New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-10-29
THE DEMOCRATIC STAMPEDE ON FINN
CIAL ISSUES

Inc DcmOciauC party, uohuheu VI VIVA
candidates, and repudiating the revolutionary
features of their platform, are vainly endeavor-
ing to make stand and rally their panic
stricken and deserving ranks by misrepre-
senting financial issues. Here also they are
in hurried retreat from all their leading
positions. Mr.. Pendleton, finding that the peo-
pie see nothing but ruin in paying OIL the
entire National debt in greenbacks, thus swell
ing our currency to $2,5OO,OOO,OOO and destroy
ing its value, now declares that ho never
advocated that policy. Other Democratic ora
tors find that the clause III the Democratic
platform calling for the equal taxation OF every
species of property involves system OF dlrect
taxation on all real estate and fixed capitai,
without regard to its income; that 1t admits OF
| no discrimination i'll favor OF the poor OF
against articles Of vice or luxury; that Tor
every dollar it would collect out Of the National
bonds it would collect forty dollars out OF real
estate and other permanent investments; ana
that it is. in fact, the most unequal system oil
taxation which human ingenuity could deYise'
They are, therefore, actively pooh-poohing this
feature of the Democratic platform, and assur-
ing their hearers that it does not mean what
| it says.
| Mr.. Seymour himself has explained that the
bulk of our National bonds is held by Savings
Banks and Insurance Companies, and that the
property Of their two millions of depositors ana
insurers is invested by these companies IN the
National debt What is not so he'd is owned
mainly by our friends in Germany, not 10y the
aristocrats nor capitalists, but by the intelligent
middle classes there, who believe in American
institutions. 1t is clearly base, and not very
clearly profitable, to swndle our chambermalds
and servant girls under pretense OF rescuing
our "poor taxpayer from the clutch OF the
| bloated bondholders. Therefore the great
Democratic drama of the "Bloated BOndholdeTs
"and the Suffering Taxpayers" refuses to run
through the season, since the hero of the plot
is discovered 20 be a sneak who is picking the
pockets of servant girls under pgetense Of pro-
tecting virtue and aiding tho INDECENT.
Then there was very nice little device by
which the National bonds were all to be paid
off in twenty years by a simple tax on the
bonds themselves. Upon this policy the
National credit would flourish IS the tabled
serpent grew fat by perpetually consuming his
own tail But it is found on careful study that
this policy results in no revenue-that what we
collect in taxation on the bonds We pay in in
creased rates Of interest.
| The Democratic platform had also n nice
| little clause in favor of one currency. But on
inquiry it is ascenained that the Democratic
party in Congress voted almost solid for two
currencies zone for the bond-holder and
"another for the laborer and pensioner," while
the Republican party voted by heavy major
ity in favor of paying the interest on the
public debt and duties on imports in green
backs, hoping thereby to keep the greenbacks
at par with gold. We are indebted TO the
Democratic party. therefore, for our two cur
rencies. Hence they arc beginning to fight
shy on this question.
They talked loudly of economy. BIT it is
found that the same City Government of New
York which our Republican Mayor Opdyie
ran in 'G1 and G2 for less than $l20O0.000 Il
year, costs under Mayor Hoffman over $4,000
600 year. being twice as much per head for
our whole population under a Democratic Mayor
as under Republican, gold and other prices
remaining the same. AS for National expendi-
lures, notwithstanding all the abuses of Presi-
dent Johnsons Administration, the checks
thrown around it are such that it costs SIS, 0OO,-
600 less in gold per annum to run the entire
civil service of our National Government
These facts close the discussion on economical
points.
In answer to their allegations that the Ma
tional debt is on the increase, we show that
since June, 1866, the whole amount of debt
then incurred and outstanding, including that
| for which no bonds were ever issued, but which
was met and paid by taxes, has been reduced
from S3,3OO,OOO0OO to $2,5OO0OO,0OO In short
that the National debt with which We ended the
war is now one-fourth paid To their COM
plants that we are still as far from specie
payments as ever, and their inquiries why gold
does not come down to par, we answer: Dur
ing the past three years the Government has
been compelled to fund about $i,10O,OO0,OO of
short and accruing obligations into bonds pay
able in twenty years, or at the option of the
Government after five years. This funding
process has kept the Government constantly u
borrower, has compelled it to keep steadily
pouring on the market its new obligations, with
which the market was already gutted. So long
as this process continued its credit could not rise
to par. But now that the funding process is
complete and the Government il no longer q
borrower. nothing but Democratic threats of
population will prevent rs from uti-
mately borrowing all the money we
want at three or four per cent. This would re-
duce our annual interest by $6O,0OO0O0 a year
Hence, the first great measure of National
economy is to crush all attempts at repudia-
ton as incendiary reasonable. and too costly
to be even agitated.
In notification of these facts, we show that
bonds declined two per cent when Seymour
and Blair were nominated, and recently adj
ynncnd snNnn Nor cont Mhnn IN WINS cnnnrnllu