The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-08-17
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ICCoSH. .
ish TO see the national debt repudiated, is
,s natural as life. For that debt represents
ma defeat and ruin of "The Lost Cause. 4"
Money and men were alike indispensable to
its overthrow. Had every able-bodied male
in the loyal States shouldered his musket and
followed the Union drum, still the Rebellion
oould not have been put down without money,
and a great deal of it. The fleets that block
AIDED the coast and bOmbarded the Rebel for
tresses we're built or bought with money.
Thousands of monster cannon were cast, and
mounted. supplied with ammunition; mill
Tons of muskets and hundreds of cartridges
were made up-all costing money. The naked
nav of our armies required hundreds of mil
lions. Throughout the war we were ever bor-
rowing. until by the time it closed we had
rolled up a debt of twenty yseven hundred and
fifty millions of dollars, whereof we have
since paid off two hundred millions of prn-
cipal leaving twenty-five hundred millions
still due.
Now those who detested the war for the
Union because they wished success to seces-
sion and slavery, loaned but very little of
this money and hated those who did lend it,
They hate them still, and will cheat them out
of their dues if they ever have the power.
And they have not the wit to conceal their
purpose but are constantly betraying their
nefarious intent. They do not always call it
reputation, but they mean Just that. Witness
the following extract from Vallandigham' s late
campaign speech at Middletown, 0hio:-
Nov, there are other questions-question
OF day, not of yesterday, not last year, not
'6l '63, or "a, hut questions of lS67-and they
shall be hurled into the ears of men of the
ktpublican party of this State whether they
axe II or not, We have a question of currency,
ND growing out OF IT, question of taxation.
iOu are paying now on the public debt
12O.0OO00O at least of interest annually, and
Saylng II in coin, upon bonds. What is a
Jbited States bond? Why, so much money
100 or $1,000. Many of them-indeed, all of
Jhem, believe-afe payable in gold; vet a large
portion of them were bought at 40 So and 60 cents
on the dollar. These bondholders got for $500,
5000 or 5000, a claim against the Government
for $1,000. The funded debt of the United states
is 81 800 100000, more than S2.0O00O0 900 of it in
bonds. The whole property Ofthe United States
is but Sll ,0OO,00O000, and yet more than one
taxation. What is the result of that? Why,
that the other property is liable 10 heavier
tax to be levied in q school district in which
ten men live. One man owns 500 O0O and nine
men own their proportion of $2OO,O0O 1t
100000 is exempt from taxation, the Others
must pay his share. Tell me, you Repub-
licans who prate continually abo6t equality
is that right is that equal /? Can you
look me In the face and say 1t is right?
Wherein does bond differ from a greenback
VIII any man tell me what is the greenback
Nothing but the promise of tine Government to
pay; and the bond is the same But on the
greenback you pay no interest at all You
made greenbacks money-not the representa-
tive OF money, but the money itself. II man
owed me a thousand dollars, even if 1 mad
loaned him that much god you compel me
TO lake greenDacks for II. You passed a law say
ing that paper money should be a legal tender,
and when called for gold you made me take
greenbacks: l want you to take greenbacks for
what the Government owes you for what is
sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. BY
calling in these bonds, and paying them off in
greenbaoks, you save hundred and twenty
millions year in taxes and this Is just twice
as much as the whole expenses Of the Govern
should not that be done9 The proposition of
the Democratic party is that this public debt
sand-dollar bonds shall be paid in legal tender,
upon which the people pay no interest at all,
and thus that we shall escape large portion
of the taxes. am not in favor of repudiating
one dollar. 1t must all be paid; but want it
be paid in what you compelled me TO take"
TO argue with unblushing rascality ist
clothe it with semblance of respectability;
mt we will waste a few words on this vii
anous programme:-Here is banker-we
Till say in London or Frankford-who in
8634 was induced to invest his capital in our
Government bonds. He bought them very
lOW-say at forty cents on the dollar, though
few or none were bought so low as that-but
we are willing to meet the strongest case that
can be made. That price represented the
general distrust of our ability to put down the
Rebellion and pay the debt we had incurred in
or Radical, Republican or Copperhead, had
chosen to pay more, he could not have got
them so cheaply. He took the risk of our
being able to repay, just as those did who
bought Confederate bonds, now worth about
three cents per pound avoirdupois. We said
to him, "Buy your greenbacks as cheap as
you can, and we will gladly give you, for
every greenback dollar, our promise to pay a
gold dollar by-and-by, with six per cent. in
terest meantime" He accepted our offer, and
our triumph has made his venture lucky
one; while those who invested in Confederate
scrip have lost every penny.
Now, what has the fact that our Govern
Inent had to suspend specie payment and
make q gigantic forced loan to do with the
Justice of our creditors claim? No matter
where he lives, or how much he paid for his
bonds, he certainly paid their market value,
or he would not have them. We owe him, ii
anything, exactly what his bond specifies no
less, no more. To issue twenty-five hundred
millions of greenbacks, payable in nothing and
never, and tell those to whom we owe gold,
fTake these or nothing ~ when the immen-
sity of the issue will have reduced their value
10 nothing, would be far meaner rascality
than to refuse to pay one farthing of principal
or interest. It would be playing the sneak
thief when we might as easily have robbed on
the highway.
The national debt will not be repudiated.
simply because those who have the will can
not achieve the power Let them gain the
ascendancy, and the debt is mere waste paper,
and they will never incur the foolish ex-
pense of issuing two billions of fresh green
backs, merely to make pretense of pay
ing it.