Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1867-09-26

| regard 10 Tue debt OF tue United othtes-
whether it be $500 millions or near 5000
millions as you state-cannot be so great
matter, as the ability of the people to
pay what it may be called upon by the
Government to pay in order 10 insure
the prompt payment Of the debt, or its
interest, as it natures. Nothing, it
seems to me, can be nearer the truth
than that Now, as / understand the
plan recently placed before the people,
it is nothing else than to pay the public
debt now'or within the next few years
when it all first natures, in greenbacks
or currency. In other words, to substi.
tute an obligation due on demand for
one due in twenty or forty years. As a
business operation, could anything be
worse2 Would you, even at a discount
Of twenty per cent, be willing to make
your obligations an due tomorrow (sup-
posing you have any outstanding, all
payable on demand and subject to the
caprices of your creditors2 Not you,
nor any merchant nor government. 1t
would be ruinous. If, with the present
bank note and greenback currency, gold
remains at an average premium of forty
per cent. We can, each of us, imagine
what the premium would be, with an
addition Of 1000 millions currency
There would seem to be no limit then,
to the value of gold, and, as a conse-
quence, to the value of the necessary
articles of life, to which labor
would bear the same disproportion as il
does now, correspondingly multiplied
Under an emission of 1000 millions more
of currency there might be-would be-
temporary prosperity but would not
the majority of us to-day be willing to
relinquish the prosperity resulting from
the war initiation, if we could only wipe
out of existence its resultant evils of
hard times and heavy taxes +? Our ex.
perience, and that of all communities,
Mr. Editor, is against the initiation OF
what passes for or represents money or
specie. The true policy is rather the
gradual contraction of the volume of
currency until it is wholly within the
control of the government, And there.
fore it seems to me the policy that does
gradually contract or dispose of the
promises to pay on demand, while it does
not decrease the debt, is the true one
The debt due twelve months hence
Though binding on mel is not the
anxiety l now feel, for feel assured
the ability to meet that to be quite suf-
fcient, but rather the debt due to morrow
and to-day.
If read Alright the published state
ments ofthe public debt, over 5000, 900, 900
of it has been paid during the last two
years. The volume of greenbacks is
materially less; l. e. the promises to pay
on demand are lessened, while the prom
Uses to pay in the titture have materially
increased. That certainly is the business
plan, inasmuch as there cannot seem to
be any reasonable doubt Of the ability of
the people of this country to pay-not at
sight, but on reasonable time-the whole
of even the large sum of twenty five
hundred millions. 1t is not, by any
means, the question whether we shall
pay the debt in greenbacks now and save
five hundred millions, because the saving
would be only apparent, like the pros
perity of the North during the war. But
rather is it the true policy to so arrange
the debt that it shall mature sufficiently
far in the future to make US morally
certain of its payment.
In short the payment in greenbacks of
the whole or any portion of our time
debt, seems to be SO absurd that / wonder
it meets the approval of any. The ques-
ton as to the policy Of substituting a
debt bearing low rate Of interest for the
present debt seems to me perfectly de-
batable For one, think it not only the
true policy, but one the Government will
be forced TO adopt A party with that
as one of its planks, would be perfectly
legitimate, and could not possibly be
accused of reputation and l hope it
may be organized. But the party that
demands the payment in promises to pay
on demand Of a time obligation, cannot,
if experience or history teaches us any
truth, bring about other than a m st la.
mentable condition of labor and the
fnances-a condition in which all would
suffer; but the poor, terribly.
! think your article, Mr.. Editor, very
bad in its effects. We, all of us, want
more money land would even accept a
few more greenbacks), but we don't want
any more representatives of real money.
We have had enough of them in the long
run. Let US, therefore, endeavOr to
bring about an appreciation of the value
of greenbacks, contract the currency,
place the greater portion of our debt in
the future, and soon real prosperity will
be the result BANK TELLER
MEW AnVERTISEM NTS