The Vinton record. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1866-1891, 1868-02-27
WHOLE NO. 912.

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be found who, finding himself
in debt to the extent of more
than one.tenth of the value of
his entire property, upon which
he is paying interest, will not,
instead Of folding his arms and
leaving the debt for his chill.
dren to grapple with, bestir
himself at once not only TO
provide for the interest but
also to diminish the principal
as rapidly as may be consis-
tent with'the prosperity Of his
estate. 1t is true, there are
nearly four hundred million
dollars of the debt in paper
money, upon which we pay no
interest; but as soon as We get
upon specie basis, for which
there is just now a great clam
or i'll some quarters, we will
pay interest upon the whole
or nearly so. I know we are
great nation, possessing a great
country, with unbounded re.
sources; but | also know We
owe an immense debt, and if
we, allow ourselves to sleep
over it and fail to make every
laudable effort to pay up, it
viii not only consume a large
part Of our annual surplus i'll
interest but will also retard US
in reaching our destiny, which
is, doubtless, TO be the very
first power on the globe.
The present is our golden
opportunity and, in my judg-
ment, if We let it pass unim-
proved generations yet unborn
will not see the debt paid.
TAXATION OF BONDS.
Mr.. Chairman, the true sys-
TEN of taxation is conceded by
by all to be that which is lev
led on every description of
property according to its true
value in money. The justice
Iof this principle is so uniyer-
sally admitted that the States
of the Union have very gen.
era!ls incorporatedit it into their
tax laws, To say that any de-
scription of values should be
exempt from this rule is but to
argue in favor Of exclusive
privileges TO the few in disre-
gard Of the. rights ofthe many,
which wilfnot and ought not be
tolerated in a Government where
the people rule. And aside
from this, very few men care.
to hold a species Of property
which must always be mpopu-
lar with the masses, solely on
the ground that it does not in
any form bear its equal pro-
portion TO the expenses Incl
dent to the Government, eth
er State or National. This
question is and has been alb.
sorbing public attention, and
the action Of Congress in rela-
ton thereto will be watched
with intense solicitude. Our
indebtedness being more than
one-tenth of the value of all
the property in the United
States, and yielding, as it does,
to the owners profit about
equal to other classes of prop
erty, it would be very difficult
to convince any intelligent
mind that it ought not bear its
equal proportion Of the bur-
dens of taxation .. ".'
Many of our soundest law
yers, not only in this House
but elsewhere, have conceded
the right on the part of Con-
gress to tax national bonds for
Government purposes. 1t is,
eXpreSsly.enacted in the law of
February "a, 1862, that
An stocks, bonds and other securities of
the United states held by individuals, corpo.
rnu0n~ or societies within the United states
shall he exempt from taxation by or uLder
State authority" #... ....
While it is hardly probable
that the words I" and other Sc.
curities" were intended to pro-
hibit:the State from taxing the
greenback currency in circula-
ton, yet it has been so deci-
ded; hence an act conferrlng
this power seems necessary in
order to settle this important
question. But no possible mis-
apprehension. can exist to the
clause prohibiting the States
from taxing the bonds held by
citizens therein, which prohi-
bition was a specific agree
ment on the part of the Gov
ernment with its creditors that
the bonds purchased by them
should not be taxed by the
States, and no American can
be found dishonorable enough
to ask Congress 70 violate this
sacred pledge. ag#ga 81.
- ,,,o. J1,,Ltloc.. n 49, - ,.-.