoadhOM
ers do not Want 1t Pad-Rcpudia
fion Unequal 1araiion-Adam ,Smitl
declares that ve7y large Public Deb's
are Scarcely Ever Paid, &c, dc, dc
We give below some striking and ever
startling extracts from the lecture deliv'
cred by Gen. GEORGE W. MORGAN. al
Columbus, on the oh ult We are GER
tain that our readers will peruse them
with great interest;
But let us for moment glance al the
financial record of our own county
The entire expenditures Of the Govern.
M ent of the United States. conclusive OF
pawn ents on the. public debt and trust
fund, from the incoming of Wushington'f
Administration in 1898, until the out.
going Of Buchanan's Administration in
lS6l-a period Of scceny-tpo years
was only one billion, three hundred and
fifty one million, FIVE hundred and TWEEN
ty.six thousand, six hundred and forty.
three dollars. Ard hence the Admins.
trstions Of Washington, John Adams,
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John Q, Ad
ans, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison and
Tyler, Polk, Taylor and fillmore, Pierce
and Buchanan, cost the country sixteen
huudred and forty-eight million, four
hundred and seventy three thousand
three hundred and .ffty-seyen dollars les:
money than the liquidated debt created
since the incoming of Mr.. Lincoln's Ad'
ministration! s..e
Then, citizens, TO rccapitulate With
in period Of fve years, the United
States will have expended nearly as much
money as it cost Great Britain during an
irccssant war Of twenty years, in which
all Europe was involved.
During the late rebellion, the United
States expended two thousand four hun
dred ard sixty eight million dollars more
money, than il cost Great Britain to pros
ecute her seven years war against the
cclonies
President Lincoln's Administration ex.
pcuded sixteen hundred millions more
money, than all the other Presidents ex.
pended during their entire Administra
tons Of soventy.two years
Nor is the National debt the only mort.
gsge which rests upon the land, upon the
enterprise and industry Of the PEOPLE.
The debt Of. the individual States
smounts to at least two hundred million
dollars exclusive Of the repudiated wal
debt of the Southern States. i-aa
But. citizens, the debt is so enormous
that the mind forms no conception Of its
magnitude ty simply hearing the figures
named. Let US then apply TO it s.me
comprehcnsibe measure. r. .a
According to the census report fol
lSCO (sec Child's National Almanac for
| 1854, page COY the value of the real and
personal property of the United States,
al that date, amounted to fourteen thou
sand, one hundred and cighty.three mil
lions, two hundred and fifteen thousand
six hundred and twenty.eight dollars
lhep, without making any deductions
for the ravuges aud destruction of prop
erty caused by the war, except the Oblit
Grafton Of slave property, which was val
ucd at four thousand million dollars, and
after taking that amount from the aggre'
gate value Of the real and personal prop
erty, it reduces that value to ten billion
dollars. Then, taking the liquidated
debt at the admitted figure Of three thou
sand millions, we see that since 1861 We
have expended the value of nearly one
third of all the property. real and per
sonal, in the entire country.
But it may be asked whether our af
fairs could have been more economically
conducted2 A tax should have beer
levied commensurate with the emergency
and gold could and should have beer
borrowed iu Europe at 6 or seven pei
cent. Could this have been dope2 I Yes
nearly all the gold the ConfederaIes use(
was borrowed in Europe, and not only
that, no inconsiderable portion of oul
own debt is now owned there. But in
stead of pursuing q course dictated b!
sound economy, the Administration adop
ted the plan ofthe money lenders of Bos
ton and New York, and the country wa
flooded with paper currency which dcpre
ciated fifty cents on the dollar thu
cSnslng a loss Of one-half Of the whol'
amount to the Government and the, peo
pie. And while greenbacks were sold q
that price, bonds were issued to redeem
them calling for 6 PEP cent.in golds spay
able semi.annually. The money deale,
with one hundred thousand dollars il
gold, bought double the amount in green
backs, and with them purchased two hun
dred thousand dollars worth Of bond
calling for payment in gold, tosethel
with a gold interest; and arOncc cleared
one hundred thousand dollars Aad fo
every two hundred thousand dollars o
bonds thup issued, the Government aRt
consequently tho people, lost, and tn,
bond buyer made one hundred thopsans
dollars! and on the amount Of bis origi
nal investment--thatis, on one hundret
thousand dollars, he secured Y per cent