New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-12-03
HON r. j WALKERS PIN

Mr.. Walkers devotion to honesty in our
countrys dealings with her creditors Is so evil
IDENTIFY real and hearty that we are happy TO
agree with him so far as we can, lie VISITED
Europe during our late struggle as the author
lied financial agent of our Government, and
no did his utmost to induce capitalists to buy
our Five-Twenty and Ten-Forty bonds. To
this end he assured them that they were pay
able and would be paid, principal and interest,
in coin or its full equivalent; and he thus
induced the purchase, mainly by Germans, OF
large amounts of those bonds. Had 1T been
the understood fact that those bonds were
payable in Greenbacks, Ga contradiction IN
tems) they cOud not have been negotiated
nor sold abroad in those days at any price. The
buyers were quite aware that they braved the
risk of our discontinue or exhaustion by the
Rebels and of our consequent insolvency
they knew that we could not pay them if dis
aster should deprive us of ability to do 80
they did not understand that we reserved the
right 20 extinguish bonds on which six per
cent. interest in gold was distinctly promised
and regularly paid, by giving dollar for dollar
in our own naked promises, drawing no inter
est. redeemabe never, and only made to be
broken Had such been the fact, and had
they been made aware of 1t, not bond cOuld
have been sold in Europe, and the redoubled
pressure for exchange Ia meet our heavy
importations, especially OF war material and
supplies, must have sent ND the premium on
gold, the prices of all staples and fabrics, and
thus immensely increased the cost of the War
and the aggregate of our Debt. Low as our
bonds sold abroad, we were signally helped by
their sale and are considerably less in debt to-
day than we should have been if the Butler and
Stevens theory of National obligation had then
been accepted and disseminated.
We are perfectly willing that our Govern
ment should contract one thirty years loan OF
Two OF Three Hundred Millions. for negotia-
ton in EurOpe--the bonds being printed and
the amounts specified both in English and
German, and the interest payable at Frankfort or
Berlin-but we think this may be done at five
per cent. and we would use it only to fund our
obligations already held abroad. We deem i.
neither necessary nor eXpedient TO incur an
other dollar of foreign debt during peace. Such
n loan would prevent the premature return Of
our bonds now owned and held in Europe, and
this will suffice. We want no gold imported.
The Government holds over One Hundred
Millions; the Banks and People have certainly
not less than Two Hundred Millions, and we
are producing fully One Hundred Millions per
annum. To borrow and import Two Hundred
and Fifty Millions more would DO carrying
Goals to Newcastle on n gigantic scale. Only
guard against heavy drafts from Europe land
We hold even this an ideal danger, and We are
abundantly able to resume tomorrow.
Nor can we agree with Mr.. Walker in wish
ing to stop the payment of our National Debt.
We consider One Hundred Millions per annum
little enough to extinguish; and we protest
against pOstpOning payment indefinitely. 1t
will always be easy TO invent excuses for delay
to complain that the people are poor. and
to assert that the present burden of taxation
4" is grinding out the substance of our people
"and immensely Tetarding our progress in
wealth" But We challenge the assertion, and
demand proof. Have we not titled more land
in 1867 than in any former years Have we not
grown larger aggregate cropsf Have Ve pot
built at least 100000 new houses, factories fur
naces, stores and warehouses-many Of them
large and costlyi Has not our Labor been
generally employed and fairly paidf Have not
multitudes of new homesteads been created,
and large additions made, by clearing of tim
Der and fencing and breaking up prairie, to the
area of old onesf If these questions must be
answered in the Affirmative, how can it be
truthfully said that our progress in wealth has
been immensely" retardedH
Of course, it is inconvenent TO pay heavy
taxes-at all events, it is more agreeable not
to pay them But let us talk sense. In 1853,
fUup TprprNv Daid nva, ON 0O0 M oJvo,t;s;,,
tax and the aggregate receipts from that tax
must have been Two or Three Millions. The
last Congress repealed it, against our urgent
remOnstrance. 1t is agreeable to be rid of the
tax but we insist that il did not j." immensely
" retard the progress of our wealth" 1t only
put into the Federal Treasury money that we
were glad to keep in our own pockets. And
so of other taxes that were repealed or reduced
by the last Congress, and still more that will
probably be repealed or reduced by this Con-
Tess.
II may be that we shall increase in National
wealth as rapidly rs Mr.. Walker estimates;
but who can foresee the futureY New wars may
break out; new complications arise; we may
have bad harvests, pestilence, and anarchy
resulting from increased depravity and vice.
We should persevere in paying heavily, if only
to fortify our credit. Let the world see that
we are resolved on paying of our bonds,
and every one will be eager to hold
some of them; while, If we stop paying,
our credit is likely to droop. Merely as q
matter of economy, we would persist in paying
not less than One Hundred Millions year.
Then, bonds will be constantly growing scarcer,
and capitalists will be scrambling for them.
Let us initiate the thrifty farmer or mechanic,
who, having run in debt for his estate, his out
fit, pays off that debt as fast as no can. So
Innn a. he IA aeon 10 do flis hia creditnra arc