Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1867-10-10
Our National Finances.

Our National Finances,
In the course Of an address delivered
before an immense meeting Of Democrats
lin Ohio recently, the Hen. Daniel W.
Voorhies said
You have a mighty financial question
before you. | do not pretend to be the
greatest fnancier in the country; make
no professions upon that subject at all.
But there are certain great, bold, plain
facts that you and | can talk about here
to-day, in plainness and simplicity, as we
would around the freside. During the
war we became deeply indebted. The
public debt now amounts to about 81, ,60O,-
100000 A large portion Of it, nearly
81, 900, 100000 is in what may call the
peoples promissory notes They are
generally known as Government bonds.
What is a Government bond 1t is a
paper issued by the Government, by your
representatives, in behalf Of you, the
people, upon your credit and your credit
alone, and is your note, made, executed
and signed by your agents at Washing
ton, to pay so much money in a certain
length of time. You have nearly 81, ,000,-
100000 of these notes out, that some day
or other and in some way or other you or
your posterty will have to pay. Gentle.
men of Ohio, men Of Morgan county,
you are in debt Your farms are all
mortgaged, every foot and acre that
you own, is mortgaged to pay your
notes that are out. They are called
bonds, but they are simply your promises
to pay. They are in the hands Of a certain
class of men. They bear heavy interest.
Twice year the taxgatherer comes to
collect from you; yea, he is about you
every day. You pay taxes in every form.
The tax gatherer is invisible; he is
about you all the time. You pay taxes
on these bonds while you eat, and while
you wear out your clothes; even while
you sleep you are paying taxes on this
mighty debt Remember the tax you
are paying now does not reduce the
principle, it only pays the interest You
will say at once, THAT is an appalling
spectacle for us and for our children
after us to look upon" Two thousand
six hundred millions of dollars is an
immense sum of money, amounting,
according to an estimate | saw the other
doy, to large sum for each voter, and
then for each man, woman and child in
the United States | will not go into
these minutie. You will ask me how
these men received your notes. When
your currency was deranged, and, in
order to induce the people to purchase
these notes, a law was passed by which
they should pay no taxes upon the gov
ernment bonds that they held. The de
ranged state of the currency enabled
them to buy these bonds at rates Of from
forty to sixty cents on the dollar. If to-
day the people should repudiate the
entire public debt-which | am not for,
but opposed to--the bondhoders, by the
interest thy have already received,
would be paid nearly, if not quite, all
that the bonds originally cost them.
The remedy proposed by Mr.. Voorhees,
was that the bondholders should pay
taxes upon their bonds.
If they will not submit to taxation,
what then am | for? am then for
what all nations have had to do before,
that is, to reduce the rate of interest.
Our debt bears an average interest now
of six per cent am for reducing it to
three per cent, if no further One half
of your interest shall go, you bondhold-
ers, if you won't pay taxes. If you
won't pay taxes, we won't pay interest.
We will send you only half of what you
send for instead of all of it. What do
you think of that, them THAT is way
of lessening'this burden just one half
If they won't submit to that and keep
the power, there comes another method
by which this thing can be done. Letus
commence paying their bonds as they
fall due, in the same kind of money that
they make you take for whatever you
own in this world.