The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-11-12

II we look to history we shall see that
nearly all great revolutions have been caused
by unjust or oppressive taxation. Touch the
pockets Of the people, tax them beyond mea
sure, call upon the laboring masses for the
product Of their sweat and labor to maintain
an extravagant Government and there will
surely be revolt. In arbitrary or mOnarchi-
cal Governments there will be insurreotion or
bloody revolution; under popular Govern
ment like ours the revolution will be effected
at the ballot-box. Our own glorious Revolu-
ton was the result of unjust and oppressive
taxes imposed by the imperial Government of
Great Britain. The first great revolution and
succeeding revolutions in France sprang
mainly from like causes. So it has been in
England and other countries throughout
all history, and even as far back as the revolt
of the ten tribes of Israel under Jeroboam
because the yoke of Rehoboam was too
heavy to be borne. Can any one be so
short sighted, then, as not to see that the
Americans must soon revolt at the oppressive
taxation now imposed upon them A people
who make their own laws by representa-
tives chosen every two years will not long
endure extravagant and oppressive legislation.
And if any moneyed oligarchy, in the shape of
national banks, bondholders, or privileged
capitalists, think that they have the power to
control legislation, and endeavor to do so, they
will find out their mistake. Should these
classes selfshly push their own interests
against the interests and sentiments of the
people, they may come out of the contest seri-
ously damaged. There is no desire on the part
of the American people TO repudiate the debt,
but should the bondholders attempt to force
specie payments before the weight of the debt
be removed, and thereby perpetuate the debt
and the burden of taxation, public sentiment
may take shape that will make their securi-
ties less valuable than they are. We warn
them to beware of pushing their selfish inte-
tests too far. The taxpayers and the laboring
masses are the governing power in this
country.
The first and paramount object is to esta-
blish an economical Government in place of
the recklessly extravagant one we have, and
to both reduce taxation and pay off the bulk
of the debt while we have an abundant cur
rency. The national bank circulation should
be withdrawn, greenbacks issued in its place,
and with these three hundred millions of the
interest bearing bonds be bought up and can
celled. This would save twenty-five millions
a year in current money, and would give us
at the same time uniform currency. If the
business of the country can bear greater cir
culatiOn without unduly Initiating prices, a
further issue might be made, and more of
the interest-bearing debt be cancelled. At
all events, we ought to have uniform legal
tender currency instead of the miserable
mixed currency now afoat. Archibald Ali
currency, makes a suggestion that might
be useful to follow. He suggests two
kinds of currency-paper and the precious
metals-the first, in fact, to be the money of
the country, legal tenders, and the latter to be
reserve for conversion in way similar to
that which exists in the case of the Bank of
England. The precious metals nowhere are a
sufficient currency for business purposes. Even
in England, and in all specie-paying countries
and times by far the largest amount of busi-
ness is done through paper, through bank or
private notes. The paper issues of the Gov-
ernment, properly regulated, would only take
| the place of these, while they would be money
in fact as substantial as the Government itself.
We are now in position to establish an inde-
pendent American system of finance and cur
rency suited to our own condition, and not
| tying ourselves down to the errors, or what is
unsuitable in the old systems, of Europe. The
time has come when we should do this 1t is
| going to be the great and absorbing question
before the people and for statesmen to study