Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-10-03
8, 1867.
tbe. question Of public taith, Sim more

the question of public faith, stiil more
delicate. and important consideration.
= Let US now consider another plan. Can
not the per cent. bonds now due, and fall
ing'due in short time be. converted into
o per cent. bonds? We hayev perfect
right to do this, if itcan be done. lido not
think there is any reason, except the un-
settled condition of the country, why u S.
per cent. bonds should not stand steady
at par. We have now 1913 millions of these
bonds outstanding, and they are selling at
par. Inc Government is under no Tobliga-
tlon to keep its bonds at premium.
Prior to the war, on a gold basis, q. s.
per cent. bonds were sought for at l6 per
cent. premium; to-day private individ-
ual or corporation can 90 TO New YOrk
and borrow millions on Government secu-
rites, as collateral, at less rates than, the
GoVernment is paying. At the present
premium on gold, holders of U. S. bonds
are receiving at the rate of eight and 'one-
nall per cent. per lannumi interest, ia cur
rency. This Is too much. oI say. then, th at
these 6. per ceHt.> 5-20s bonds should be
withdrawn and substituted by new bonds,
bearing only per cent. Fortunately, this
Substitution can be compelled, If the hold
ers decline, otherwise. without any viola
( tion of faith. The 5-20s of 1862, amount
ing TO upwards of 500 millions OF dollars.
aresnow, payable atsstheT pleasure of the
Governments; those of 1864 will fall due in
1863, and so on; the Government, thus hay.
ing entire control oyer them. yIn,tbis way
a saving of over 20 millions per annum OF
gold interest may be made.1 Now, from
the revenues collected in the last two, years
we find, by an official statement of the
Secretary of the Treasury, made only a
few days ago, that the extraordiharE- eiIl-
rent EXPENSES of the Government have
been met, the inte, est on the debt paid, and
q reductions made in the principal Of 264
millions of dollars in the last. two years
being at the rate Of 1872 millions per anntirD.
Add 20 millions for saving of interest,
would have given reductionEo of 152 mil
lions per, annum. At this rate the debt
would rapidly disappear; as the principal
diminished the interest would. also dimin-
ish, and the amount available for lieuida-
tion of debt would soon increase in a dou-
BILE ratio. ssgs srlta btEFs tEi9fEst0'I 81 Z
Commissioner Wells, ia his report on the
revenue, informs us thai the total amoIlnt
OF revenue drawn from the country, during
the year ending Both of June, 1866, ;rednc-
ing the custom receipts to currency, allow
ing 40 per cent. premium for the gold, was
equivalent to $l6.04 currency, OF $n .46 in
gold per capita on an assumed population
of thirty-five millions. The public debt of
Great Britain is nearly four thousand mil
lions of dollars, or at least one-half greater
than ours yet in consequence of reduced
rate of interest and better administration
of her revenue laws, her taxation .ner cap
ita was only $1092 IN gold against $Tl .46
in the United ates, although her indebt-i
edness stands as $l25 per capita against
$74 Is in this country. - Commissioner
Wells estimates the ratio. of taxation to
property the last fiscaly year at three and
ninety-three one hundredths (3 93)5 per
cent. in the United States, and during the
same year the estimated ratio of taxation
to property in Great Britain at only nine
ty-nine tenths of one per cent. quote
from his report :idD III i1 IgatF1uI p a5ItF
sThe revenue derived from taxation 10
the United States in 1866, was $3.50, ,572, 266
and the value of real and personal pro-
perty, according to the census of 1860
$l4,2S2, 726 0SS. The amount of revenue
derived in Great Britain fromvarious forms
of taxation in lS64-65. excluding the re-
ceipts from Crown lands, postoffice, ETC.,
was S354,l3l. 600; the value of Fealand per-
sonal properly. according to- the census of
1861, being, $3l,5l2000.O00, the estimated
increase OF three per cent. per annum, or,
fifteen per cent, advancing the value in
1866, to$3623S, 100000" iIa. ;lG igY87a
And thus he shows that,the ration of tax
alton imposed on the United States last
year, viz: three and ninety-three one hun
dredths per cent. e 931 would have pro-
duced in Great Britain the enormous sum
of $l.424, 1874, $40, in place of $354, 4,l3l, 900.
the amount actually collected. 1t follows
that the ratio of taxation borne In the.
United States, last year, if imposed in
Great Britain, would have produced sum,
sufficient to pay off nearly one third of her
public debt, besides current EXPENSES, SO
that in three years it might be wiped aout
entirely. .,,....f. ..+.,,.s tn, ,,..r,
Ihave seen carefully prepared state
ment by Mr.. Edward Atkinson of Bostoh,
the rdrG .auis of New England manufac.
turer, who argues against the prese at sys-
TEN of tariffs and taxation, and plants him
self on the ground of a tariff for revenue.
arranged from free trade stand point
He has ascertained that the rate of the7in-
crease of population in this country has
been three per cent compounded, by the
census taken once in ten years since 1900.
Starting, therefore, in 1865 with an assumed
population of thirty -seven millions; at the,
rate OF So 60 taxation per capita (Which, as
we have seen, is nearly one-third
less than % the rate a'of last year),
and which he shows is will iI,pro-
dnce enough revenue t. meet the expendi-s
lures as estimated by the Secretary of the
Treasury for the fiscal year ending 3Oth OF
June, 1868, and leave an excess of twentvl'
four millions of dollars, for the reduction of.
the principal of the debt. In 1873 he re-
dnees the rate of interest on our bonds to
81 per eent.fOr one year and thereafter to
5 per cent. He allows for an annual in
crease of expenditures at the rate of 50 per
capita, on the annual Increase of populaL
ton. and on this basis he retires the whole
debt in 1884, or seventeen years from the
present time. la this calculation he treats
the whole debt as funded, including green
backs and all monetary transactions on
specie basis. He further shows that the
tax of $S go per capita can be produced at
ter an abatement of the tax Ion Cotton and
10 al on m nfa aofn
reduction of 30 per cent. on the average
rate of duties at the existing tariff rats.
Furthermore, he shows that t'as produce
tipn and wealth. increase much, faster, than
population, the increased consumption of
tea, coffee, sugar, liquors and the like would
probably allow the abatement of the in!
come tax or a further reduction of tbe
tariff about the year 1870 or1S71," and that
'the rate OF, So so per head will be obtained
long before 1884, from tea, coffee, sugar,
liquors, Spices silk goods, STAN ps, banks
assurances, degacies and SUGGESTIONS, sup
plemepted by a tariff upon other commo-
dities not exceeding the rate of 20 per cent.
advalOrem." The reasonableness of this
estimate is shown by the statement of Mr.
Wells, that 1.-The average annual increase in
tthe real and personal property of the
United States from 1910 TO 1850, accord
ing to the census returns; was in excess of
per cent, and from 1850 to 1860 in excess of
10 per cent; " thus showing that the aver
age Increase in the value of real and per-
sonal property, during the last twenty
years. as compared with the average ins
crease of population, has been in the ratio
of more than two to one. And Mr.. Atkin-
son then asks the question: "Whether it is
not proper for Congress, after making the
large allowance for army and navy, in
cluded in the foregoing tables, to assume a
state of peace and of normal development
for at least twenty years to come; and up
on that assumption to issue bonds in
classes, SO that in each year the Govern