Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-05-22
lFrom the Nav York Trihnna

vrlFrom the New York Tribune.l
Our Nationai lDebt-Tvvo PLANS o.
GeitiPg MD Of lTaxation--Re
T!ninsiou Of the lEntirei Debt Pro
posedAyNhy IL WouId be Cheap
0er Ehd More Benelicent for al
Coacerned-UncIe Sam 60 be Re
sSinssated -. ON . Hard Cash Basis
TO the Editor Of The Isf6u,se: lss vs5 Il,
= SIR ~ have read In your paper the nu
merous suggestions of modes to return {,
specie payment, and your replit thereto.
know You 70 De q hard currency man lii
other words, the poor mans friend--and :
have, therefore, considerable confidence il
submitting my own suggestions to you for
whether you may agree with them or not
thinkthey wiz be found worth consider
3ngsih gIsye ni hus ..sb .YzsIuW " $40 aTTI.T Toz
We viii never retnrn to specie so long a
there is SO much In the way. So long as
paper dollar; can be bought thirty or forty
oeRts7cheaper than q gold dollar, we shall
see the. paper dollar, and nothing better
nor will the American people continue tt
patiently walt till this enormous debt i.
paid. In order to see the sight of gold. $50
THAT the creation of our present paper
currency and bonds was necessity. no ous
can deny. The nation was struggling fel
u
war and well kneN that there was MOI
gold enough in the country to carry it sue
eessfuAyi through,l so we who could not &C
to the field contributed our share of the
undertaking by the best means in sour
power-by furnishing the wherewithal to
thus advanced we sstOok promises to pay, p
This would be very well If there was any
one to pay them; but the facts are that we
have to pay them olrsetoes, most probably
Two or three times over, before the debt L
removed. 2riEsnps snH .5s-i t7arta1a is l1s7
q At present the debt stands thus The
Government of the United States owes
$1,000, 100000 to certain individuals most
OF them citizens of the United States, ard,
therefore, = portion of the Government
constituting the debtor.HIn consideration
Tor this sum of money, the United States
has given its creditors interest bearing
bonds. To pay the interest of these bonds
the entire population of the country is
enormously taxed in, divers ways, direct
and indirect, year after year, until thou
sands who, before the war, lived cnmforta-
bly,oca now with difficulty support exist
ence.r The direct taxations under which
they groan, are those assessed on incomes.
Property, &c, and the individual levies-
even harder yet to bear-are the enormous
duties upon all imports, the internal reve-
hue tax upon manufactured articles, and
C8oCOl
department. of life, arising from the depre-
citation of paper currency. fsi - : Z. T.
But first let ussconsider the nature of the
creditor and the nature of the debtor. Ii
the debt was due to any individual, or to
any foreign Government, then it would
only be consistent and right to pay it, with
interest. An intiividuRl creditor can eoerce
his debtor--if he have any property-by a
process of law; and one nation can coeree
the payment ora debt due from another
nation, by force of arms. But, in the case
of our own war deot, the bondholders, or
creditors, are (unless natives of foreign
countries) partial elements constituting the
creditors, since the people of the United
States constitute the United States Gov
ernment. 1t is very much as If certain
stockholders of a corporation should lend
that corporation money, and then proceed
60 collect it from the corporation, of which
they themselves are a part. ~ 81 -
Or, betterstill, it is as if the human frame
should become indebted to some of its COM
ponent parts-say the fingers and toes for
certain services; and these members should
demand a payment which would eventually
undermine the whole structure, and involve
the debtors themselves in the general ruin.
Now, this is precisely as It stands with our
country and our debt. Wepropose to fleece
ourselves, as whole, ihorder faullgro drift
the debt itito the hands of aSfew; for we
shall become SO poor, by continual income
and other taxation, that none but the rich
will be able to hold the bonds, and thus be
benefited by the debt principal, In other
words, "He that hath (and is able to hold)
shall have added unto him abundantly.
while he that hath not shall have taken from
him what he seemeth TO; have.n ~ - ~
II the principal of our immense debt was
ever to be PAID, it would be far better if we
had no interest bearing bonds at all, but
only a common debt, represented in the
shape Ola national currency, to be redeem-
ed with specie as fast as possible, by Just
taxation on all property In reach of the
Government; in which case, the entire bur-
den would be distributed among all, to be
enjoyed, or participated In, by all, until. the
debt was finally liquidated by said taxation.
Buts as the matter now rests, the masses
VIII be compelled to pay interest upon it
Tor twenty years, at least, which will
amount to nearly twice the principal: and,
In the end, none but the rich willreceive
back the principal. i do not expect that
these words will receive any favor among
the few; but l. am confident that twenty2
nay, ten years-from now, what have at
tempted to Illustrate in this letter will be
accounted as true words, given in advance.
Now, this, at least, is true: Taxation inn
plies the titheing of all property pro rata in
the country where such debts due, or such
tax is to be raised. The nature of our heavy
burdens Is to leap over the property almost
entirely and raise the debt off the poor man
1.-The CONSUMER That these taxes fall alto
gether upon the shoulders of the poor con-
sumer, Is fact which, can not be shirked
nor evaded. In what way does the rich
man feel taxation of this character? The
merchant, for instance, is nor actually taxed
one cent on his income. No matter how
much business he does, no matter how
much he makes. every cent he is taxed he
charges upon the cost of his goods, and
sells Il over and over agai 4. The poor con-
samer who buys is thus. compelled to pay
not only his own income tax, but also that
OF the wealthy merchant, from whom he
buys. Fill seven now, we hear the poor
men, the c0RsaiBlefs begin to cry &c In the
name of conscience. stop taxing the rich
for this double burden-our own and that
ofthe rich man-we can no longer fbeari,'
How stop taxation? By getting rid oil
the national debt, and returning to hard
There are two plans by which this can be
accomplished First: Let us consider I'M
Gle sam as an Individual, and his creditors
as an individual, and have them deal with
each other in the usual way The matter
of coercion is out of the question, because
adSOvernment can not be 1coerced by its
owfipeople, when they, the people, are the
Government; and even among individuals.
any kind OF personal punishment for debt
which the debtor is unable to pay is abol-
ished IN this country. The creditor is, per
force, satisfied. it all the properties of the
debtor are turned over, in. payment, as far
as they will go, for the debt Incurred; and
after that he is free man. Now, let
Uncle Sam be considered in the same way
He is an insolvent debtor. Let him turn
over to his creditors. all his effects-all OF
his public 1ands-and pay them in these.
AS we are treating him as an individual,
we will let him keep the household furni-
ture necessary to his subsistence-his Capt.
tol, Postoffices, Custom-houses, and other
buildings; for, If we should deprive him
of these, we, should have to build him new