New-York tribune., 1867-08-16
HOW NOT TO Ply II.

success should hate the Nations creditors and
wish to see the National Debt repudiatcd. Is
as natural as life. For that Debt represents
the defeat and ruin of "The Lost Cause
Money and Men were alike indispensable to
it's overthrow Had every able-bOdied male IN
the LOYAL States shoudercd his musket and fol-
lowed the Union drum, still the Rebellion could
not have been put down without money and
great deal of it. The fleets that blockaded
the coast, and bombarded the Rebel for
tresses were built or bought with
money. Thousands of monster cannon
were cast, and mounted, supplied with amimu-
milton; millions OF muslC4s and hundreds OF
millions of cartridges were made up-all cost
ing money. The naked pay of our armies re-
duired hundreds of millions. Throughout the
War, we were ever borrowing, until, by the
time it closed we had rolled up n Debt OF
Twenty Hundred and Fifty Millions oi
Dollars, whereof we have since paid Oft Two
Hundred Millions of principal, leaving Twenty
five Hundred Millions still due.
Now. those who detested the War for the
Union because they wished success to Secession
and Slavery loaned but very little oil tins money
and hated those who did lend it, They hate
them still, land will cheat them out oil their
dues if they ever have the power Ana they
have not the wit to conceal their purpose, >Dut
are constantly bctraying their neiarious intent
They do not always call it Reputation, but
they mean Just that. Witness the following
extract from Yallandigham's late campaign
speech at Middletown, Ohio:
"Now there are other quesuOns-questions OF today,
not OF yesterday not last year, not 6i g or 20, Dut
0ucs ions OF 1867 they shall be hurled into e sars
OF men OF the Republican party OF tins state Whelner
tley like Lor not We have question OF currency and
growing ont OF II. question Of taxation NOu are pay
Ing the public debt s2o0OOO AT least Gt interest
annually. and paying II in ooin upon bonds W NhAt -
United states bondi Why, much money-5lo0 OF sOoo
Many of them-indeed. all OF them belleyeaIe pps
be i gold; vet large portion OF them were bought at
4O 90 and co cents the dollar Ihee boidhouois tol
for 500 sOO tOe claim against the GoIcinent LOT
81 OoO The funded debt Of the United states ls
more than S2pO0OOOOOO Of II IN bonds. Ihe whole prop
erty OF the United states Is but slioOoeDoo ana yet
from taxation what is the result OF thnit why that
the other property s liable to heavier amount OF taRA
tjou SUPPOSE there IS much tax 10 bc levied IN
school district in which ten men live. Ono man owns
10000 and nino men oTn ~ NJ tIer & Pr0pI,s si m ~ ey
cmpt from taxation the Others must pay h, share Icii
me, you Republicans who pfate cOntlhuAlly np"n' vqu
Nv Il thai fgt ii, that cqualf Can you look me In the
face and Say Is rightf Then look ~ lh1 Pos.oh oi
currency wherein does bond differ from greenbaeki
VIII any man tell mo what u the gIoehnl'A hin5
but the promise ~ the Government 20 pay anu he poh
=, IN Vnu ,nads cks monoy-not the representa-
tive OF money, but the money lsen' - nisa ha
loaned him that much gold, you compel me 70
take greenbacks for H. You passed law saying @ Una,
paper money should be legal tender ana when called
Tor gold you made me take greenbacks want YOU 10
grccnbacks for what tho Government owes YOU oi
what Is sauce for the goose sauce for the gande By
calling these bonds aud pay them on In geehbacks
you hundred and twenty millions year IN tahcs
and this Is lust twice much the whole expenses OF
the Government we're ten or eleven years ago Why
should not that be donei The proposition OF Ihe Demo
greenbaCks; that your thousanddolar bonds shau be
paid I'm legal tender, upon which the people pay mo IN
afl
OF the taxes am not In favor OF Iepndalng one dollar
II must all be paid but want 1t to be paid In what you
To argue with unblushng rascality is to
clothe il with a sembance of respectability;
but we will waste a few words OH this vllanous
programme: Here is bankcr-we will say in
London or Frankfort--who in 1864 was in
duced to invest his capital in our Government
bonds He bought them very lOw-say at forty
cents on the dollar, though few or none were
bought so low as that-but we are willing TO
meet the strongest case that can be made.
That price represented the general distrust of
our ability to put down the Rebellion and pay
the Debt we had incurred in fighting it. If
any one who had money-TOry or Radical, Re-
publican or Copperhead-had chosen to
pay more, he could not have got them 30
cheapiy. He took the risk of our being able to
repay, Just as those did who bought Confed-
crate bonds, now worth about three cents per
pound aVOirdupois. We said to him, "Buy
"your grcenbacks as cheap as you can, and
eve will gladly give you, for every greenback
"dollar, our promise to pay n gold dollar by
"and-by, with six per cent interest meantimen
He accepted our offer, and our triumph has
made his venture lucky one; while those who
invested in Confederate scrip have lost every
penny.
Now what has the fact that our Government
had to suspend Specie Payment and make
gigantic Forced Loan to do with the justice of
our creditors claim? No matter where he
lives, or how much he paid for his bonds, he
certainly paid their market value, or he would
not have them. We owe him, if anything. ex-
actly what his bond specifies, no less, no more.
To issue Twenty-Five Hundred Millions of
Greenbacks, payable in nothing and never,
and tell those to whom we owe Gold, "Take
"these or nothingw when the immensity of the
issue will have reduced their value TO nothing
would be far meaner rascality than to refuse
to pay one farthing of principal or interest. 1t
would be playing the sneak thief when we might
as easily have robbed on the highway.
Tie National Debt will not be repudiated
simply because those who have the will can
not achieve the power. Let them gain tho
ascendency, and the Debt is mere waste paper,
and they viii never incur the foolish expense
of issuing Two Billions Of fresh Greenbacks,
merely to make false pretense of paying it.
We wish we were through with this nasty
business of printing afidavits and counter afli-
davits from irresponsible people, perjurers, and
adventurers, to defame the character of public
men and nrivni,c citizens. We have had as