New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-07-12
AMATEUR REPUDIA1TON.

Gen. II. ID. Washburne of Indiana wishes the
House of Representatives to resolve that all
property should bear its share of the public
burdens; hence, that the right to tax Govern
ment bonds should be reserved in any future
funding of our Public Debt.
Let us consider this as a practical PROPOSE
ton:
The Government recently needed very large
sums of money-hundreds OF millions per an
num-more than it knew how raise except by
borrowing la order to borrow Twenty five
Hundred Millions of Dollars in three years, it
was obliged to offer liberal inducements to
lenders Being at war for its existence, there
was chance that it might never be able to
paw. War stimulates trade, and multiplies OPP
portunitics for speculation and profitable in
vestment: hence, most capitalists prefer to keep
their funds well in hand instead of locking
them ND in long loans Yet the money was
borrowed, and the Union saved by means OF it,
and every subsequent month has been fruitful
in devices for breaking faith with the lenders.
Gen. Washburne does not propose this; yet
his proposition will give aid and comfort to
those who do. His assertion that money ought
not 10 DO borrowed a. it was borrowed by our
Government during the War, will be paraded
by them TO cOuntenance il not justify their
demand that an important element of the bar
gain shall be repudated by the borrower
The Government is at perfect liberty TO
make new loans, subject to National, State and
local taxation, and to pay off its various exist
Ing loans as they fall due in the proceeds Of
its new taxable loans. But it is simple faulty
to suppose that this liability to taxation will
not be understood and considered by the lend
err In other words: it is absurd to fancy that,
il be is to be required 10 pay taxes on his
bonds he will not make his bids or his pur-
chases at corresponding rates. Should the
taxes amount to one per cent. for instance, he
will pay no moreifor six per cent. bond than
he would for one OF five per cent. that should
be wholly exempt for taxation. Thus subject
ing the bonds TO taxation would be simply adj
ding Twenty-Five Millions of Dollars per an
mum TO the interest of our National Debt for
the chance of getting Twenty Millions of it
returned TO our various general and local
treasures by taxation. What is the net profit
of that operations
Need another word be said to expose the
utter baselessness of the assumption that bond
holders are favored classq Do you not see
that they do pay taxes-cannot help III Inc
loans are offered to ALL the exemption Tor
non exemption from taxation is an element Of
their price and he who buys non-taxable
bond pays his taxes as truly as others
He pays in accepting lower rate of
interest than he would do if his bonds
were subject to taxation To tax his
bonds Is simply to take money out OF ono
pocket in order to put it into another, paying
several colBmissions and taking several risks
during the process. There is not single
penny to be made by or saved to the tax
payers by doing what Gen. Washbume sug-
gests, but the contrary; and we trust tho
People, the Treasury, and Congress, will pom
der well before giving any conntenance to his
project.
Let us say explicitly that we hold no dollar
Of Government bonds and expect to hold none.
When lending to the Government was an i'm
perative duty, we invested all we could i'll those
bonds but, since Peace returned, all those have
been sold, and the proceeds put to other uses.
We viii not be even plausibly charged with a
regard to our personal interest in advocating
scrupulous fidelity to the Nations most sacred
engagements, made when she hung between
life and death.