New-York tribune., 1868-02-03
SIDEWISE REPUDIATION-P -PENDLETON-
PESTTK

| SIDEWISE REPUDIATION-PENDLE
| BEATTY.
| The World says we do injustice 10 Mr. Pendle-
ton, by representing him as advocating the issue
at once of Grcenbacks enough to pay off the
| National Debt and, as we have not Mr.. Pen
! dletOns various speeches ut hand, we accept
the correction. But the single extract quoted
by The World contains the following:
"Now gentlemen. maintain not these deetcsny bond,
should be Jdtd possible 10 do so rihCm bVdt
ing the currency beyond safe gnd Jnd R9nL ana h rs
my business now 10 SNOW you ~ nov iIPd d s, coz
sists OF grcenbacks and claims which have not peem hd
used and amounts eight hundred millions Of dollars
Three hundred and thirty-eight millions OF these
ury deposited to-day security Ia the vaults OF the Treas
ury. Three hundred millions Of bank paper issued on
that this circulation ought to be called IN; that these
will take tho place OF that bank circulation Applause
Here it is plain that Mr.. Pendlcton contcm-
plates an additional issue of Three Hundred
Millions Of Greenbacks whercwith to force out
Of circulation all the National Bank notes We
ask The Worlds attention, therefore, to the
following clause of the Loan act of June 30, 1864:
"S2 Prorided That the total amount Of bonds
and Treasury notes authorized by the nrst aud second
sections OF this act shall not exceed Aoe0o0 IN add
Of United States notes issued or 70 be issued eer
cJcced StHOoO ana ,llch hdui omar sum 10Y
denption Of temporary loau.'
Here is a solemn olcdce to the public
credtOrs-Day cOmpact with thcm-that the
Government will nerer issue non-intcrest-pay-
ing notes beyond the sum total of sijO,COOOO
nor, except to meet specified temporary
emergency, beyond the sum of SlOO,WOOOO.
We cannot understand Mr.. Pendleton other
wise than as proposing deliberate and inn
portant violation Of this guaranty against fur
thcr imitation and consequent depreciation.
Can there be any mistake on this point
Now, we do not know what Gen. Beatty may
have prOfessed, OF promised, or declared when
of late candidate for Congress but this We
do know, that whoever proposes to break faith
with the National creditors, by watering our
irredeemable currency in violation OF the pledge
above given, is brazcn villain, and nothing
short. And, if he profess to be a Republican,
h. is even more shameless villain than if he
were a Copperhead, who naturally hates the
Debt and its holders because they so power
fully aided to crush the Rebellion. Is that un
equiyocalf
Mr. Pendleton'was in Congress when all our
War Loans were authorized. though We be-
lieve he never voted for one of them. And
he must be aware that Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens.
Ways and Means, reported and carried through
the first bill authorizing Five-Twenty Loan
and issue of Legal Tender" thus commended
these in debate to public confidence and favor:
dollar in "A msers Isafe, unproductve Is sore dis
turbance Where could they invest III In United states
ak per cent. redeemobe in God ia 20 gears
the best and most valuable permanent investment that
could be desired"
But it was objected that trustees and guard
ians might avail themselves Of an irredcema-
bic, deprecated currency, to cheat the heirs
and wards whose property had been cOniided
to them; and Mr. Stevens met this objection
as follows:
"But widows and orphans Interested and I'm tears
lest their estates should be badly invested pity
who has money invested in United States bonds pdy-
ab1 in gold ia tcey years. with interest semLannuay."
No one then suggested or hinted that these
bonds were payable otherwise than in coin or
its full equivalent; had any one done so, he
would have been hooted as q traitor. Three
successive Secretaries of the Trcasury-Chase,
Fessenden, McCulloch-being severally inquired
of, unhesitatingly answered, "These bonds will
"be paid at maturity i'll COIN" Every agent
employed by the Government to sell the bonds
reiterated aud emphasized these assurances.
We, in urging people. day by day, to take the
bonds and thus enable the Government to arm
anu lttu ll5 sOlultib hilu piDHttulc NlSOlousiy
the War; did the same. The takers trusted to
these assurances, as they had every right to do.
Can a seat in Congress pay man who is a
man for now seeking to defraud themi We
pause for an answer.
The fact that nothing IL or can be made by
villainy, is very trite but this case gives it
new and forcbe illustration. The Nation owes
Two and Half Billions of money, whereof
Two Billions draw interest averaging six per
cent. Nearly every dollar was so borrowed
that it may soon be redeemed by fresh loans.
OF course, we can now borrow ut far lower
rates than we could do when involved in
gigantic war, on whose result the National
existence was at stake. Great Britain
owes more than We do; but she is
paying very little more than three per
cent. interest to our sir. If we would reduce
our interest to four per cent, the saving thus
effected would of itself pay off the entire Debt
within thirty years. And if the capitalists of
the world could but be induced to believe us
honest as we'll as solvent, we could easily Dor.
row our whole Debt on long loans at four per
cent. We should thus make as much by honesty
| as the Pentletonians nroDose to do by swind-