, 1867-09-06
The Nat,ouaI Debt.
WALLuLA, september 3, lee


Ep1roR STATESMAN The sndH volume allu.
ded to in my last, of only I7e2 (D pages, lets in
. food of light on the mOdss ope,aHdi Of ouI
financial operators, aS to how the immense pro
proportion of the anaconda like thing was inau-
gursted. 10 the frat place, the then Secretary
Of Was-the Hon. Simon Cameron, Of Psansyl'
vSnia, who was also the Railroad King Of the
great Keystone State, aRd BY his direction all
the trsPs and nuaitOas Of var, for the imRedi-
ate protection Of the City Of Washington, vas
compelled 70 pass over his lire to Harrisburg
no matter how much lOsgeF it took them 10 has
tea % 70 Washington, nOr What extra expense il
would Be TO the United StAtes-gO via HARRIS
| burg they nHst. This smSH volame tells rs that
thereby, the Hon. Secretary CamerOa POcketsd
| the neat little sun Of fr0 sRd half milIiOHs ct
doIIarS. The Hon. SecretAry's SOa.in-law, Scott,
who was Vice President Of cne Of Cameron'S
roads, the Hon. Secretary made Assistant Secre-
tary Of War, sHd also made him the GOVerRMeRt
Agent, to set the prices for railroad travel
throughout the United States for transposta-
tion Of troops and munitions of war And it vas
proven before the Committee, that the prices set
BY the said Scott, was from 80 10 IS per eent.
higher than similar work was doae for on the
same roads. Then from Harrisburg to Wash
iBEton, charges were extra while on other
roads, through freight from any point to WASH
ingtOn, was the same as the charges to Harris
burg. These things became SO Dotorious, and
the stealing so enormous, that the Government
was compelled to take notice of them, and after
this Congressional Committee had euquired into
the sWndle, and reported thereou, Cameron was
rsmoVed-but howH why by giving him the
Ninistership to Russia. The trick was only
played to give him an incline plain to slide
down on, and be did slide down on it-fobbed
the outfit, aOme $I4, ,OOO-visited St. Petersburg;
took look at Europe, at the expense of Uncle
Sam returned and the next we see of him ON
the political surface, he goes before the Legisla
ture OF Pennsylvania as candidate for Senator.
with only IA votes, and be came out with over
4o ana 1t Is reported that his election onIy cost
him SoOO,OOOl and be goes to Congress to
make up the recoHstruction of the United States
beautiful prospect aiut it2 This much to show
where 100000 of our indebtedness went to,
and what become of the swindler. This volume
Sl4, ,OOO,OOO illegally out of Government, and
the purchasing of horses over 81, 500, ,OOO The
subsistence und clothing contractors swindles
were so enormous that this little volume of only
l792 pages could not reach them. If it were
possible to come at the exact amount of the true
legitimate Indebtedness of the United States to-
day, or on the first of January, 1867, | candidIy
6eIeve 1t would not have reached the sum of
81, 100000, ,OOO Then why should we pay these
I 80 7
think there is; we have a case in point:
OREGON.
Every cent Of the Oregon war debt had it
been double what it was, had it been inaugu,
rated in 1866 instead of 1856, would, under the
usual rule of the 39th Congress, have been paid.
The Oregon war debt grew out of what was
known as the "Cyuse war;" and every step was
properly aud legitimately taken by the proper
officers, appointed by the United States Govern
ment, through the Governor of Oregon Still,
after the war was closed and the volunteers dis
banded, each claimant holding his war scrip,
regularly drawn and properly filed by the legally
constituted officers instead of being paid on
presentation, commissioner was appointed by
Government to examine into the claim, and over
one half of the debt was rejected by Congress,
and never has been, nor never will be paid l
propose as an Offset, to make a change in the
"powers that be" at Washington, (for we never
can expect anything from our present rulers but
an increased indebtedness) organize commits,
sOner to inquire into the United States indeb,
edness which has accumulated since January
lst, 1861; run up debtor and credit account,
between the true, lawful and proper indebted
ness of the United States, and the swndles, and
strike balance sheet, and pay nothing but what
we legitimately and honestly owe, and put all
our Indebtedness (when ascertained) on an equal
footing, Let the case be called 1.-THE honest
people of the United States, vs.. United States
Swlndlers." Some might say that settlement
OF the United States Indebtedness, on the plan
adopted towards Oregon, would not be fair: that
the indebtedness is scattered broad cast through,
out the world, and that the Oregon war debt was
held exclusively by the citizens of Oregon. Such
was not the case. 1t is true, great many Ore.
gonians did suffer, but mostly by purchase of
this war scrip. know that merchants in Port
land bought it up, and obtained large stocks of
goods from the East with it. Several thousand
dollars was made in this way by the Portland
merchants, and corresponding amount lost by
the eastern merchants. | would like to see a
balance sheet, between honesty and rascality,
just to know how much we do honestly owe, and
what we have heen swindled out of in the last
six years. am in favor of repudiatng all the
swindles and paying nothing but what we hon
estly owe. CUNrux.
Another Victim.
PORTLAND, August 30 1867.