The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1868-09-03
.ss PLYMOUTH INDIANA THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1868

government from the interest which is
paid to the bankers for bonds which they
have deposited. [Cheers.]
4 "Now, then, suppose you take this S2O:-
100000 Of interest which is saved, and
add it to the SIS, ,0oo, 900 million which
these gentlemen say they can pay from,
the current revenue, and you have $685.
100000 year by year, and if you convert
that sum into greenbacks, at 14O, you have
s100,000,000 year, and if this is appro-
priated as sinking fund, you can pay the
whole debt off in less than fifteen years,
! without adding one dollar to your taxation
or one dollar to the circulating medium. y
i Applause. s
This is upon the supposition that the
expenditures Of the government are not
reduced, but are maintained upon their
present monstrous basis. With the de-
mocracy in power, their reduction one
half is certain, and the payment of the
debt would be ccrrespondiugly facilitated.
We may and do say that. the currency of
the country could be very profitably in
creased, with benefit to its business and
industrial interests. Money is now too
scarce and interest is too high. The
whole south is. destitute of currency, and
l., 1c r y IL.
cary for permanent improvements which
have been destroyed by tho war in that
section. Without too great an imitation,
millions of new greenbacks could be issued
to advantage and be employed in taking
up the bonds"
We now give the second question of the
Tribune:
"2 Does it advocate an increase Of tax
alton to procure greenbacks with which to
pay the bonds or does it propose to obtain
them by means of the printing press 2"
Our reply to the first question necessa-
rily answers the second, which is but O
repetition of it. It's remaining questions
are as follows:
"3. Is not greenback an order on the
treasury to pay the bearer as many dollars
as are expressed on its face, and does that
, mean gold dollars?
"a. In what way can greenbacks be
redeemed except in gold
"5. Would the debt be paid by giving
the people grccnback orders on the Treas
ury in lieu of bonds?
sc. Would not the government still bt
in debt as deeply as before its notes called
bonds were changed into orders on The
treasury called greenbacks?"
These questions aro superlatively foolish
, The fve-twenty bonds-and there are now
nearly two thousand millions of them-
:: bear interest at six per cent, or Sl20, 900,
900 in gold annually, which is equal t.
] sl68, 900, 900 in legal tenders The green
backs bear no interest. Which is tht
easiest paid, non-interest bearing green
backs or interest paying bonds /? The in
r terest alone that We pay on the bond
would redeem all the greenbacks in fifteer
s years. But if the debt is kept in bonds
the payment Of that interest would not re-
r duce the debt one cent! Suppose the
+ editor of the Tribune had debt of 800,
: 900 bearing interest at six per cent, anc
b he was enabled to change it into deb
q that did not call for six thousand dollar!
a year interest, would he consider himsel
as greatly in debt as he was before he mad
the change?
d Having thus frankly answered the in
f terrogations of the Tribune, will it in re
@ turn respond to these questions
+. 1. IF the fve-twenty bonds are pavabl
o in gold, why was it not expressed in tn
|. law authorizing their creation, as it was il
the forty bonds? IF the editor of tn
Tribune should draw two notes, one paya
u BILE expressly in coin, aud the other no
g containing those words, would he conside
h the latter the same as the former
2. Legal tender grccnbacks have beer
c declared legal by the courts, and hav
$ been used to discharge all private debt
C contracted in gold before the law was pas,
ed. Why should they not be equally goo'
IS to discharge debts of the government tina
e were contracted in grecn5acks when the
IS were worth but fifty cents on dollar. an,
a which were not expected to be paid il
n gold?
- 3. Is the bondholder entitled 20 differ
ent or better money than the farmer, me
chanic, laborer, soldier end pensione
le receive for their debts, and, if so, will th
is Tribune tell the reason of the distinction
r 4. Would the bondholder be badl
i treated who lent money to the governmen
- when legal tenders were worth fifty cent
W on the dollar, if he should now be paid i
a legal tenders worth seventy cents, he i