The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-08-24

] Senate Finance Committee. at Can
ton, Ohio. OH the goth inst
There are some questions not special
Ily involved in this canvass, but
which are very important. can only
I allude to some OF them very briefly,
and chiefly in reply to what Judge
/ Ranney said to yon the other day.
/ They are financial questions growing
/ out of the war. You will observe that
/ their doctors do not agree at all.
1 Judge Thurman, Judge Ranney, Mr..
/ Nallsndigham, and no doubt many
! others, talk about debt and taxes and
I banks merely to excite opposition; but
| the Democratic party have not and dare
not take definite positions on any of
! them.
Until the last "nigger" is exhausted
| they will not meet fairly these great
questions.
/ Judge Ranney is opposed to an in
/ crease Of paper money, while Thurman
| wants to pay off our bonds in more
/ greenbacks, or more rags, as he calls
! them, and yallandigham is In favor of
paving the whole debt by an issue OF
| Rreenbacks. The question with you
/ will be whether the Union party, which
| Is entitled 10 the credit of the wonderful
success of our financial measures, can
J best solve all new problems as they
rise, or whether the public credit can be
safely committed TO party that during
/ the war tried all they could TO destroy
| our credit. " y NNE
| Let us look at some OF these matters.
| They talk of our large public debt.
| Very ell, our debt is large, but what
| caused it7 "A Democratic rebellion.
We had to choose between great war
and its inevitable incidents, debt and
taxation, or on the other hand the over
I throw of the National Government.
| The Union party preferred war, debt
and faXPs 10 OisuniO0,
Did the Union party unnecessarily
J increase the debt, or impose unequal or
unjust taxes On the contrary, our
! financial measures were as successful
as our military measures. While all the
, efforts of the Democratic party Impaired
| our credit, made it difficult TO negotiate
I loans, prolonged the war, and increas-
| ed the debt; and now that the war is
over, what party is likely 10 increase
| the debt We have the fact before
us that the Union party has not only
prevented an increase of the debt,
| but its reduction has been steady and
rapid. .-s
On the 3lst of August, 1865 1t was S2,-
ISL. 500, ,6Sd; on the LIST day of November,
1866. 1t was So, ,55l ,424, l2l, or reduction
OF S206 379, ,565. On the LIST day of Au-
gust, 1867, it was 81, 5ll ,3O6, ,436, or total
reduction of S246, ,497, $50 in less than
two years, and during these TWO years
we paid of, besides an immense
amount of floating debts, the debris of
the war. Suppose the Democratic par
ty now in power. who does not know
that the debl would be largely incrSus-
ed?
The only sure Democratic States,
Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware. ARE
now demanding untold millions as pay
for their slaves. Every Democrat Is
committed to their payment. All
over the South they are prenaring
claims for injuries during the war. y
Democratic Congress would grant them
all.
Nearly every Democratic Senator or
member has cOmmiIted himself to prin-
ciples which, il adopted, will add to
your debt five hundred to one thousand
millions of dollars.
For this reason they cOnstatly eNaR-
gerHte the amount of the public debt.
Let us see what il is. 1t is liquidated,
and we know to a dollar the amount.
l read from the last official statement
of the Secretary of the Treasury. The
aggregate debt, August lst, was 81, ,5ll,-
8O6, 1876, ut OF this 1897, 7I9, ,5S3 is in
greenbacks and fractional currency,
not paying interest, leaving the interest
bearing debt S2,1I4, 100000. Now if
have my way, this debt will not be in
creased one dollar on any pretense
whatever, but will surely and gradual
ly be paid Oft.
r II lS SAlu lldI LLllS NGbI ls lOI
to taxes, and this discrimination Is un-
Just TO other tax payers. Now, this
debt or property i'll income held by our
citizens is subject to taxes by the Uni
ted States. Congress may impose taxes
on it as it does on other property or In
come.
These bonds now pay income tax.
But it is not subject to State tax. This
is true, but whose fault is il? Did the
Union party make this exemption2 Not
at all. 1t is made by the Constitution
of the United States for which our Dem
ocratic friends, when 1t suits their pur-
poses, profess such profound Difference.
The Supreme Court of the United
States, as early as 1919, decided that
bonds OF the United States are not sub
ject to any tax by or under State au
thority. This decision has been follow
ed in u multitude of cases since.
1t SO happens that every Judge that
has sat on the Supreme bench from 1919
to this time has had this question before
him, and each one concurs in the same
opinion. The principle is obvious that
the power OF Congress to borrow money
is paramount aud cannot be taxed or
interfered with without destroying it.
To allow "A State to tax national loans
may eua BILE State to prevent the ma
ton from borrowing money. Now,
I these decisions are very we'll known to
| as good lawyers as Thurman and Ran
ney, but, instead of stating them fairly,
they blame the Union party for eX-
empting the bonds, while all United
States bonds have been exempt from
| local taxes since the foundation of the
I Government by the Constitution itself,
4 and II has been Acquiesced in by every
| Administration. The first loans during
| the war contained no reference to this
constitutional exemption, but in sub
sequent laws, after recent decision by
Judge Taney, in December, 1852, that
United States bonds could not be taxed,
we inserted declaration in one of our
! loan laws that United States bonds
We're not taxable by or under State
| authority. They did not change the
| law, but simply declared the law.
| In view of this very question, and OF
| the certainty that when the war was
over, our restored credit would enable
us to borrow money on more favorable
terms, we always kept in view, in is
suing bonds, the principle OF redeem
ability" at the pleasure of the United
| States, in IL short time.
This was fixed policy of your tinan-
| cial agents. This is the reason of y our
5-2Os and 10.40s. The United States
NAV pay off any portion of our debt
! within ashort time, either by taxes or
| by borrowing money on favorable
| terms. Nothing now stands In the way
except the Treasury notes known as
| the 7-30s, which will soon be converted.
| When this process Is accomplished,
| the whole public debt is in the most
| favorable shape, and may from time to
| time be funded at lower rate of inter-
est, and so as to adjust our condition
proper and right, both 10 the taxpayers
/ and the public creditors, on the ques-
| ton OF taxation. s.r -=....
| sir we can sell them, we can issue