North Branch democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, 1867-03-27

Has the Matf0nal Debt deem Dfmlnfsncd
Some sanguine people have allowed
themselves TO be led to believe that the
vast debt incurred during the war is likely
to be liquidated during the lifetime Of
those who saw it created and singular to
say. certain crack-brained Badical fanat-
les, snch as the editor of the New York
Tribune and w. D. Kelly Of Philadelphia,
have given expression to fear that it is
being paid off too rapidly. The New
York Times takes up the matter and shows
by short and concise statement that the
present generation is mu ch more likely to
see the national debt doubled than extin-
guished. 1t says:
"7Ris generation is much more likely to
double the debt than 1t u to pay it, The
country has been amused with the idea
that we are paying it off at the rate of a
hundred or hundred and fifty millions
year but it forgets that We are increas-
ing it qnite as fast in other directions
The Bounty Bill of 1866 added about
eight millions. Another is under way
which will add from two to four hundred
millions more. Mr.. Schenck' says this bill
will do to begin WITH" and Gen. Banks
pledges himself to vote for whatever sum
the soldier wants,--he does not care wheth-
er it is four or eight hundred millions of
dollars. Mr.. Williams of Pennsylvania,
has presented another bill Of the same sort,
The soldiers constitute powerful part of
the great body of voters. They have one
common interest, and nothing is more Ger
tain than that just as long as asDiring par
tisans want their votes, just so long will
millions be voted ont of the public Treas
usy for the purpose of securing them
Neither party in Congress even now dare
vote against any such proposition. No
prominent public man dare take ground
openly and boldly against the policy thus
foreshadowed, ruinous and fatal as they
know it to be- Whoever does so is forth
with denounced AS an enemy of the SOL
diers "a rebel-sympathizer--a traitor or
Copperhead more or less disguised. And
an cpi,het or two of tits sort is quite
enough to silence any member who, IN a
rash moment, might have dreamed of con-
sulting the public good.
Then, too, Mr.. Blaine's proposition to
transfer to the National Treasury all the
debts incurred by States aud counties
in raising soldiers and prosecuting the war,
is pretty certain sooner or later to become
law,-and this will add not less than
five hundred millions to the aggregation
of the National Debt. And lurking be-
hind all these stands another class OF claims
! of which no man can estimate the amount,
we mean the claims Of loyal men, North
and South, for property taken or for prop
ertv destroyed during the progress of the
war. These claims began to come in at
the beginning of the first session of the
last Congress, and were referred to the
Committee on Claims. at the head OF which
was Hon. Columbus Delano, of Ohio, one
of the ablest and most considerate men in
public life. So startled was the Commit
tee by the amount of these claims that
they reported a resolution, which was
forthwith adopted, that until otherwise or
dered no claims of this character from the
citizen of the Southern States should be
entertained But this was simply tenn
porary evasion of an inevitable duty. 1t
was like shutting ones eyes to danger
too fearful to be faced. The Committee
did not dare to let the country understand
the extent IF these claims which are per-
fectly just, and can no more be ignored
than can the 1905 or any other part of the
public debt.
What the amount of those claims will
prove in the end to- be, the country has
no means of knowing. Mr.. Delano has
intimated two or three times, while urging
vigorous measures of taxation in Congress,
THAT they would be large enough to tax to
the utmost the resources and the whole
country. And we have very good reason
to believe that the amount of such of these
claims a. will be paid, viU approach pery
nearly, If II does not equal, anhat as under-
stood to present aggregate Of the National
debt
This may seem extravagant, as it certain
ly 10 alarming; but we belive time will
show that it is not an over-statement Of
the actual fact.