The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1868-09-03

the war more than two hundred and thirty.
four millions of dollars.
Above IS another pettifoeging article
from Reverend j. E. Chaplin, on the sub
ject of the national debt. He has adopted
the course which we supposed he would,
and which we denounced last week as be-
ing IN unfair line EXPERIMENTATION; that is,
taking the debt at the highest point it has
reached, and comparing it with some other
lower point. We shall therefore not no.
tice his figures in detail He does not de-
ny the correctness of our figures, by which
it appears that the national debt has been
increased over one hundred and fifty-six
millions in three years and four months.
MIR. Chapin's special pleading in behalf o.
the necessity of an increase of the debt
Immediately after the close of the war, by
reason of paying off the soldiers, is merely
side show of the reverend gentleman S,
and has nothing to do with the subject
under discussion, as eur article, to which
he was replying, said nothing about the
business or uajustness of the increase of
the debt; it was the amount of the debt
and the increase of which we spoke.
Mr.. Chaplin says it was the sum remain
ing to be paid after the armies we're dis
banded and sent home which he declared
to be the debt, the principal of which had
been reduced. We beg leave to inform
him that he declared no such thing, Ell
Their in his discourse or il his article last
week. According to his explanation in
our last issue, all he said on the subject of
the public debt was as follows:
1.-THE cost of the foreign missionary
work is often complained of-the WASTE of
money thus used. But the sum of thirty
two 1927 cents from each one Of the present
population ofthe United States would give a
larger aggregate amount than the whole ex-
penditure Of the American Board with
which we are in connecticut during the fif-
ty-six years of its existence. The debt incur
red by the government during the four years
of the recent conflict would support the Op-
eratiOns of the Board at about the present
scale ($50O,O00 annually for six thousand
years. The interest on the debt at six per
cent. FOR SINGLE YEAR, would support the
operations OF the Board, at the same rate,
for THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTY WARS. Or the
interest of the debt at six per cent. for sim
gle year, put at interest at the same rate,
would yield an annual income of SIC, 800, 900
And yet the people of the United States have
not only PAID THE INTEREST upon the debt as
it accrued, but HAVE ACTUALLY REDUCED THE
PRINCIPAL"
There is no declaration in the above
about the debt at the time of disbanding
the armies, or at any other particular time.
We regret to see Mr.. Chaplin falsify his
own record in order to make point. II
it were true that we mlsrepresented him,
he ough. not to find fault with us, as he
has plainly misrepresented himself, by
saying that he had declared certain thing
which he did not declare.
If it was unfair for us to compare the
debt of July 81, 1868, with the debt
of March 81, 1865, how is it that he
prides himself on his fairness by taking a
date for starting point only five months
later than the date we took Simply be-
cause it better served his purpose of mis-
representation. If he desired to make a
full and fair account of the debt. why did
he not compare the debt as it now stands
with the debt one year ago? Why did he
not compare the statements of each Of the
past three months, with the corresponding
length of time Immediately preceding,
when there were no unusual receipts or
expenditures, instead Of going back to a
date when the debt was at its highest
point, and claiming the reduction which
Immediately followed by the sale of con-
fiscated and stolen property. as legitimate
1t has been stated by good radical author
ity that the sales of captured property,
since the close of the war, realized over
two hundred millions of. dollars to the
governmental sum nearly or quite equal
to Mr.. Chapin's boosted reduction of the
public debt.
AS sample of the reliability of MIR.
Chapin's figures, we refer to his statement
of the reduction of the debt from Sep.
tenber l, 1865 to October 81, 1868. We
would like to know by what system Of
calculation he determines what the debt
will be two months hence.
With that peculiar and native modesty
which radical clergymen are wont to ex.
hibit when occasion offers, Mr.. Chaplin
proceeds to first lecture us, and advise an
our columns, as to what eur conduct is and
should be. AS we shall not intrude into
his pulpit 70 advise him, we omit that part
of his article, as it is not german to his de-
tense.
Having given Mr.. Chaplin the use of
our columns to patch up his national debt